LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Kindred Healthcare, Inc. (“Kindred”) (NYSE:KND) today announced that Kindred Nursing and Rehabilitation Center – Mountain Valley in Kellogg, Idaho, is one of four recipients of the 2016 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Mountain Valley is the first nursing center to receive a Baldrige Award in the program’s history.

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is presented annually by the President of the United States to recognize organizations that demonstrate quality achievement and performance excellence in seven key areas. The honorees are recognized for their outstanding commitment to sustainable excellence through innovation, improvement and visionary leadership.

“This award represents the highest honor that can be presented to American organizations for their quality achievements and outstanding performance and we are extremely proud of Mountain Valley for attaining this recognition,” said Benjamin A. Breier, President and Chief Executive Officer of Kindred. “All of the teammates at Mountain Valley embody Kindred’s mission, vision and commitment to patient-centered care.”

“Earning the Baldrige Award this year is an amazing achievement and reinforces Mountain Valley’s reputation as a national leader in best practices and represents a decade-long journey of continuous quality improvement,” said Michael Beal, President of Kindred’s Nursing Center Division. “This award is a direct result of their leadership, a commitment to their culture, ongoing education and a focus on patient satisfaction. Earning the coveted Baldrige Award is just one example of how Mountain Valley always challenges themselves to do better for their patients, families and community.”

Mountain Valley’s achievements include state and national honors. For the past 12 years, Mountain Valley received the State of Idaho L. Jean Schoonover Quality Award for quality of care and compliance with regulations. In 2016, Mountain Valley was one of only two nursing homes in the state to receive the L. Jean Schoonover Gold Award. In 2011, Mountain Valley earned a Gold - Excellence in Quality Award presented by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living. Mountain Valley has received a five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Five-Star Quality Rating System since the program’s first year in 2009. In 2016, they received the Providigm Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement Embracing Quality Award for exceptional achievement for customer satisfaction.

“This year’s honorees are trailblazers in innovation, small business, health care and sustainable textiles. Their visionary leadership is helping to power the economy and increase our ability to compete globally,” said U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker in announcing the award recipients today. “The Commerce Department proudly supports these four outstanding organizations for their unwavering commitment to performance excellence and their dedication to always reaching higher.”

The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology manages the Baldrige Award in cooperation with the private sector. The panel of judges recommended this year’s Baldrige Award recipients from a field of 34 applicants after an independent board of examiners evaluated their applications in seven areas defined by the Baldrige Criteria: leadership; strategy; customers; measurement, analysis and knowledge management; workforce; operations; and results. Of those 34, 15 organizations received site visits, which is a prerequisite to being named a recipient. An organization may compete for the award in one of six categories: manufacturing, service, small business, health care, education and nonprofit (including government agencies).

Since the first Baldrige Award recipients were recognized in 1988, through 2016, 106 organizations from a wide variety of industries have received the award. For more information, visit the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program website.

About Kindred Healthcare

Kindred Healthcare, Inc., a top-90 private employer in the United States, is a FORTUNE 500 healthcare services company based in Louisville, Kentucky with annual revenues of approximately $7.2 billion⁽¹⁾. As of October 1, 2016, Kindred through its subsidiaries had approximately 102,200 employees providing healthcare services in 2,702 locations in 46 states, including 82 long-term acute care hospitals, 19 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, 91 nursing centers, 19 sub-acute units, 647 Kindred at Home home health, hospice and non-medical home care sites of service, 104 inpatient rehabilitation units (hospital-based) and contract rehabilitation service businesses which served 1,740 non-affiliated sites of service. Ranked as one of Fortune magazine’s Most Admired Healthcare Companies for seven years, Kindred’s mission is to promote healing, provide hope, preserve dignity and produce value for each patient, resident, family member, customer, employee and shareholder we serve. For more information, go to www.kindredhealthcare.com. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

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