March 19, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Lauren Shaham, (202) 508-1219
New Guide Helps Consumers Identify Quality in Aging Services

Washington, D.C. – A new tool from the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) can help older adults and their loved ones ask long-term care organizations they are considering a series of questions that will help them find high-quality care and services to meet their needs.

The guide, “Consumers’ Guide to Quality Aging Services” features a series of questions designed to help consumers learn how different providers are managed, what values drive their work and most important, how they meet and individual’s needs and preferences.

The questions encompass the 10 Elements of AAHSA Quality First, an initiative designed to help aging-services providers achieve excellence and earn public trust in their work. More than 3,300 of AAHSA’s not-for-profit members have signed the AAHSA Quality First Covenant to demonstrate their commitment to quality of care and services for the people they serve.

Some of the questions featured in the guide include:

• How do you include family members in making decisions about the care and services for their loved ones?
• Does your organization have a written code of ethics? If so, how does it guide what your organization does?
• What is the role of resident and family councils in your organization?
• What training opportunities do you offer employees?

“This guide personifies our commitment to help all consumers receive the information they need to find the services they need, when they need them, in a place they call home,” AAHSA President & CEO Larry Minnix said. “We look forward to the day, and consumers should expect nothing less than two types of providers: the excellent and the non-existent.”

For more information or to download the guide, please visit the “Consumer Information” section of AAHSA’s Web site at www.aahsa.org.

---

About AAHSA
The members of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (www.aahsa.org) help millions of individuals and their families every day through mission-driven, not-for-profit organizations dedicated to providing the services that people need, when they need them, in the place they call home. Our 5,800 member organizations, many of which have served their communities for generations, offer the continuum of aging services: adult day services, home health, community services, senior housing, assisted living residences, continuing care retirement communities and nursing homes. AAHSA’s commitment is to create the future of aging services through quality people can trust.