Senior Living Communities Wins ALFA 2012 Best of the Best Award

2012-05-01

Senior Living Communities, a Charlotte, N.C.-based owner and operator of retirement communities in the Southeast and Midwest, today announced that it has won the ALFA ‘Best of the Best’ Award in the category of Clinical Wellness. This national award honors programs that are advancing business excellence in the field of senior living; 2012 marks the third consecutive year the company has won this award.

The company’s “purpose-based wellness programming” took home top honors in one of the competition’s most competitive categories, Clinical Wellness. Purpose-based wellness programming is a collection of wellness programs developed specifically to counter the effects of chronic diseases or afflictions common among older adults.

The company’s impetus for developing the wellness initiative was recent data which showed that a majority of Medicare, Medicaid and personal health care expenditures for adults 65 and older fall into two categories: the long-term management of chronic diseases and the immediate care required following a major, negative health event such as a fall or stroke.

Chief Communications Officer Katie Huffstetler says Senior Living Communities’ Purpose-Based Wellness Programming addresses these needs by offering Members alternative solutions to managing certain chronic diseases and by seeking to prevent avoidable health events such as falls. If a negative health event is considered unavoidable, she says the programming seeks to reduce a Member’s length-of-stay in a long-term care setting.

“For years now, we have made it our goal to lead the industry in developing wellness programs which can improve and extend the lives of older adults,” said Huffstetler. “This recognition is humbling – we think there’s a better way to approach long-term care and we are excited about the opportunity to share our findings with other providers.” In addition to its Best of the Best win, the company was also honored with a ‘Program to Spotlight’ award for Track 2 Success - a two-part program designed specifically for the purpose of empowering and retaining frontline Team Members.

Rick Grimes, president and CEO of ALFA, says the competition is designed to encourage the sharing of best practices.

“We have the honor to spread the good news about remarkable resident-centered programs fulfilling every aspect of senior-living operations, from wellness services to staff development,” said Grimes. “All of this year’s entries speak to the high standard of innovation and professionalism among our members and demonstrate their resourcefulness and ingenuity.”

Program submissions were judged for their uniqueness in the industry, innovative use of ideas from outside the industry, impact on residents, their families, staff and operations, embrace of industry core principles, the strength of quantitative and qualitative results, and strategic vision.

Winning programs and other innovative strategies are recognized in the May/June 2012 issue of the Senior Living Executive (www.alfapublications.org) and will be recognized at COMMUNITY 2012, the ALFA Conference and Expo. Learn more about the event for senior living executives at www.alfa.org/conference.