Applications for the 2026 National Quality Award Program are due by next Thursday, Jan. 22, at 7:00 p.m. CST. Organizations may still apply even if they did not submit an intent to apply. Participation in the National Quality Award Program helps providers identify strengths and opportunities for improvement, support better outcomes for residents and staff and gain recognition as leaders in long-term and post-acute care. Organizations are encouraged to complete and submit their applications through the Quality Award Portal ahead of the deadline to avoid technical or internal delays.
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The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing (DIAL) is accepting nominations for the 2026 Governor’s Award for Quality Care, which recognizes nursing facilities, residential care facilities and intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities that demonstrate exceptional care and innovative efforts to enhance residents’ quality of life. Residents and family members may submit nominations by March 1, 2026, using DIAL’s paper or online forms; facilities may not nominate themselves. IHCA encourages providers to actively promote the nomination opportunity to residents and families to increase awareness and participation.
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Applications for the 2026 National Quality Award are due by Jan. 22, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. CST, and organizations may still apply even if they did not submit an intent to apply. Participation in the National Quality Award Program helps providers identify strengths and opportunities for improvement, support better outcomes for residents and staff and gain recognition as leaders in long-term and post-acute care. Organizations are encouraged to complete and submit their applications through the Quality Award Portal ahead of the deadline to avoid technical or internal delays.
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Applications for the 2026 National Quality Award are due by Jan. 22, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. CST, and organizations may still apply even if they did not submit an intent to apply. Participation in the National Quality Award Program helps providers identify strengths and opportunities for improvement, support better outcomes for residents and staff and gain recognition as leaders in long-term and post-acute care. Organizations are encouraged to complete and submit their applications through the Quality Award Portal ahead of the deadline to avoid technical or internal delays.
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IHCA is offering a Bronze Quality Award Workshop this upcoming Tuesday, Dec. 2, sponsored by Blue Stone Therapy and Right Dose, A Guardian Pharmacy. This hybrid workshop will guide participants through the Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award application process while providing expert coaching and strategies for driving organizational performance. This workshop offers 5.0 contact hours for nurses, nursing facility administrators and assisted living managers. New this year, participants can opt for a one-time application review by IHCA’s quality experts for personalized feedback before submission.
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Missing the National Quality Award Program’s Intent to Apply (ITA) deadline doesn’t prevent organizations from applying, since the ITA is optional and full applications aren’t due until Jan. 22, 2026. IHCA is offering a final Bronze Application Workshop on Dec. 2, with in-person and virtual attendance options, plus an optional application review to help providers strengthen their submissions.
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IHCA is offering a Bronze Quality Award Workshop on Tuesday, Dec. 2, sponsored by Blue Stone Therapy and Right Dose, A Guardian Pharmacy. This hybrid workshop will guide participants through the Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award application process while providing expert coaching and strategies for driving organizational performance. This workshop offers 5.0 contact hours for nurses, nursing facility administrators and assisted living managers. New this year, participants can opt for a one-time application review by IHCA’s quality experts for personalized feedback before submission.
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This is your last chance to submit your Intent to Apply (ITA) for the 2026 AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program. All ITAs must be submitted through the Quality Award Portal no later than tomorrow, Nov. 13, at 7:00 p.m. CST. Submitting an ITA gives organizations access to discounted application fees, exclusive resources and valuable support tools to strengthen their Quality Award applications. Data from AHCA shows that participating facilities achieve stronger outcomes — including higher Five-Star ratings, improved care quality and reduced turnover — making this the ideal first step in your quality journey.
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IHCA is offering a Bronze Quality Award Workshop on Tuesday, Dec. 2, sponsored by Blue Stone Therapy and Right Dose, A Guardian Pharmacy. This hybrid workshop will guide participants through the Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award application process while providing expert coaching and strategies for driving organizational performance. This workshop offers 5.0 contact hours for nurses, nursing facility administrators and assisted living managers. New this year, participants can opt for a one-time application review by IHCA’s quality experts for personalized feedback before submission.
