Quality Initiatives

Aging Services of Minnesota strives to build public trust in older adult services by offering members the education, services and resources designed to assist their continuous quality improvement efforts.
By involving all stakeholders -- consumers, government and providers, Aging Services leads the way in creating a platform for quality aging services.

By developing quality initiatives and by supporting those of our national affiliates and other organizations, Aging Services highlights the best practices in the aging services field.

Confident Choices for Senior Living is an Aging Services of Minnesota initiative designed to:

• Improve quality in Housing-with-Services settings, including those with assisted living programs
  
• Increase public trust and consumer confidence
  
• Inform consumer decision-making

This initiative has been designed specifically for housing-with-services and assisted living settings, where consumers can choose from a wide variety of options. The requirements have been developed by experienced housing-with-services providers and are based on standards of practice that truly influence the quality of a consumer's experience.

Aging Services of Minnesota believes the Confident Choices for Senior Living will improve quality in housing-withservices
settings by:

• Encouraging providers to put into place all of the elements that the program has identified as important components of quality housing-with-services
  
• Enabling applicants to receive feedback from peer reviewers and enabling peer reviewers to experience a variety of settings and programs, expanding their own expertise
  
• Identifying "best practices" that applicants are willing to share with other providers
  
• Providers working together voluntarily to increase standards for housing-with-services and assisted living providers.

Providers that meet the requirements of Confident Choices are recognized with the Confident Choices designation. It is envisioned that consumers will look for the Confident Choices logo as they are choosing their housing provider and that those organizations earning the Confident Choices designation will be viewed by their peers, consumers and others as being among the best in the field.

Click here for a list of those providers that have earned the Confident Choices designation

Aging Services' Housing-with-Services Code of Ethics

Code of Ethics Powerpoint Presentation

Providers that have adopted the Aging Services of Minnesota Housing-with-Services Code of Ethics strive to create a culture of mutual respect, understanding and trust with the people they serve and those who support them. They pledge and commit to:

• fairness, honesty, and confidentiality.

• open communication and encouragement of self-expression in order to

• continually improve our services.

• nurture choice through disclosure of vital information to enable the people

• we serve to make informed decisions about the level of care - and corresponding level of risk - they desire.

In addition, the Code of Ethics commitment is to:

• develop a well-trained, competent staff and prudently manage (name of organization)'s resources to provide quality housing and services and to comply with applicable laws and regulations.

• provide innovative and supportive housing in a well-maintained setting that reflects the values of our community.

• help the people we serve to obtain services to maximize their desired level of independence, autonomy and dignity.

• identify internal as well as community resources to assist them with life's transitions.

• foster community and commit to... acknowledge and respect each person we serve as a reflection of his or her own culture, life experiences, habits and decisions.

• partner with the people we serve and those who support them - their family and community, and members of our organization; and

• demonstrate good citizenship and create opportunities for mutually beneficial activities with the greater community.

Click here for a list of those providers that have adopted the Code of Ethics.

Aging Services' Guiding Principles for Dementia Care

American consumers like to know what to expect when they make choices, whether it is where to buy a fast-food burger, have a suit dry cleaned or pump a gallon gas. Consumers seek out service providers who offer consistent quality. In no other arena of life is quality more important than in health care, where consumers can be met with an array of confusing terms and unfamiliar regulations. In Minnesota, people seeking care for persons who have Alzheimer's disease or related dementia-causing illnesses, can make informed choices - that is, know what to expect - when they discuss care options with members of Aging Services of Minnesota who have adopted the Guiding Principles of Dementia Care.

The seven Guiding Principles of Dementia Care were developed by MHHA's Memory Care Task Force, which was led by caregivers who are experienced dementia specialists. They reviewed best practices and key research in the field and identified leading resources including the Alzheimer's Association and major universities.

Written with consumer satisfaction in mind, the Guiding Principles of Dementia Care are part of a larger effort by Aging Services of Minnesota to outline voluntary quality benchmarks for providers of older adult services.

Click here for a list of those providers that have adopted Guiding Principles for Dementia Care.

Advanced Professional Training

Housing-with-services in Minnesota is in its second decade, but it continues to evolve. As this sector of older adult services expands, Aging Services is responding to the need for specialized training in four distinct areas through programs that enhance development of housing-with-services and provide advanced professional development for specialists who work in the field. Aging Services Housing-with-Services Certificate Programs are offered for professionals in housing management, marketing and sales, dementia care and nurse management.

The Advancing Excellence in America's Nursing Homes campaign is a national endeavor sponsored by the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and other national organizations with an interest in the quality of America's nursing homes. The campaign is designed to put increased vigor behind existing efforts to improve the quality of care and quality of life for those living or recuperating in America's nursing homes. To learn more or to join this campaign, go to www.nhqualitycampaign.org.

Quality First is a covenant signed by AAHSA members across the continuum of aging services who have made a commitment is to create the future of aging services through quality people can trust. The core of AAHSA Quality First is the 10 Elements of Quality:

1. Commitment
   
2. Governance & Accountability
   
3. Leading-Edge Care and Services
   
4. Community Involvement
   
5. Continuous Quality Improvement
   
6. Human Resources Development
   
7. Consumer-Friendly Information
   
8. Consumer Participation
   
9. Research Findings and Education
   
10. Public Trust and Consumer Confidence

To learn more, go to http://www.aahsa.org/qualityfirst.aspx.

Aging Services thanks 2010 Annual Sponsor McKesson Medical Surgical and our other sponsors for their support and partnership.