Company News: ACHC Gets Commitment Award From NC Awards for Excellence

Continues working toward the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

Published: Thursday, August 20, 2009 - 10:47

(ACHC: Raleigh, NC) -- The Accreditation Commission for Health Care, Inc. (ACHC) is pleased to announce it has received the North Carolina Awards for Excellence (NCAfE) Commitment (Level 2) Award. This milestone marks ACHC’s first step toward applying for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

NCAfE (a program administered by the Industrial Extension Service at North Carolina State University) promotes quality management and business excellence by utilizing the Baldrige Criteria to assess and measure business performance. NCAfE uses a tiered program and recognizes participation at four defined levels. Commitment Award winners have demonstrated progress in building sound and notable processes through their implementation of performance management principles.

The Malcolm Baldrige Award recognizes the achievements and results of U.S. companies, and publicizes successful performance strategies. The Baldrige Criteria help organizations improve performance by focusing on enhancing value for customers and stakeholders, improving overall organizational effectiveness, and promoting organizational and personal learning. Since 1988, seventy-five organizations have received Baldrige Awards.

Leslie Knuth, Vice President of Quality Assurance, believes the Baldrige criteria will help ACHC achieve the highest level of excellence possible. “The Baldrige Criteria and NCAfE are a good match for ACHC. The criteria will help enhance our understanding of our customers, employees and processes, while NCAfE’s incremental approach and feedback reports help us implement and manage new initiatives.”

Knuth goes on to say, “We believe using principles from Baldrige, coupled with our ISO 9001 background, is the best way to further improve our organization and the quality of our service.”

ACHC is a not-for-profit organization that has stood as a symbol of quality and excellence since 1986. Their quality management system is ISO 9001 certified. Accreditation by ACHC reflects an organization’s dedication and commitment to meeting standards that facilitate a higher level of performance and patient care. ACHC is the provider’s choice for accreditation because of personal account managers, relevant and realistic standards, competitive pricing and a friendly, consultative approach to accreditation.

For more information, or to follow our progress, please contact us at 919-785-1214, customerservice@achc.org or visit achc.org.  

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Accreditation Commission for Health Care

ACHC is the only national health care accrediting organization started at the grass-roots level by a few home care providers endeavoring to create a viable option of accreditation sensitive to the needs of small providers. The model was to “ensure a voice for providers."

The inception began in 1985 in Raleigh, North Carolina, through the efforts of members of the state home care association and a few representatives from four divisions of state government. Incorporation was accomplished in August of 1986, with the first accredited organization being awarded a certificate in January of 1987. ACHC began offering services nationally in 1996.