Materials are due June 1, 2010

Candidate Application and Questionnaire for All Candidates to AHCA and NCAL National Office

All prospective candidates for election to AHCA or NCAL national offices must complete the application and the questionnaire, which provides the candidates with the opportunity to outline their qualifications for leadership and articulate their vision for AHCA or NCAL and the long term care industry.  As part of the application process, each candidate also must disclose certain information related to the facilities with which he or she is associated.  Finally, all candidates must submit a signed consent for participation in the 2010 elections process, a signed conflict of interest statement and two professional letters of reference.

Certification Process for All Candidates for AHCA or NCAL Office

Under the certification process, all prospective candidates for national office are required to submit the aforementioned information and materials to assist the Ethics Committee in   assessing: 1) the prospective candidate’s standing in the local community and in the long term care profession; 2) the candidate’s ability to represent AHCA or NCAL, and 3) the candidate’s commitment to quality care.

The Committee shall undertake the following:

Review survey data for facilities (nursing homes only) owned and/or operated by the candidate

Using the Medicare and Medicaid provider numbers to be supplied by each prospective candidate, the Ethics Committee will obtain the publicly-available survey-related data on the provider facilities that are owned and/or operated by the prospective candidates (“OSCAR data”). This survey information includes reports on:

• The number of deficiencies found in the past three years within facilities owned and/or operated by a prospective candidate.
• Findings of substandard quality of care that result in fines, denial of payment for new admissions or for all residents, temporary management, or termination.

The Committee will consider such factors as (1) the number of facilities above 110 percent of the median for state-wide deficiencies; (2) the average number of deficiencies for each candidates grouping of facilities in each state compared with the state average number of deficiencies; and (3) quality of care versus administrative type deficiencies.

After reaching a decision as to their certification, each prospective candidate will be notified by the Committee. If a candidate is determined to be “not certified,” he or she will have an opportunity to have the Committee reconsider its decision.

The determination as to whether a prospective candidate has been deemed certified or not is not made publicly known unless or until the prospective candidate decides to run for national office. If a prospective candidate decides to seek office, the Committee’s final findings regarding certification will be provided to the COS, or NCAL Board of Directors and NCAL State Leaders, prior to the Candidate’s Forum and the Elections.

The Committee’s goal in reviewing this data is not to disqualify prospective candidates from participating in the AHCA national election process due to isolated lapses in quality in one of their provider facilities, but rather to ensure that those seeking to lead AHCA and NCAL continually strive to meet high quality standards within their facility operations.

The Committee has established the precedent that a candidate’s qualifications for national office cannot be disassociated from the operational history of the facilities with which the candidate is associated, whether it be by ownership, lease, management or other economic interests.

Conduct telephone interviews with regulators in states in which the candidate operates and with long term care providers, provider representatives, and members of the local community in which the candidate operates.

Members of the Committee will also conduct telephone interviews with regulators in states in which prospective candidates operate, long term care providers and provider representatives who may have been acquainted with the prospective candidate and his or her operations, and members of the local community in which the prospective candidate operated. Members of the Committee may also check with state law enforcement agencies and/or better business bureaus.

Conduct personal in-person or phone interviews with new candidates

For candidates who have not previously run for national office and have, consequently, not been interviewed by AHCA’s Ethics Committee, an opportunity will be arranged for a meeting or phone call between the candidate and the Committee. The interview will allow for a broader discussion of any issues of interest, either to the candidate or to members of the Committee.

Committee Decisions

From all the information described above, the Committee will attempt to objectively and reasonably assess, based solely upon this information, whether the prospective candidate reflects the values and embraces the vision of AHCA and NCAL, as outlined in the AHCA/NCAL Philosophy of Leadership. 

The outcome of the certification process will designate a prospective candidate as “certified,” or “not certified.” The Committee’s judgment of “certified” is not to be construed as an overall endorsement by the Committee of a candidate’s character or appropriateness to a particular office.

AHCA/NCAL staff will not be involved in the certification process except to provide occasional clerical support. All deliberations of the Committee will be conducted in private and treated as confidential. AHCA’s General Counsel will be responsible for coordinating, with the Chairman, all meetings of the Committee, advising the Committee on disseminating information to the candidates, and reporting the results of the Committee’s deliberations.