Molly Schulte serves as Administrator at Winslow House Care Center, a skilled nursing community in Marion, Iowa. The center recently received the 2025 AHCA/NCAL Bronze National Quality Award, the first award in Winslow’s 52-year history.
The Quality Journey from Start to Now
Molly began Winslow’s quality journey after attending a workshop through the Iowa Health Care Association: “At first, the process felt daunting. The application asks big questions, and you wonder if you know enough to answer them, but going through the prompts and reflecting on what we do every day to improve residents’ lives opened my eyes to what sets Winslow apart. When you step back, you realize it’s really about monitoring, applying, and improving what we already do every day for our residents. Incorporating that into daily operations has been incredibly rewarding.”
Valuing People
At Winslow House, valuing people means honoring what matters most to residents: “We have a resident who, before admission, made dresses and clothing for a nonprofit that sent them to children in need in third world countries. When she came here, she couldn’t continue because of the setup required, and she missed it deeply because it gave her purpose.
“The activity director and I got together with the resident and her son and started brainstorming on how we could make this happen while still being aware of other residents’ safety. Our maintenance director ended up modifying a table so her sewing machine could fold out and be safely stored away. Now she has her own sewing station and can keep making dresses, which shows how far we’ll go to ensure residents have the quality of life they deserve.”
Customer-Focused Excellence
Customer-focused excellence at Winslow is rooted in supporting families through both the joyful and difficult times: “Earlier this year, we lost eight long term residents on hospice in just two months. It was so hard on families and our staff. Many of those families had been with us for years, and they were part of our Winslow family.
“But over the course of three weeks, I had not only most of my management team, but also several housekeepers, nurses, and other staff attend these services. It was very emotional, but incredibly meaningful to see my staff's names on these guest books at these funeral services and supporting the families through the loss of their loved ones. That kind of support isn’t typical customer service, but it shows who we are. We support families every step of the way, and I think that speaks volumes about who we have here in the building working for their loved ones.”
Innovation
Innovation at Winslow often means finding new ways to meet residents’ unique needs: “We have a resident that's been here for quite some time who was significantly affected by a stroke. She has severe aphasia and emotional imbalances, so her speech therapist worked for a long time to get her a Tobii communication device, which allows her to use her gaze to communicate.
“In my experience, it’s been rare to see this technology in long term care, especially in primarily Medicaid-funded buildings. But once we got it, we worked with therapy and staff and her to get that up and running and made some modifications under her wheelchair to be able to have it attached to her chair. It's been a game changer for her and her quality of life being able to verbally express her needs and desires.”
Societal Contribution
Winslow House also makes it a priority to give back to the community: “From August 19 to September 19, we run a contest to see who can raise the most money for the Alzheimer’s Foundation. So, we sell memorial flowers and windmills for people’s yards all leading up to the Walk to End Alzheimer’s on September 20.
“Also, every year we do free Easter egg hunts and trunk-or-treats for the little ones, and those are a huge hit. It’s incredible to see how many people come into our building. We also did raffle baskets for this year's Easter egg hunt, and every kid that participated received a raffle ticket. We also do holiday meals, food drives, and a coats-for-kids program. We want to be more than a care center; we want to be a part of the community.”
Looking Forward
Molly is already preparing for Winslow’s next step in the award journey: “My goal is to continue this journey and see how far I can take this. This was the first time that Winslow has won an award like this in its 52-year history. I'm all about achieving what others haven't, so I want to continue and follow the quality award journey all the way through.”
Final Advice
After achieving the Bronze level in the Quality Award journey, Molly shared some final advice about the award process: “Let go of expectations about what you’ll win and use the process as a tool to improve your quality. Even if you don’t submit, you’ll come out stronger because you’ll find areas to improve and make progress. A Quality Award mindset is like a QAPI mindset – always evaluating, identifying gaps, and building solutions. If you do that, you’ll be successful on this journey.”