ATRIA SENIOR LIVING QUALITY ENHANCEMENT
The best possible life
The Quality Enhancement program ensures every aspect of community life meets the highest standards in the industry – ours.
Industry-leading quality standards
Choosing Atria means choosing quality in every facet of your daily experience. Atria’s Quality Enhancement (QE) program guides our staff to help ensure things are consistently done the right way.
QE audits are unannounced and conducted in addition to the state-led reviews, with standards that often exceed state requirements. These comprehensive bi-annual audits measure roughly 300 aspects of community life – from landscaping and dining to housekeeping and care service.
What’s more, we don’t rely on outside contractors to conduct these audits, as they may not have the industry-specific experience that is so vital to making a thorough assessment. Our audits are conducted by a specially trained team of Quality Enhancement Directors, who possess an average of 13 years’ experience in senior living – experience that holds every Atria community to our high quality standards.
An ongoing commitment
Regular satisfaction surveys with residents and families is another method we use to tell us what's working well and if any areas need improvement. We continually look for ways to enhance our services so that we can deliver on our promise to provide a quality experience each and every day.
There are a lot of quality measurement programs in senior living, but ours encompasses the overall resident experience – everything from the number of training hours employees have completed and our housekeeping system to how nice our landscaping looks and the quality of the events we offer. We're always looking ahead to address any potential issues.
— Sean Purser, Atria SVP and Chief Quality Officer
Prepared for state surveys
In addition to maintaining our own industry-leading quality standards, our QE program is also designed to maintain compliance with state regulations.
Assisted Living communities must be properly licensed and pass regular state inspections, which can occur annually or when a complaint is made with the state. While regulations vary from state to state, most specify requirements for staff training, residency agreements, and the types of services we can provide.
Should any violations, also known as deficiencies, be detected during state inspections, the provider must submit a plan to correct the issue. These plans of correction uphold our high quality standards and are approved by the state.
Our QE program is designed to proactively prevent any deficiencies from occurring.
Most states have 500-1000+ regulatory compliance indicators.
Oversight for Licensed Assisted Living Communities
Q: Do all assisted living communities need a license to operate?
A: Yes. Before opening, assisted living communities must have a license from the proper state agency. Before issuing the license, the state conducts an on-site inspection and ensures the provider can meet the regulatory requirements. After the license is issued, the state conducts regular inspections to ensure continued compliance. See the chart below for the different state agencies in which Atria Senior Living operates.
Q: Do assisted living communities undergo inspections?
A: Yes. Inspections usually occur both annually and when someone files a complaint.
Deficiencies — sometimes called violations or citations — are noted during inspections. These deficiencies can provide insight into the quality of care provided at a community.
For each deficiency found during a survey, a provider must submit a plan of correction that includes a timeline explaining how they will respond to the issue. States can suspend or revoke a license and impose penalties for failure to comply with state requirements.
Regulations vary from state to state. Some common state regulations include the type of training staff are required to receive, what must be covered in the residency agreement, and the types of services we can provide.
Q: How do I locate the proper state agency?
Each state agency shares licensure information and inspection reports differently. In some states, you can verify a provider’s license(s) and read their inspection reports online. However, in other states, you must request to have this information mailed to you. You may also request the latest inspection report directly from individual assisted living communities.
Below is a list of all the states in which Atria Senior Living operates licensed communities, along with their website for easier reference.
Featured Communities
At Atria, safety is our first priority
One of the most important aspects of our high quality standards is protecting the health and well-being of residents and staff. That's why we created our comprehensive emergency response plans, which have been thoughtfully designed and field-tested to keep our communities safe in any circumstance.
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