Long Term Care Organizations Congratulate
CMS Administrator Nominee
Statement of Bruce Yarwood, President and CEO
American Health Care Association &
National
Center for Assisted Living:
Contact:
Susan Feeney, AHCA/NCAL, (202) 898-9354
For Immediate Release
May 4, 2007
“The American Health Care Association (AHCA) and National Center for Assisted Living congratulate Kerry Weems on his nomination to serve as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Upon his confirmation by the U.S. Senate, we intend to work with him to ensure both government and profession-wide long term care quality initiatives continue to succeed on behalf of America’s most vulnerable seniors.
As a 24 year veteran of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Mr. Weems has had the opportunity to witness the evolution of the long term care continuum, and develop a unique understanding of how establishing a culture of cooperation with the provider community can benefit all long term care stakeholders – particularly consumers.
A strong, dynamic, adequately funded long term care sector is essential to guarantee that every American has ready access to quality long term care, and we look forward to working with Mr. Weems, CMS and this Congress to ensure the concepts of more disclosure, enhanced transparency and a greater focus on consumer needs are the basis for ongoing progress.”
The American Health Care Association (AHCA) and National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) represents nearly 11,000 non-profit and proprietary facilities dedicated to continuous improvement in the delivery of professional and compassionate care provided daily by millions of caring employees to 1.5 million of our nation’s frail, elderly and disabled citizens who live in nursing facilities, assisted living residences, subacute centers and homes for persons with mental retardation and developmental disabilities. For more information, please visit www.ahca.org.