Annual Awards Program

Recognizing Excellence in Long Term Care

Every year the VHCA-VCAL Annual Awards Program celebrates the outstanding achievements of administrators, nurses, corporate staff, volunteers and others who help make Virginia long term care centers places of quality care for Virginia’s frailest citizens. The program also recognizes outstanding activity and event programs at Virginia’s nursing centers and assisted living communities.

We are so excited to announce our 2023 Recognition Award Recipients!

Award Categories

Recognition Awards: Honoring Lifetime Achievement, Administrators, Director of Nursing, CNA, and Volunteer of the Year

• James G. Dunton Distinguished Service Award for Lifetime Achievement: Charles Rehnborg of Commonwealth Care of Roanoke, whose career in long term care spans more than 40 years, was honored for his lifetime dedication to others as a champion of patient care, quality improvement, and employee appreciation. He has served in many capacities—from administrator to corporate leader, to owner, to mentor, and industry champion. His impact on the careers of numerous long term care professionals in Virginia has been profound and lasting. Rehnborg has taken the time to listen, guide, and invest in the development of strong leaders now and for the future as he has given back to his profession. He is former VHCA-VCAL Chairman of the Board and active member.
• Nursing Facility Administrator of the Year: Donna Shaw of Woodbine Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, who leads one of Virginia’s largest centers with 307 beds, was recognized for her dedicated career in long term care. Her warm and welcoming approach demonstrates that her life’s work is so much more than a job—it is a calling to service. She is passionate about creating and encouraging the next generation of nurses and long term care leaders. Her center has been honored for its partnership to expand work-based learning opportunities for local high school students by hosting a CNA learning program and partnering to be a host site for clinical rotations for the past 25 years. She has also worked with her local community college to establish a practical nursing program. She is also an effective advocate for the profession on Capitol Hill and before the General Assembly.
• Assisted Living Administrator of the Year: Lauren Friedman of Sancerre Atlee Station has spent nearly 20 years as a champion and leader of assisted living communities. She has helped guide communities through ownership transitions, revamped sales processes to boost occupancy to impressive levels, created more positive onboarding experiences to improve retention and cut turnover to zero. Most recently, she spearheaded the launch of a new senior living community in the post-pandemic landscape with 80 percent occupancy within 10 months. Her achievements, however, go beyond the numbers because her real commitment is to create strong community connections to better serve residents.
• Director of Nursing of the Year: Luv Berkley of Monroe Health and Rehabilitation Center is known for her emotional intelligence and a high “clinical IQ” that is reflected in excellent quality measures and patient outcomes. Under her leadership Monroe rose from a 2-star rating to a 4-star with a 5-star in Quality Measures within the past year. She has created a culture of nursing excellence through commitment, communication, and collaboration to serve the complex care needs of her residents. She was integral to the successful establishment of the center’s dialysis unit and was selected to serve on Saber Healthcare Group’s elite Director of Nursing Council.
• Certified Nursing Assistant of the Year: Margaret “Sue” Shoemaker of Ridgecrest Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation has chosen every day for the last 42 years to bring a positive attitude to her team and care for her residents like they were family. She is an incredible asset to her team and the residents absolutely adore her. Her director of nursing has high praise for the amazing quality of care she provides for her patients and the attention she gives to their families. She remains calm and confident in any situation.
• Volunteer of the Year: Margaret Sewell has spent more than 6,500 hours over 26 years actively engaged in service to others as a volunteer at Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital. What is even more remarkable is that Ms. Sewell has kept up her volunteer activities even though she reached her 90th birthday earlier this year. Residents, families, volunteers, and staff admire her guidance and friendship. Her daily presence, kindness, patience, and compassion are her trademarks through her daily presence at Lake Taylor.

 

D.A. “Woody” Brown Community Involvement Awards: Recognizing Outstanding Activity and Event Programs

For over 30 years, VHCA-VCAL has acknowledged the outstanding efforts of members, who use their activity programs to involve, entertain, educate and enrich not only their residents and families but the greater community. The D. A. “Woody” Brown Community Involvement Awards program was named in honor of Woody Brown, the first Director of Operations of Autumn Corporation, a Vietnam Veteran, and a dedicated, enthusiastic leader in long term care.

• National Skilled Nursing Care Week or National Assisted Living Week Program: This category celebrates special events centers host during these annually themed weeks, which occur in May and September, respectively.
  • 1st Place – Falls Run Nursing & Rehabilitation
  • 2nd Place – Dulles Health & Rehab Center
  • 3rd Place – Heritage Hall – Leesburg
• Facility Newsletter: This award recognizes excellence in facility newsletters. Newsletters are a special form of communication that is essential both inside and outside of your centers. Staff, residents, family members and the greater community all rely upon them. Judging is based on content, readability, creativity, special features, relevance, timeliness, and resident/employee involvement.
  • 1st Place – Friendship Salem Terrace
  • 2nd Place – Heritage Hall – Leesburg
  • 3rd Place – The Hoy Center & Stone Rehab at Westminister Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay
• Special Event Program: The Special Event award is designed to recognize a one-time activity such as a holiday-specific open house or a fundraiser. The award is granted based on program design and its ability to unite residents and the community.
  • 1st Place – Manassas Health & Rehab Center
  • 2nd Place – Sancerre Atlee Station
  • 3rd Place – Davis & McDaniel Veterans Care Center