Argentum lauds the work of member providers for bringing new ideas to the forefront in their communities, expanding the definition of caregiving for the benefit of residents.
Argentum, the voice for America’s senior living communities, has unveiled its Best of the Best award winners for 2022 honoring six member providers for innovative new programs and services that are working to improve the future of senior living.
Recipients are leaders in leveraging simple solutions or technology to enhance resident engagement and education and improving the overall resident experience.
“Congratulations to our 2022 Best of the Best Award Winners. Argentum members work daily to provide the level-best care and services for residents and these six communities are doing that and more with these ground-breaking new ideas on taking their caregiving efforts to the next level,” said James Balda, president and chief executive officer, Argentum.
Read about each community’s amazing accomplishments:
The Arbor Company Senior Living LIVE!
Designed to provide education and answer questions about senior living, caregiving health and other topics, Senior Living LIVE! is an engaging digital series with weekly webinar episodes shared online and across social media platforms. Content is available for anyone to access at no cost and The Arbor Company has materials transcribed to allow greater access to the information. In addition, each webinar is captioned to make the content available to as many people as possible, a feature that has been greatly appreciated by the deaf community.
Belmont Village Senior Living Iron Chef Competition
As the country began to emerge from the pandemic, Belmont Village staff wanted to galvanize a turnaround by doing something big, bold, and fun. They wanted to host a major event to unite staff, family, and residents in a communal enterprise, and the planning committee recognized that food is a vehicle for bringing people together, especially when they share in the preparation of a meal. This led to the creation of a two-month Iron Chef campaign and cook-off competition between five groupings of Belmont regions.
Benchmark Senior Living Virtual General Orientation Program
Designed as a blended or hybrid learning model, in which in-person instruction and onboarding activities supplement online components, Benchmark’s Virtual General Orientation program is offered weekly to new hires in all roles and from across the company. Online instruction is provided by master trainers from Benchmark’s corporate learning and development and mind and memory teams. The virtual element of the program allows learners to share their own experiences and perspectives during interactive chat discussions and the online classes cover important cultural and regulatory content, which is then reinforced with in-person training at each community.
Brookdale Senior Living Resident Advisory Council
As noted in their company Charter, the Brookdale National Advisory Council (NAC) is comprised of residents from Brookdale Independent Living communities throughout the United States. Council members bring unique knowledge of the resident experience to Brookdale senior management and help guide the organization toward its stated mission. The NAC provides accurate and timely perspectives on their communities and suggestions that help improve and enhance the resident experience.
Discovery Senior Living FlexChoice℠
Introduced in 2021, Discovery Senior Living rolled out FlexChoice℠ in select communities to help residents better use existing available services. It provides freedom and flexibility, rather than requiring “bundled” programming such as meal plans and all-inclusive service packages. With three tiers of program options, FlexChoice℠ allows each resident to choose which is best for their specific needs. This new approach is appealing to an incoming generation of residents that place a priority on experiences in addition to security, comfort, and access to health care.
Senior Lifestyle Corporation Inspired to be Better Together – Diversity in Senior Programs
The last two years brought about national discussion of more than just the pandemic. Topics on the minds of many also included conversations about what can be done to eradicate racism and promote inclusion, and it became clear there was a need for diversity training and cultural awareness among schools, organizations, businesses, and senior living communities. Senior Living Corporation knew this would take time, trial, and error to achieve and implement but wanted to take the first step in a new direction and identified a starting point and created the Inspired to be Better Together initiative.