2012 Best of the Best Award Winners

The ALFA Best of the Best awards recognize innovative new programs and services that are creating the future of senior living.  Awards are given in eight categories of operational excellence; both senior living provider companies and companies offering products and services to senior living communities may enter.  ALFA also recognizes unique programs as Programs to Spotlight or Programs to Watch. Learn more about the Best of the Best awards.

View the full list and description of the:

• 2012 Best of the Best Winners
• 2012 Programs to Spotlight
• 2012 Programs to Watch
  
  

2012 Best of the Best Winners

RESIDENT HEALTH & WELLNESS CATEGORY
Senior Living Communities, based in Charlotte, NC, won for Purpose-based Wellness, a portfolio of unique resident-centered programs being piloted individually at 11 different Senior Living Communities’ residences.  Each program focuses on a specific area of wellness or disease management, such as Muscles in Motion for seniors living with Parkinson’s disease or COPD Cops for residents managing symptoms of chronic obtrusive pulmonary disease.  

SUPPORTING RESIDENTS & FAMILIES CATEGORY
Senior Lifestyle Corp., based in Chicago, won for Brain Health University, a comprehensive educational program that mimics an academic curriculum offering credited classes and a graduation ceremony.  Residents who typically avoided activities and programs are now some of the most engaged in Brain Health University.

RESIDENT DINING EXPERIENCE CATEGORY
Brookdale Senior Living, based in Brentwood, Tenn., is being honored for Menu Manager 8.0, a pre-planned 13-week menu cycle for Brookdale communities that includes customization for seasonality, regional availability of food, and nutritional requirements set forth by the FDA.  Each Brookdale community has the flexibility to modify menus based on resident preferences. 

TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION CATEGORY
Pathway Senior Living, based in Des Plaines, Ill., joined with Yardi Systems of Santa Barbara, Calif., to significantly simplify and automate management of Medicaid billing for Pathway communities offering a Medicaid option.  Medicaid billing and coding is a complex process.  The Pathway/Yardi Medicaid billing solution reduces the amount of time and effort applied to this function and provides a greater assurance of accuracy across state Medicaid programs.

RISK MANAGEMENT & INJURY REDUCTION CATEGORY
Emeritus Senior Living, based in Seattle, won for its Staff Safety Education Campaign designed for today’s workforce.  Choosing an infomercial format for this educational DVD series, Emeritus not only instructs its staff on safety, but sells it, too.  Emeritus is already experiencing decreases in workplace injury due to the infomercials and other efforts.

SALES & MARKETING CATEGORY
Five Star Senior Living, based in Newton, Mass., is being honored for its Step Up to the Plate Manager on Duty campaign.  The company formalized a campaign to empower and train the community management team and front desk staff to address resident, family and staff needs when the executive director is unavailable.  Each Five Star community now has a special toolbox of information and training resources to ensure the Manager on Duty has everything he or she needs to get the job done effectively.

HUMAN RESOURCES & STAFF DEVELOPMENT CATEGORY
Emeritus Senior Living, joined by Aegis Living, Leisure Care and Merrill Gardens, collaborated with Washington  State University School of Hospitality Business Management to develop and teach a semester-long class focused on senior living management to college juniors and seniors.  Through both classroom lecture and site visits, students are able to explore an area of career opportunity most never even knew existed.  The class grew from 14 students in the first semester to 36 students in the second semester due to its popularity.  The four companies are looking at ways to grow the class with the university.

PHYSICAL PLANT & ENVIRONMENTAL CATEGORY
Silverado Senior Living, based in Irvine, Calif., won for P.U.R.S.E. (Purchasing, Savings and Efficiencies), a centralized purchasing program to reduce waste and overall expense, while improving quality of service to communities, staff and residents.  Since introducing the program, Silverado has seen strong savings and staff buy-in due to a coordinated and focused campaign.

Winners and runners-up in each category are recognized in the May/June  issue of Senior Living Executive magazine (alfapublications.org).  The winning best practices will be recognized at COMMUNITY 2012, the ALFA Conference and Expo, May 16-18, in Dallas. Learn more about this gathering of senior living executives at alfa.org/conference.