1199SEIU Continuing Care Leadership Coalition Quality Care Community

QCC Resources:

» QCC XII Conference 2011

» QCC XI Conference 2011

» Dec 1. 2010 MDS 3.0 Conference 

» QCC X Conference 2009

» QCC Updates – Community (October 2009)

» QCC IX Conference 2008

» QCC VIII Conference 2007


About Quality Care

The Quality Care Community (QCC) is a partnership forged between nursing home labor and management committed to improving quality of life for residents and staff. The QCC provides a medium for senior-level leaders, frontline workers, supervisors and executives- representing both union and management- to come together to jointly problem-solve around difficult issues facing the long-term care industry, such as staffing, clinical care and fiscal constraints.

Conceived in 2001 as part of the CBA between the Association of Voluntary Nursing Homes and 1199SEIU, the QCC works to transform nursing homes into more homelike spaces where residents and staff alike have choice and control over their day-to-day activities. This unique alliance is guided by a partnership between the 1199SEIU Nursing Home Division and the Continuing Care Leadership Coalition (an affiliate of the GNYHA representing voluntary, not-for-profit nursing facilities in New York City).

Under their direction, the QCC combines facility-based work and training with large-scale sharing and learning forums so that participants gain the knowledge and skills necessary to work constructively to resolve conflict and pursue mutual interests. In doing so, a strong commitment and passion are formed to provide person-centered, quality care and to seek solutions to pressures that challenge the economic well-being of each nursing home and employee.

Involvement in QCC activities has changed the way nursing home staff work and the way that residents experience care. Many facilities have transformed dining experiences by eliminating tray service, where food arrived from a central kitchen on plastic plates. Now meals are served “family style” on china. Instead of fixed meal times, some facilities have expanded choices for residents; breakfast is available from 7 – 9 am to accommodate both early risers and late sleepers.

In other facilities, interdisciplinary staff teams have redecorated stark institutional bathrooms into warm, spa-like environments. Residents at these homes can now bathe with their choice of fragrances, shampoos and soap as their favorite music plays in the background. Also, staff are beginning to plan their own work schedules around the needs of their residents – enabling them to honor both their own as well as their residents’ wishes.

Eight years after its inception, the QCC continues to strive toward its mission, widening its tent to include participants from over 40 nursing homes, legislators, New York State Department of Health regulators, national experts and other key stakeholders in working together for quality care.

To date, the QCC has hosted eight large-scale conferences. Together, the partnership teams have:

• Laid the foundation for joint work through the development of a shared language and vision of long-term care’s future;
• Gained a historical perspective of how today’s “nursing home” evolved;
• Heard from pioneers in the long-term care movement about the overall concepts and elements necessary to transform traditional facilities into homes;
• Learned various national staffing approaches that have been developed to move homes toward person-centered care;
• Attended workshops about the various skills, training, supervision, and decision-making abilities needed to shift organizational culture;
• Participated in national long-term care conferences focused on person-centered care; and
• Learned of resources available to build support for nursing home changes and how to access them.

QCC participants have remained steadfast in their commitment to work jointly to achieve their personal visions of long-term care through creative solutions to current roadblocks and challenges. The fortitude and commitment of QCC participants have been extraordinary and deserving of acknowledgement, but there is still more to do. In the motto of the QCC – “Together We Can!” – the journey continues!

QCC CONFERENCES: 2003 – Present

• Understanding Our System of Long-Term Care
• Together We Can…Build a Person-Centered Culture
• Staffing New Models of Person-Centered Care
• Getting from Here to There: Joint Strategies for Achieving Person-Centered Care
• Reflect, Renew, and Rejoice: Celebrating Our Past…Planning Our Future
• Advancing Culture Change: Jointly Creating Opportunities and Overcoming Barriers
• Navigating a New Course for Long-Term Care
• Leading for Tomorrow in Times of Great Change
• Building Bridges to the Future of Long Term Care

For more information about the Quality Care Community please contact the Labor Management Project at (212) 894-4314/ 4315.