The George Mason University (GMU) Department of Health Administration and Policy announced three senior housing communities were the recipients of awards as part of its 7th Annual Healthcare Quality Improvement of the Year Awards. The awards recognize programs and services focused on improving quality within healthcare organizations which include senior housing and long-term care improvement.
“These teams and organizations should be incredibly proud of the work they are doing,” says Andrew Carle, director of the Program in Senior Housing Administration. “They are showing how the senior housing industry has evolved to professionally address the healthcare needs of aging populations, but without compromising housing environments that provide autonomy, dignity, and the highest respect for quality of life.”
Senior housing award winners included:
- The Senior Housing/Long Term Care Improvement Award was presented to Greenspring Village, an Erickson Living continuing care retirement community located in Springfield, Virginia, for their project “The Studio at Renaissance Gardens”. Through the project, Greenspring dedicated two years to a review and comprehensive reconstruction of its facilities, staffing, and programming for residents suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia. “The Studio”, a 44-bed program located within the community’s Renaissance Gardens Health Care Center, has resulted in a 67 percent reduction in the average medications required of residents, including a reduction to 15.9 percent of residents requiring psychotropic medications, compared to the national long term care average of 25.2 percent. The program is currently 100 percent occupied, with a wait list.
- The Health Systems Risk Improvement Award was awarded to MBK Senior Living, in Irvine, California, for its “MBK Senior Living’s Infection Prevention Program”. Each year MBK focuses on a specific infection issue through its interdisciplinary Infection Prevention Manual, staff training/coaching, and resident and family education. In 2010 efforts directed at addressing the Noro virus resulted in a 70 percent reduction in infection outbreaks, a 50 percent reduction in employee overtime, and zero community closures. For its achievements, MBK Senior Living was selected as the recipient of the Health Systems Risk Improvement award from across all entries, including those for hospitals and related healthcare providers.
- The Honorable Mention Award went to Belmont Village Senior Living, in Houston, Texas, for “Circle of Friends: An Assisted Living Program to Build Cognitive Reserve for Older Adults with MCI”. Recognizing the need to address issues of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) in assisted living residents, Belmont implemented a program to provide daily structure and targeted activities to both improve quality of life and delay the need for higher level dementia care for afflicted residents. In pilot communities in which specific clinical data was reviewed, residents achieved 55-57 percent maintenance or improvement in Folstein Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) performance. Additionally resident and family satisfaction for the program across 18 Belmont communities was reported at 90 percent or higher. The program has also achieved operating margins of over 40 percent and a compounded rate of growth of 33 percent per year since the program’s inception in 2007.
