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Ceca Foundation Partners with Pennsylvania Health Care Association
Innovative Pilot Program Will Recognize Skilled Nursing Facility Workers
WASHINGTON, DC, May 1, 2018 – Ceca Foundation, established in 2014 to celebrate caregiver excellence, is partnering with the Pennsylvania Health Care Association (PHCA) to pilot its innovative Ceca Award program with five PHCA member facilities in central Pennsylvania.
Ceca, a 501(c)3 operating foundation, provides a turnkey caregiver recognition solution and underwrites most of the costs. It has partnered with 25 hospitals, nursing, hospice and mental health partners, in the mid-Atlantic region.
The Pennsylvania Health Care Association (PHCA) advocates for compassionate, quality, long-term care for Pennsylvania’s elderly and disabled residents. Its more than 500 members include long-term care and senior service providers who tend to the needs of more than 50,000 elderly and disabled individuals.
“We are delighted to partner with Ceca to recognize and reward the wonderful work performed by caregivers in our member skilled nursing, personal care and assisted living facilities,” stated W. Russell McDaid, President and CEO of PHCA. “That Ceca Foundation defines all employees as “caregivers” speaks to the teamwork and dedication that are hallmarks of association members.”
The pilot participants, introduced by PHCA and selected by Ceca Foundation, include the following:
- Genesis Healthcare Gettysburg, located in Gettysburg, PA, is one of Genesis HealthCare group’s more than 450 centers across 30 states
- Heritage Springs is a 62-bed specialty Alzheimer’s, dementia and memory care facility in Lewisburg, PA
- Transitions Healthcare Gettysburg is a 135-bed facility also located in Gettysburg, PA, and part of the Transitions Healthcare Group, which has eight facilities across Maryland and Pennsylvania
- Falling Spring Nursing and Rehab Center, located in Chambersburg, PA is a 186-bed facility and part of Fundamental Long-Term Care Holdings, LLC
- Shippensburg Health Care Center provides skilled nursing services in its 125-bed facility in Shippensburg, PA. It is also part of Fundamental Long-Term Care, which has 97 locations across nine states
“Pennsylvania has one of the nation’s largest disabled and senior populations in the U.S. residing in healthcare communities. By working together with our healthcare partners, we look to promote staff engagement and improve resident-patient care,” stated Matthew Lawlor, CEO of Ceca.
The pilot is managed by Nate Hamme, COO of Ceca Foundation, and coordinated with Peter Tartline, COO of PHCA. Ceca plans to deploy the program by the end of summer 2018, then evaluate results for possible expansion to other PHCA members in 2019.
Staff members use their smartphones and other online devices to access Ceca’s proprietary platform and nominate co-workers for the Ceca Award. Nominees are posted on web-enabled TVs placed in high-traffic areas of the facility and selected Ceca Award honorees to earn a cash award.
Since the launch of the program in other states, more than 15,000 nominations were submitted and almost 4,000 healthcare workers have been recognized for caregiving excellence by their peers, residents, patients and families. More than 350 of these were selected for the Ceca Award.
