LOCAL CAREGIVER RECEIVES TOP HONOR AT ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Chelsey Hargrove, CNA at Chaffee Nursing Center, Skilled Nursing by Americare, recently received The Caregiver of the Year award, the top honor at the company�s annual Caregiver Conference held in St. Louis. Nearly 300 of Americare�s top frontline staff from the company�s 110 communities attended the conference having been nominated by their peers and community residents.

The Caregiver of the Year distinction goes to one individual who best exemplifies Americare�s philosophy in the delivery of outstanding resident care and customer service. This award seeks to highlight an individual who not only provides outstanding resident care themselves, but has influenced the quality care provided by co-workers.

Ms. Hargrove has been with Chaffee Nursing Center for 10 years. Her nomination cites the selfless ways she has served the residents at the community. Chelsey is described as the �go to� person at Chaffee Nursing Center. She is always patient with new employees and never gets too excited over anything. She is quiet and reserved, but has a witty sense of humor, with a heart of gold. She fosters an environment of peace and humor for all. She has worked hard to achieve the rank of Customer Experience Officer as part of the company�s customer service training program serves as a mentor for new caregivers.

Nominations for the award are submitted and reviewed by a panel of individuals selected with the help of the National Association of Certified Nurse Aides. No members of the judging panel have any ties to Americare and review each nomination on its merits � never knowing the name of the nominee or the location of their community.

�I�m thrilled to have been given the Caregiver of the Year award by Americare,� comments Ms. May. �I love my job here at Chaffee Nursing Center and thank all my fellow employees and residents who made this possible. It was so unexpected. So many of my co-workers also deserve this award. This company really values the work we do as direct care staff and the annual conference is just one example of their commitment to us,� she adds.

According to Americare President, Clay Crosson, the purpose of the annual Caregiver Conference is to both honor and education the company�s frontline staff. During the two-day conference this year�s attendees participated in a half-day workshop with a nationally recognized expert and speaker on person-centered care, Jolene Brackey. Ms. Brackey�s realistic role playing equipped the caregivers with new strategies to engage, calm and redirect those with memory impairment in their care settings. Attendees then participated in break-out sessions to help the leadership team tackle the challenges of talent recruitment and retention. The conference ended with an energetic hands-on workshop with the Drum Caf� which reinforced the importance of teamwork.

�But the awards are definitely the highlight of the event,� comments Crosson. �The goal of the judging process is to have nominations reviewed from the perspective of a resident or their family because that�s our true measure of quality. It�s how it feels to our customer, not whether we meet some regulatory standard or benchmark. Just by being nominated to attend the conference you�re considered a winner,� he finishes.

In addition to this top award, Americare also recognizes two caregivers in five different categories each year. As The Caregiver of the year, Ms. Hargrove receives $1000 and she and a guest will attend the company�s annual leadership conference, being held this year in Kansas City, where she will again be honored.

�We are so proud of Chelsey,� comments Director of Nursing, Misty Wilhite. �She truly represents the best of the best and all those who know her here at Chaffee Nursing Center know how deserving she is of this award� she finishes.

Chaffee Nursing Center is a Skilled Nursing community located at Hwy 77 North in Chaffee, Missouri.