A recent study published on November 9th 2010 by the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) shows that Assisted Living communities are tracking and monitoring employee and residents satisfaction. This study is the first of its kind and also shows that providers are using numerous methods to record the quality of care and services being delivered to residents.

“NCAL’s Performance Measurement Initiative is a landmark for the profession,” says David Kyllo, NCAL’s executive director. “NCAL established performance measures that could be used by the profession to improve care for residents and provides residents, family members and policy makers with tangible insight into an assisted living community’s operations.”

This is great news as it shows gives residents and families a voice to enhance their quality of life but will also serve future prospective families in getting a better understanding and transparency on what to expect for providers.

Among the findings:

• 98 percent of assisted living communities conducted criminal background checks on all new employees;
• 91 percent of assisted living communities measured resident and family satisfaction;
• 94 percent had a licensed nurse available to staff and residents 24 hours per day;
• 94 percent reviewed incident reports for residents; and
• 85 percent measured employee satisfaction.
  

NCAL also announced that they will be releasing these survey of a bi-yearly basis.