AHCA elects members of defector group to Board of Governors

The American Health Care Association has elected three leaders from a rival organization, the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care, to its newly created 15-member Board of Governors.

Norman Estes of NHS Management is the new vice chair, the second-highest position. Edward Kuntz of Kindred Healthcare and Richard Pell of Genesis HealthCare are members-at-large. Kuntz reportedly has said Kindred will now remain fully with AHCA, rather than withdrawing as previously announced. It was not clear at deadline how many of the other alliance members would take part in the alliance’s announced pullback from AHCA national affairs.

AHCA’s election took place last week during the association’s national convention in Las Vegas. It came just weeks after the 15-member Alliance threatened to withdraw from the association. Former CEO Hal Daub resigned following the announcement from the group.

AHCA voted for many structural changes last week, in large part due to the shakeup at the organization. Among them: It replaced the 500-member House of Delegates with a 49-member Council of States; it pared down its board members to 15 from 75; and reduced its executive committee to five from 15. (Published on 10-25-05)