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Take the next step in your quality journey this Friday, Nov. 7, at IHCA’s Silver Quality Award Workshop, sponsored by Blue Stone Therapy and Right Dose, A Guardian Pharmacy, in partnership with Geoffrey Calhoun of Calhoun Consulting Partners, LLC. Participants should complete the introductory webinar and come prepared with preliminary materials to use during the session. The workshop will be held at Deerfield Retirement Community in Urbandale and is approved for 6.0 contact hours for nurses, nursing facility administrators and assisted living managers.
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The AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program is seeking professionals to serve as Silver and Gold Examiners for the 2026 award cycle, with applications due tomorrow, Nov. 6. Examiners play a key role in evaluating long-term care centers nationwide using the Baldrige Performance Excellence framework, helping improve quality systems and outcomes across the profession. Participants gain valuable experience in performance excellence, networking and professional growth while contributing to a national effort to elevate care standards.
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The 2026 National Quality Award Intent to Apply (ITA) deadline is coming up next Thursday, Nov. 13, at 7:00 p.m. CST. Submitting an ITA gives organizations access to discounted application fees, exclusive resources and valuable support tools to strengthen their Quality Award applications. Data from AHCA shows that participating facilities achieve stronger outcomes — including higher Five-Star ratings, improved care quality and reduced turnover — making this the ideal first step in your quality journey.
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Take the next step in your quality journey next Friday, Nov. 7, at IHCA’s Silver Quality Award Workshop, sponsored by Blue Stone Therapy and Right Dose, A Guardian Pharmacy, in partnership with Geoffrey Calhoun of Calhoun Consulting Partners, LLC. With expert coaching and practical guidance, participants will break down the Silver criteria, explore how to write a strong application and gain insights on how to tell their quality improvement story effectively. This workshop will be held at Deerfield Retirement Community in Urbandale and is approved for 6.0 contact hours for nurses, nursing facility administrators and assisted living managers. To register, please email the names of those attending from your facility to Brenda Irlbeck, VP, Regulatory Affairs, at
[email protected].
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Is your nursing facility or assisted living program committed to delivering high-quality care and enhancing the lives of residents/tenants? The National Quality Award Program invites you to take the first step in your quality improvement journey by applying for the Bronze Award. Start your journey with the Bronze Award and showcase your organization’s commitment to quality care and performance improvement. The 2026 Intent to Apply (ITA) process is open and available through the Quality Award Portal. Submitting your ITA by Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, gives you access to exclusive resources and a discounted application fee.
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Are you passionate about improving the quality of care in long-term and post-acute settings? The AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Program is inviting dedicated professionals to apply as Silver and Gold Examiners for the 2026 cycle. The Examiner application will close next Thursday, Nov. 6.
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IHCA is offering a Bronze Quality Award Workshop next Tuesday, Oct. 28, sponsored by Blue Stone Therapy and Right Dose, A Guardian Pharmacy. Additionally, IHCA will host another workshop on Dec. 2. These workshops will guide participants through the Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award application process while providing expert coaching and strategies for driving organizational performance. This workshop offers 5.0 contact hours for nurses, nursing facility administrators and assisted living managers. New this year, participants can opt for a one-time application review by IHCA’s quality experts for personalized feedback before submission.
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Examiner recruitment for the 2026 AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award program has begun. There are significant benefits to serving as an examiner, including professional development, networking, education and more. All examiner applications must be submitted by Nov. 6, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. Selection notification emails will be sent out on Dec. 4, 2025.
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CMS issued a new QSO memo announcing updates to the Civil Money Penalty Reinvestment Program (CMPRP), addressing several priorities long advocated by AHCA. The changes include streamlining the application process, raising funding caps and expanding eligibility to technology, behavioral health and workforce enhancement projects. Applicants awaiting a response do not need to resubmit, and the release of new CMPRP resources has been delayed due to the federal government shutdown.
