Cherokee County Health & Rehabilitation Center was awarded one of the most prestigious national awards in long-term health care last week in Hollywood, Fla.
The American Association of Post-Acute Care Nursing presented CCHRC Administrator Jennifer Cambron with the Organizational Excellence Award for implementing innovative practices to improve the quality of care for residents.
“We love our residents, and our focus on making their lives more fulfilling led us to start the Laughter is the Best Medicine program,” said Cambron, who was joined by six other CCHRC staff members in accepting the honor before hundreds of health care professionals from across the country.
Each month at CCHRC, residents go on an outing or join in fun activities they suggested and voted on.
“We went to the county fair, and some rode the easy-going roller coaster,” Cambron said. “We’ve had shrimp boils and tail-gating. As long as it is something we can do safely, we will try do it.”
They go bowling on Thursdays and a trip to Noccalula Falls Park in Gadsden is coming up.
“I want to say a big ‘thank you’ to our staff members who continue to make this possible,” Cambron said. “Most of them volunteer to do this, and they do it from the heart.”
The initiative, which started last June, would not have been possible without the support of Preferred Health Services Inc., which manages CCHRC and other long-term care facilities, and its Chief Executive Officer Trudy Lowe and President Jerry Culberson, Cambron said.
“They believed in this program from the beginning and helped us make it happen,” she said.
CCHRC Administrator Jennifer Cambron (fourth from left) accepts the Organizational Excellence Award from American Association of Post-Acute Care Board of Directors Member Jackie Pappalardi. Also accepting the award are, from left, Tina Abernathy, who performs clinical assessments at CCHRC; Leigh Rary, accounting at CCHRC; Pam Davis, chief financial officer at Preferred Health Services Inc., which serves CCHRC and other long-term care facilities; Madison Bone, director of nursing; Angela Edge, director of infection control and prevention, and Glen Davis, purchasing manager and safety officer at CCHRC.
CCHRC award winners join other American Association of Post-Acute Care Nursing convention participants in Hollywood, Fla., to celebrate the professional association’s 25th anniversary.
