AAHSA Quality First is not just about signing a piece of paper. It is a commitment that thousands of AAHSA members have made to start a journey toward achieving excellence and earning public trust in aging services. It is also a journey that organizations cannot make alone. They need the help of staff members, residents, policymakers, consumers and their business partners to move forward on their quality quest.

AAHSA's group purchasing and shared services (GP/SS) partners can play a pivotal role in helping our members implement Quality First. Read how GP/SS partners are helping two AAHSA members provide quality that people can trust:

Consumer satisfaction and participation are two important parts of promoting quality in aging services. At Wyndemere Retirement Community in Wheaton, Ill., residents are asked to complete the Life Services Network's (LSN) consumer satisfaction survey each year to help leaders identify strengths and opportunities for improvement. Jim Benson, Wyndemere's president and CEO, believes that these surveys, along with the resources available from the AAHSA Quality First Web site, are integral to Wyndemere achieving excellence and earning public trust:

"Using the LSN survey not only helped us evaluate our own organization, but also gave us an easy way to compare our organizations with others in the state. By sharing our results with staff and board members as well as residents' council members, we developed a plan that is helping our organization improve the care and services we provide to older adults."

Human resources development is also one of the 10 Elements of Quality First. According to Kathy Coulter, Director of Human Resources at the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community in Harrisonburg, Va., working with SESCO helped the organization improve quality for the people they serve and those who serve them:

"After completing the Quality First Self-Study in 2004, we realized our organization needed to improve our quality improvement and human resources program. Using SESCO's leadership and core competency training programs helped us develop a quality framework for our employees. More important, the company's consulting service offers us the opportunity to enhance and improve these programs every day."

These organizations are not alone. There are over 3,000 AAHSA members who are committed to Quality First and need the help of Group Purchasing and Shared Services partners to achieve their Quality First goals. To learn more about this initiative and what you can do to help, please contact Bruce Rosenthal, Director of AAHSA Quality First, at (202) 508-9499 or brosenthal@aahsa.org. You can also visit the AAHSA Quality First Web site at www.aahsa.org/qualityfirst.