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IHCA’s two-part Silver Quality Award Workshop, sponsored by Blue Stone Therapy and Right Dose, A Guardian Pharmacy, kicks off with a virtual webinar this Friday, Aug. 29, followed by an in-person session on Nov. 7. Designed for Bronze Award recipients ready to advance, the workshop offers expert coaching on completing the Silver Award application and leveraging the Baldrige-based criteria for quality improvement. This two-part course offers 6.0 contact hours for nurses, nursing facility administrators and assisted living managers and is held in partnership with Geoffrey Calhoun of Calhoun Consulting Partners, LLC.
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IHCA member Ruthven Community Care Center has been honored with the 2025 Governor’s Award for Quality Care, recognizing its exceptional commitment to resident well-being, compassionate caregiving and community engagement. The 46-bed facility in Ruthven was praised for creating a warm, family-like environment, delivering individualized care and fostering strong connections with residents, families and the broader community. Congratulations to Ruthven Community Care Center on this well-deserved achievement!
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IHCA is offering Bronze Quality Award Workshops this fall on Sept. 16, Oct. 28 and Dec. 2, sponsored by Blue Stone Therapy and Right Dose, A Guardian Pharmacy. These workshops will guide participants through the Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award application process while providing expert coaching and strategies for driving organizational performance. This workshop offers 5.0 contact hours for nurses, nursing facility administrators and assisted living managers. New this year, participants can opt for a one-time application review by IHCA’s quality experts for personalized feedback before submission.
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IHCA’s two-part Silver Quality Award Workshop, sponsored by Blue Stone Therapy and Right Dose, A Guardian Pharmacy, kicks off with a virtual webinar next Friday, Aug. 29, followed by an in-person session on Nov. 7. Designed for Bronze Award recipients ready to advance, the workshop offers expert coaching on completing the Silver Award application and leveraging the Baldrige-based criteria for quality improvement. This two-part course offers 6.0 contact hours for nurses, nursing facility administrators and assisted living managers and is held in partnership with Geoffrey Calhoun of Calhoun Consulting Partners, LLC.
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CMS has announced a temporary pause in updates to the Nursing Home Care Compare website, effective July 30, 2025. This pause is part of CMS’s transition to a new cloud-based data system to record and manage survey outcomes and is intended to ensure the accuracy and reliability of publicly reported nursing home quality information. Regular updates to the site are expected to resume in October 2025. Despite the pause in public data updates, nursing homes are still required to post their most recent survey findings — the CMS-2567 Statement of Deficiencies — in a visible area within the facility.
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The Final July 2025 Interim Performance Reports (IPRs) for the expanded Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model have been published in the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System. Starting with this IPR, home health agencies that were initially Medicare certified in 2023 are eligible to receive IPRs.
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IHCA is offering Bronze Quality Award Workshops this fall on Sept. 16, Oct. 28 and Dec. 2, sponsored by Blue Stone Therapy and Right Dose, A Guardian Pharmacy. These workshops will guide participants through the Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award application process while providing expert coaching and strategies for driving organizational performance. This workshop offers 5.0 contact hours for nurses, nursing facility administrators and assisted living managers. New this year, participants can opt for a one-time application review by IHCA’s quality experts for personalized feedback before submission.
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Congratulations to IHCA member Briarwood Health Care Center in Iowa City on receiving the 2025 Governor’s Award for Quality Care in Health Care Facilities. Chosen from among several nominees, Briarwood was recognized for its warm, home-like environment, long-tenured staff and exceptional commitment to residents’ health, dignity and quality of life. The family-owned, 62-bed skilled nursing facility stood out for its community engagement, unique activities and strong clinical partnerships, earning high praise from residents, families and state leaders alike.
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IHCA is offering Bronze Quality Award Workshops this fall on Sept. 16, Oct. 28 and Dec. 2, sponsored by Blue Stone Therapy and Right Dose, A Guardian Pharmacy. These workshops will guide participants through the Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award application process while providing expert coaching and strategies for driving organizational performance. This workshop offers 5.0 contact hours for nurses, nursing facility administrators and assisted living managers. New this year, participants can opt for a one-time application review by IHCA’s quality experts for personalized feedback before submission.
