Wingate at East Longmeadow Earns Quality Award

EAST LONGMEADOW — Wingate at East Longmeadow, a skilled-nursing and rehabilitation center, has been recognized as a 2014 recipient of the Bronze Commitment to Quality Award for its dedication to improving the lives of residents through quality care.

Only four skilled-nursing facilities in the Commonwealth received the Bronze recognition his year. The award is the first of three distinctions possible through the National Quality Award program, presented by the American Health Care Assoc. and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL). The program honors centers across the nation that have demonstrated their commitment to improving quality care for seniors and individuals with disabilities.

“I applaud Wingate at East Longmeadow for its commitment to delivering quality care,” said Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of AHCA/NCAL. “This award represents the dedication they have given to improve quality in the long-term and post-acute care profession.”

Implemented by AHCA/NCAL in 1996, the National Quality Award Program is centered on the core values and criteria of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. The program assists providers of long-term and post-acute care services in achieving their performance excellence goals.

Owned by Wingate Healthcare, Wingate at East Longmeadow is a 135-bed skilled-nursing facility that provides both short- and long-term care following an injury or illness. The community provides a wide range of post-acute care and rehabilitation services, including orthopedic rehabilitation, cardiac rehabilitation, wound care, and physical therapy, and is known for its unique ‘pavilion suites,’ which provide post-acute care in a luxurious, hotel-like setting.

Next month, Wingate at East Longmeadow will open a ventilator-care program, providing one of the only non-hospital options available in the region. The community is one of six skilled-nursing facilities in Western Mass. that are owned by Wingate Healthcare.

“We are thrilled to receive this award,” said Jeff Heinze, administrator of Wingate at East Longmeadow. “From nursing to maintenance, our team works incredibly hard to ensure that our residents receive the absolute best care in the best possible environment, and to have this commitment recognized nationally is a great honor.”