Close up image of a caretaker helping older woman walk

An overhaul of the American Health Care Association’s governing structure appears to have held off a major defection by some of its largest member companies.

“The majority” of the 15 members of the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care will remain with the association, according to AHCA spokeswoman Susan Feeney. Alliance leaders announced in August that members would be withdrawing support from AHCA national efforts in order to focus on creating the Alliance as an independent organization.

Shortly thereafter, AHCA President and CEO Hal Daub announced his resignation. Also, in October, the association streamlined several key governing committees. It named top executives from three Alliance members to a top AHCA governing panel.

On Tuesday, the Alliance named Alan Rosenbloom as its first president and reiterated its intention to establish an identity separate from AHCA in Washington. That announcement led AHCA to assert Wednesday that more Alliance members would remain with AHCA than would not. A full Alliance pullout would be a severe blow to AHCA, which has acknowledged such an event could cause it to lose 12.5% of its 2006 membership dues and have to resort to various cutbacks.

AHCA and Alliance representatives have maintained throughout that membership decisions would be left up to individual companies.

“Our focus is not on individual companies’ relationships with AHCA but on the Alliance continuing to cement itself as an independent organization,” said Alliance spokesman Jim Morrell on Wednesday.