About NCAL
Becoming an NCAL Member
Your source for leadership in the assisted living profession, serving our members through consumer education, networking opportunities,
public affairs, professional development and a respected voice in public
policy advocacy.
The National Center For Assisted Living (NCAL) is the assisted living voice of the American Health Care Association (AHCA), the nation’s largest organization representing long term care. The diversification of long term care has brought rapid growth to the assisted living profession, and NCAL is an essential resource for professionals in the field. Our role continues to expand to meet your needs as the role of assisted living providers becomes more important than ever. As a member, you’ll benefit from our experienced attention to your needs in all aspects of the assisted living profession. Our diverse publications, award-winning Internet site, educational programs and public policy advocacy will enhance your professional stature and will support your commitment to excellence.
Through our national federation of state affiliates, NCAL supports lobbying efforts at the state level. While NCAL primarily focuses on federal issues, we provide the support our state affiliates need to impact policy decisions regarding assisted living issues.
Government Relations
NCAL’s state affiliates actively represent assisted living providers’ interest in state regulatory issues. In recent years, assisted living has received increased attention at the federal level. Congress, the Department of Labor, the General Accounting Office, the Institute of Medicine and the Department of Health and Human Services have examined various aspects of assisted living operations.
NCAL and AHCA work together to offer strong federal representation and have the largest long term care federal relations team in Washington, D.C. Both NCAL and AHCA are recognized as leading and trusted sources of information and opinions by policymakers and regulators. Whether we’re serving on a federal agency task force or testifying before Congress, NCAL ensures that our members’ voices are heard.
Communications
Public Relations
NCAL gets the word out. The public’s perception of assisted living
affects all of your staff members and the environment in which providers
operate. Whether delivered through news releases, direct media mailings,
media interviews or responses to media queries, NCAL’s research and
positions find their way into newspapers, magazines and newsletters reaching
the public and other critical audiences.
Reaching out to your prospective customers is also a priority of NCAL. A Consumer’s Guide to Assisted Living and Residential Care is designed to help consumers select an assisted living facility that’s right for them. It provides a description of services and includes a checklist and cost calculator.
www.ncal.org, NCAL’s award-winning Internet site, now averages more than 100,000 hits each month. Web site features include consumer and long term care information, a weekly electronic update of issues and trends, regulatory issues, previews of and order forms for publication, other assisted living products and “members only” information. More product information can be found at www.ncalpublications.org, or you can call (800) 321-0343.
National Assisted Living Week®, created and sponsored by NCAL, is an annual celebration, held each September, designed to raise awareness of the assisted living profession and to encourage community support. Each year, NCAL develops an original National Assisted Living Week® Planning Guide as well as a product catalog for its members. Both are designed to promote the quality of services in assisted living residences nationwide.
Professional Publications
Whether you prefer your professional updates in news summaries, in-depth
reports, or timely e-mails, as an NCAL member you’ll enjoy the benefits
of a variety of publications aimed at various aspects of the profession.
NCAL’s FOCUS, a monthly newsletter, covers the latest business news, trends, regulatory activity and legislative developments and provides examples of some of the best practices in assisted living residences across the nation.
Provider is a solution-oriented monthly magazine that offers readers pragmatic, hands-on guidance regarding the entire long term care continuum, including extensive coverage of assisted living issues.
NCAL’s e-newsletter, ncal connections, is dedicated to keeping members informed of developing events in assisted living and at NCAL. It is distributed to the association’s leadership, state affiliates, and associate business members.
The AHCA/NCAL Gazette is a daily publication designed to keep state association leaders informed of state and national news that affects long term care professionals so they can incorporate what’s happening nationwide into their decision making at the state level.
AHCA Notes is a monthly newsletter that updates NCAL members on long term care trends as well as state and national regulatory and legislative activity.
Additional Resources
NCAL periodically publishes guidance resources for providers. NCAL
is committed to ethical marketing practices and full disclosure. NCAL recently
published The Power of Ethical Marketing and distributes complimentary
copies to all interested parties upon request.
Professional Development
NCAL is committed to quality assisted living services and provides tools and educational products designed for the assisted living professional. NCAL and AHCA maintain a professional staff of experts who are available to answer member questions and who conduct original studies, surveys, and other timely research.
Together, NCAL and AHCA host an annual convention and offer educational seminars that are designed to keep assisted living professionals apprised of the latest trends, innovations, theories and legal developments that affect their operations. State affiliate associations also provide regional educational programs. Members receive discount prices on all professional development materials.
Research
NCAL and AHCA also collaborate to maintain the Mark A. Jerstad Information
Resource Center, which contains a wide collection of materials about assisted
living that can be accessed by members.
Our research division conducts studies to develop information and data that are issued by Wall Street analysts, national media and policymakers.
Quality
NCAL is committed to quality and performance excellence in the assisted living profession and actively supports Quality First, a covenant for healthy, affordable and ethical long term care, and adherence to its principles and goals. NCAL supports innovative programs and is working with its state affiliates to promote their testing and use. The future is filled with changes. NCAL will be there every step of the way.
July 2004