Mary Patra, a caregiver at Juniper Village at Louisville Assisted Living was presented with the 2016 George and Pat Sugerman Excellence in Caregiving Award at the Alzheimer’s Association’s Annual Education Symposium. Each year the Colorado Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association gives the award to a professional caregiver who provides outstanding care to people with Alzheimer’s disease. Nominations for this prestigious award come from friends and families of those receiving care for Alzheimer's disease.
“Mary is a shining star and consistently goes above and beyond the call of duty. She always puts residents first and often offers more time than what is asked of her. Her gentle approach and commitment to care are evidenced when she takes time to figure out what works best for each person – and each person living with dementia is so different. She will try again and again until she finds out what exactly makes each resident most happy,” expressed Jennifer McElhaney of Juniper Communities. “Mary greets each person with a smile and an open heart – we are so lucky to have her at Juniper Village at Louisville.”
This was Mary's fourth time being nominated by Juniper Village families, where has worked for seven years providing personal care and medications. She is a certified Qualified Medication Administration Personnel (QMAP) and takes care of her residents as if they were her own family. “I really like taking care of older people. I feel happy when I am able to help someone feel happy and secure – especially with their disease – making sure they are comfortable and better in whatever state they are in,” Mary expressed of role. “Working with seniors makes you think differently about life.”
Anne Gale, Community Relations Director at Juniper Village at Louisville shared, "I appreciate her calm approach to giving resident-centered care. She is the epitome of 'team player'. I can always count on her during a tour to give authentic, sincere and accurate answers to any question a prospective family may have. I actually seek her out during a tour as she exemplifies our motto, Nurturing the Spirit of Life.”
The George and Pat Sugerman Award was created in 1991 by Alzheimer’s Association Board Member, George Sugerman. Sugerman was so grateful for the outstanding caregivers his wife Pat had in day care and later in a skilled nursing facility, he felt their work needed to be honored.
