Building a state coalition for nursing home excellence.
OBJECTIVE
This article describes the successful evolution of a state coalition for nursing home excellence that brought together organizations that had once worked in silos to improve the quality of care through the implementation of culture change for Arkansas' 240 nursing homes with 27,700 residents.


METHODS
The Coalition was established in 2004 when stakeholders were invited to participate in a retreat to explore how they could come together with a common goal to improve the care of older Arkansans. These stakeholders were encouraged to bring their organization's perspectives to the Coalition and determine ways to work with others. The continuous refinement of the Coalition's activities involved revisiting goals of the Coalition, assessing the need for other stakeholders, identifying gaps and overlaps in quality and culture change programming, and providing feedback to Coalition members.


RESULTS
The Coalition stakeholders had the leadership to articulate and mobilize others around a common vision of improving quality of care in nursing homes through culture change. Over time, the Coalition members developed a willingness to share resources and to speak as one voice.


CONCLUSIONS
Stakeholders from diverse organizations and governing bodies can come together to complement each other's work and collaborate on programs to build a better system of care for the frail and elderly persons across a state. The success of this statewide effort lends support for policies that encourage regional coalitions of providers to improve care.
*Address correspondence to Cornelia Beck, RN, Departments of Geriatrics and Psychiatry, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 West Markham Street, Slot 808, Little Rock, AR 72205-719. E-mail: beckcornelia@uams.edu.
Cornelia
C
Beck
Kathie J
KJ
Gately
Sandra
S
Lubin
Peggy
P
Moody
Claudia
C
Beverly
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001131:Arkansas; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006707:Homes for the Aged / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D007857:Leadership; D008134:Long-Term Care; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000592:standards*; D015279:Organizational Culture; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D058996:Quality Improvement
Culture change; Nursing homes; Quality of care; State coalition