HCR ManorCare disclosed this week the formation of the HCR ManorCare Independent Advisory Committee on Quality, a three-person panel convened to provide recommendations and advice to the ManorCare Board of Directors.

The panel is comprised of Vincent Mor, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Community Health at the Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University; Robyn Stone, Dr.P.H., executive director for the Future of Aging Services and senior vice President of research for the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging; and Gail Wilensky, Ph.D., economist and senior fellow at Project HOPE. Wilensky was formerly administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (now the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services).

The move comes after the company recently faced strong criticism for selling itself to The Carlyle Group, a private equity firm. The Service Employees International Union argued that The Carlyle Group would place profits before care. The union also supported The Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act of 2008, which they said would hold firms like the Carlyle Group accountable for poor performance.