Attachment H -- Recruitment Letter, Brochure & Followup Postcards

Recruitment Letter

Assisted Living

Provider Information Tool

for Consumer Education

Date

Dear __________,

We are writing to ask you to participate in a test of a provider questionnaire designed to improve consumer information about assisted living.

The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Center for Excellence in Assisted Living have been collaborating with the major assisted living provider organizations and other national organizations to develop a standardized assisted living provider information tool. The long-range intent of this effort is that:

1. assisted living providers will complete the voluntary information tool, and

2. the information obtained from providers will be transformed into a consumer-friendly format to help consumers search for an assisted living residence that best fits their needs and preferences.

We are currently testing the questionnaire that providers will be asked to complete and we hope you will participate in this voluntary testing. When completing the questionnaire, we would like you to focus on terminologies that you, as a provider, commonly use; wordings that consumers can understand may be tested at a later time. Information gathered during this testing phase will be kept confidential to the extent permitted by law, including AHRQ’s confidentiality statute, 42USC 299c-3(c). Based on our preliminary testing, we expect the questionnaire will take approximately 25 minutes to complete.

The following organizations participated in developing the information tool, and encourage your participation in its testing:

Provider Organizations	Consumer Organizations
American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA) Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA) National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL)	AARP Center for Excellence in Assisted Living (CEAL) Consumer Consortium on Assisted Living (CCAL) National Association of State Ombudsmen Programs (NASOP) The Pioneer Network
Professional Organizations American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA) Gerontological Society of America Assisted Living Special Interest Group (GSA AL-SIG) National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF)	Government Agencies U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

We know you are busy and your time is valuable, so please know that your participation will make a real difference in making information on assisted living more transparent and accessible to consumers. We enclose a press release that you can use to notify others of your participation in this project.

Different endings depending on which mailing the letter is for:

1. Pre-notice letter: You will receive the questionnaire in the mail within the next week, and we hope you will complete it at that time. Thank you for your consideration.

2. First questionnaire mailing: The questionnaire is also enclosed. If you have questions about this effort, or specific questions about the questionnaire please contact xxxx at xxx-xxx-xxxx. If you have questions about your rights as a participant in this pilot test, please call xxxxx at xxx-xxx-xxxx. Thank you for your participation – your time is greatly appreciated.

3. Second questionnaire mailing: This is the second mailing of this material, because we have not yet received your completed survey. Another copy of the questionnaire is enclosed. If you have questions about the questionnaire or this entire effort, please contact xxxx at xxx-xxx-xxxx. If you have questions about your rights as a participant in this pilot test, please call xxxx at xxx-xxx-xxxx. Thank you for your participation – your time and input are greatly appreciated.

4. Final questionnaire mailing: This is the third mailing of this material, because we have not yet received your completed survey. Another copy of the questionnaire is enclosed. If you have questions about the questionnaire or this entire effort, please contact xxxx at xxx-xxx-xxxx. If you have questions about your rights as a participant in this pilot test, please call xxxx at xxx-xxx-xxxx. Thank you for your participation – your time and input are greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

DEB Potter David Kyllo Steve Maag

Co-chair, Co-Chair Chair

Assisted Living Collaborative Assisted Living Collaborative Center for Excellence

U.S. Agency for Healthcare Executive Director, in Assisted Living

Research and Quality National Center for Assisted Living

ALDC Brochure

Assisted Living

Provider Information Tool

for Consumer Education

In 2006, an expert panel convened by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recommended that AHRQ develop standardized information about individual assisted living settings to help consumers make informed choices when selecting an assisted living (AL) residence.

Following this recommendation, AHRQ partnered with the Center for Excellence in Assisted Living to develop a uniform AL consumer information tool. This partnership resulted in the formation of the Assisted Living Collaborative. The Collaborative was charged with developing a uniform provider information tool and instructions via a national, voluntary process; overseeing efforts to field test the information tool and data collection processes; and translating the data collected via the provider information tool into information that is useful to consumers.

The work of the Collaborative is being conducted in three phases:

Phase I, Development: Phase I of the project was conducted from June 2008 through April 2010, and centered on development of the provider information tool, instructions for completion of the tool, and recruitment materials for the field testing phase of the project. The tool includes items related to characteristics of AL communities such as size, affiliation, move-in and move-out criteria, staffing information, available services, fees, resident’s rights, house rules, life safety features. In December 2009, the Collaborative unanimously voted to approve the provider information tool for field testing.

Phase II, Field Testing: Phase II centers on testing the provider information tool for comprehension and variability with AL providers through cognitive interviews and mailed self-administration. Phase II began in October 2009 and is scheduled for completion in November 2011.

Phase III, Education: Phase III will center on reformatting and dissemination of the information collected through the provider information tool so that it is useable by consumers. Planning is underway for Phase III.

Provider Organizations	Consumer Organizations
American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA) Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA) National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL)	AARP Center for Excellence in Assisted Living (CEAL) Consumer Consortium on Assisted Living (CCAL) National Association of State Ombudsmen Programs (NASOP) The Pioneer Network
Professional Organizations American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA) Gerontological Society of America Assisted Living Special Interest Group (GSA AL-SIG) National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF)	Government Agencies U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

Assisted Living

Provider Information Tool

for Consumer Education

Recently, we mailed a questionnaire to you as part of a field test to collect information from assisted

living providers to help inform consumers about options in assisted living.

• If you have returned the questionnaire, thank you.

• If you have not yet returned the questionnaire, please take a few minutes now to complete and return

the questionnaire.

• If you did not receive the questionnaire, have misplaced it, or have any questions about this effort,

please contact XXXX at 1-800-XXX-XXXX.

Thank you!

1^st Follow-up Postcard

2^nd Follow-up Postcard

Assisted Living

Provider Information Tool

for Consumer Education

We are waiting to hear from you!

Your input will help test a tool that will be used to collect information consumers

can use when seeking an assisted living community.

If you have already completed and returned your questionnaire, thank you!

If not, please do so as soon as possible!

If you have any questions about this effort, please call XXXX at 1-XXX-XXXX.

3^rd Follow-up Postcard

Assisted Living

Provider Information Tool

for Consumer Education

We are waiting to hear from you!

Your input will help test a tool that will be used to collect information consumers can use

when seeking an assisted living community.

If you have already completed and returned your questionnaire, thank you! If not, please

do so as soon as possible!

** All input must be received by April XX, 2012 to be included in the field testing **

If you have any questions about this effort, please call XXXX at 1-XXX-XXXX.