HMS Exists to Protect and Advance Healthcare Quality

Healthcare quality is just an abstract concept to anyone who hasn’t had a loved one — or spent time themselves receiving care — in a nursing home or other healthcare facility. Then, quality becomes personal. From the temperature of a room to the time it takes to summon a nurse’s help when it’s urgently needed, healthcare quality is reflected in the actual lived experience of the people relying on competent care, as well as in a long list of measures monitored through periodic government-mandated audits and surveys.

Before founding Healthcare Management Solutions, LLC (HMS), President & Owner Leah Heimbach discovered how important healthcare quality is for vulnerable populations while her mother and father-in-law were in nursing homes. She learned that oversight is a crucial component of quality. She learned that the federal and state laws established to ensure that healthcare facilities meet high standards of care are only as strong as the oversight and enforcement of those laws.

Celebrating Healthcare Quality

It’s vital to raise public awareness about what healthcare quality truly means and for spotlighting the positive impact healthcare quality professionals have in their organizations and communities. But for HMS, protecting vulnerable populations and ensuring healthcare quality by evaluating facilities’ adherence to federal and state standards is a year-round commitment.

The stakes are high. An estimated five million elders are abused each year, according to the National Association of Nursing Home Attorneys. Nearly one in every 10 Americans over the age of 60 have experienced some form of elder abuse.

HMS sees a whole range of healthcare quality in action when we survey nursing homes around the nation. Most facilities do a great job. But some don’t do as well as they should, and the difference between mediocre and excellent is extremely important for families who have entrusted their loved ones to a facility’s care.

Quality-Care Resources

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Nursing Home Quality Initiative helps Americans understand the quality measures applied to these facilities, and even provides a website that helps consumers compare the quality of healthcare facilities in their area: https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/.
HMS’ world-class staff is committed to identifying ways that care and outcomes can be improved. Heimbach herself sets high standards and only hires people who truly embody HMS’ focus on care and compassion, combined with deep skill and experience — qualifications that are essential to the survey work that HMS performs throughout the year for federal agencies as well as state governments all around the U.S.