National Center for Assisted Living Recognizes 2007 Award Winners for Commitment, Leadership, and Outstanding Activity Programming
Contact:
Lisa Gelhaus, NCAL, (202) 898-2825
For Immediate Release
August 21, 2007
Washington, DC –The National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) proudly announces the recipients of the 2007 NCAL Awards: the Noble Caregiver in Assisted Living, the Administrator of the Year, and the National Assisted Living Week Programming Award.
Noble Caregiver in Assisted Living: Brenda Caudillo, a medication aide at the Golden Living Community in Scottsbluff, Neb., is the 2007 Noble Caregiver in Assisted Living. Caudillo’s commitment to residents in her daily care is conveyed through her personal work philosophy of getting to know her residents as individuals and to make each day their best. Everyday Caudillo asks her residents about what affects them ranging from family happenings, and health conditions to foods they like and dislike. She advocates for each resident’s excellence by identifying their risks, and addresses those areas before they become problems. Residents love her and she returns that love by baking them special treats or helping them with their crafts during activities. She has worked for the Golden Living Community for the past 19 years.
Administrator of the Year Award: Helen Crunk of Nebraska City, the administrator of Victoria Gardens, located Bellevue, Neb., is this year’s recipient of the NCAL Administrator of the Year award. Crunk is administrator of an assisted living residence for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. The facility’s residents, their families, caregiving staff, and the local community regard her highly for her commitment and expertise on Alzheimer’s. Crunk designs activity programs with residents past and present interests in mind. She attends every event. Her outreach to families includes spending countless hours helping them to cope and understand Alzheimer’s disease. She leads her caregiving staff by example. She conducts monthly staff meetings to show caregivers how state regulations apply to their jobs. In addition, she and her caregiving team sold muffins in the facility and donated thousands of dollars to the local Alzheimer’s Association chapter. Her passion has motivated many people to participate in the annual Alzheimer’s walk. She has been a consultant on designs for assisted living facilities specializing in the care of Alzheimer’s disease. She has testified before the state legislature and often volunteers to speak on caregiving to this special population. Her peers elected president of her Nebraska Assisted Living Association district for two consecutive terms.
National Assisted Living Week (NALW) Programming Award: The Village at Regional West in Scottsbluff, Neb. designed activities for the 2006 NALW that best exemplified the Hearts in Harmony theme. Activities involved facility residents, employees, and local community, and highlighted values everyone could celebrate and relate to such as the importance of relationships with family and friends, or sharing good times. A carry-in dinner allowed everyone to share a meal, laughter, music, entertainment with a time of reflection and a photo for reminiscing. A local motivational speaker discussed the importance of communication and caring between family members, residents, and staff. Resident participation in a Senior Olympics used exercises as a way to stress the importance of strong hearts. Staff created a Mexican Independence Day fiesta to promote appreciation of different cultures.
“We were provided with tools for greater acceptance of our differences, ability to see mystery in the ordinary, and openness to experience and appreciate new things,” wrote Karen Vorse, administrator of the Village at Regional West.
These award winners were selected from applications submitted from NCAL member facilities nationwide. The winners will be recognized during the awards ceremony being held during the 58th Annual AHCA/NCAL/MECF Convention & Exposition to be held in Boston, Mass. Oct. 7-10, 2007.
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The American Health Care Association (AHCA) and National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) represents nearly 11,000 non-profit and proprietary facilities dedicated to continuous improvement in the delivery of professional and compassionate care provided daily by millions of caring employees to 1.5 million of our nation’s frail, elderly and disabled citizens who live in nursing facilities, assisted living residences, subacute centers and homes for persons with mental retardation and developmental disabilities. For more information, please visit www.ahca.org.