News Release

Mercy Nursing Facilities Receive Quality First 5-Star Honor

Bluff Terrace and Wyndcrest, nursing homes of Mercy Medical Center, have been awarded the Quality First 5-Star Award by the Iowa Health Care Association (HCA). Quality First is a nationwide initiative to develop and measure quality care in long-term care facilities and programs.

The initiative calls for facilities to adopt a people-centered approach to daily routines and activities, putting people first whether it is facility residents, families, staff, volunteers, vendors, or the greater community. Iowa Health Care Association-member long-term care facilities that achieve the set of Quality First criteria receive the Quality First 5-Star Award.

Bluff Terrace and Wyndcrest will be recognized as the fifth and sixth Quality First 5-Star Award recipients in Iowa at an awards ceremony at the IHCA Annual State Convention of long-term care providers on Sept. 26, 2007 in Des Moines. The award signifies the facilities’ commitment to a continuous quality improvement process.

The Quality First 5-Star Award is “the highest recognition of quality within Iowa’s long-term care procession, “ said Steve Ackerson, IHCA Executive Director. “The achievements by both Bluff Terrace and Wyndcrest demonstrate that their mission of exceptional care for the elderly is embraced and relentlessly pursued.”

Kent Jorgensen, vice president of Aging Services at Mercy, said, “As part of the Quality First 5-Star Award we agree to continuously strive for quality improvement. Our ongoing goal is to further strengthen our quality of care and services offered to our residents, staff and the community.”