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The Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health in Nursing Facilities (COE-NF) is offering a series of free virtual training events in August for all nursing facility staff. Topics include trauma-informed care, behavioral health integration, culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS), empathy and compassion in caregiving and opioid stewardship. Each session provides 1.0 NAB and ACCME credit and includes practical strategies to enhance quality of care and support staff well-being.
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The 2026 AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Intent to Apply (ITA) is now open! All applicants who plan to apply for an AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award are encouraged to submit an ITA by logging into the Quality Award portal before the deadline on Nov. 13, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. While not mandatory, applicants who submit an ITA will get a discounted application fee and receive dedicated emails with access to exclusive resources – including webinars with helpful tips, best practices and reminders to assist you in your application writing process.
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IHCA is thrilled to announce that University Park Assisted Living has successfully appealed the initial decision and will be recognized as a 2025 Bronze recipient in the National Quality Award Program! With this addition, IHCA's members achieved a total 46 Bronze awards in 2025. This prestigious honor is a testament to the hard work, dedication and unwavering commitment of our members to providing high quality care and continuous performance improvement.
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Congratulations to IHCA member Briarwood Healthcare Center in Iowa City on receiving the 2025 Governor’s Award for Quality Care! The award will be presented on Aug. 6 by Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing Director Larry Johnson, Jr. This honor recognizes Briarwood’s exceptional commitment to resident care and innovative practices that enhance quality of life.
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CMS is providing notifications to facilities that were determined to be out of compliance with the Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program (SNF QRP) requirements for CY 2024, which will affect their FY 2026 Annual Payment Update (APU). Non-compliance notifications are being distributed by the Medicare Administrative Contractors and were placed into facilities’ My Reports folders in the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) on July 21, 2025. Facilities that receive a letter of non-compliance may submit a request for reconsideration to CMS via email no later than 11:59 p.m., Aug. 26, 2025.
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CMS implemented key updates to the Five-Star rating system with the July 2025 Care Compare refresh, including the removal of COVID-19 vaccination data, the addition of nursing home chain performance averages and a revised method for calculating health inspection ratings using only the two most recent recertification surveys. While most providers will see little change, around 20% may experience a shift — half improving and half declining. IHCA encourages members to review their updated data and offers continued support as CMS prepares additional changes to quality measures. An updated Five-Star Technical User’s Guide is also now available.
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The Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Provider Preview Reports have been updated and are now available. These reports contain provider performance scores for quality measures, which will be published on the compare tool on Medicare.gov and the Provider Data Catalog (PDC) during the October 2025 release. Providers have until Aug. 14, 2025, to review their performance data.
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The Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health in Nursing Facilities (COE-NF) will reach the end of its three-years of funding on Sept. 29, 2025. After that date, technical assistance consultations and live training events will no longer be available. The COE-NF training and resources will be accessible on the CMS website after the grant concludes. Further details on how to access these materials will be provided soon.
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IHCA’s two-part Silver Quality Award Workshop, sponsored by Blue Stone Therapy and Right Dose, A Guardian Pharmacy, kicks off with a virtual webinar on Aug. 29, followed by an in-person session on Nov. 7. Designed for Bronze Award recipients ready to advance, the workshop offers expert coaching on completing the Silver Award application and leveraging the Baldrige-based criteria for quality improvement. This two-part course offers 6.0 contact hours for nurses, nursing facility administrators and assisted living managers and is held in partnership with Geoffrey Calhoun of Calhoun Consulting Partners, LLC.
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IHCA is offering Bronze Quality Award Workshops this fall on Sept. 16, Oct. 28 and Dec. 2, sponsored by Blue Stone Therapy and Right Dose, A Guardian Pharmacy. These workshops will guide participants through the Bronze – Commitment to Quality Award application process while providing expert coaching and strategies for driving organizational performance. This workshop offers 5.0 contact hours for nurses, nursing facility administrators and assisted living managers. New this year, participants can opt for a one-time application review by IHCA’s quality experts for personalized feedback before submission.
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