EveryAge Receives Statewide Award, Graduates Administrator at LeadingAge N.C. Conference

At the LeadingAge North Carolina annual conference in Asheville, N.C., in May, EveryAge was recognized with the association’s prestigious Workplace Excellence Award, while one of its administrators graduated from LeadingAge NC’s year-long Leadership Academy.

Breanna MacLellan, administrator for EveryAge’s Elderhaus in Wilmington, N.C., graduated from LeadingAge North Carolina’s Leadership Academy after successfully completing coursework, independent study requirements, and site visits. The in-depth program — designed to develop leaders throughout the aging services industry — focuses on transformational leadership, person-centered care, and innovation. It also emphasizes self-awareness and relationship-building through a variety of techniques. Beyond discovering each person’s unique leadership attributes, the program fosters long-term connections with Academy cohorts and nurtures a lifelong learning approach to leadership.

MacLellan’s project included defining and developing a program to support the work and participants at Elderhaus. The program focuses on end-of-life care in a PACE (Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly) setting. Her program seeks to integrate end-of-life decisions and services into Elderhaus’s existing processes to ensure continuity of care and of healthcare partners. Key to building out that program is initiating conversations with participants and families about end-of-life care before the time comes when decisions need to be made, scheduling a varied slate of staff education opportunities, and hosting an ongoing resource fair that features elder law attorneys, advanced directives, and planning for final arrangements. When staff and families are educated about and prepared for the end-of-life journey, they can better accommodate participants and maximize quality of life.

EveryAge, which is based in Newton, N.C., also received the Workplace Excellence Award for its interdisciplinary strategy in hiring and retaining top-tier employees. Among the approaches EveryAge utilized were generating a meaningful internal communication plan centered around the creation of an electronic newsletter, offering a variety of educational opportunities to staff, and developing the “EveryAge: Where Everyone Belongs” program, which encourages employees to express their authentic selves and fosters a culture of respect and appreciation. The Workplace Excellence Award was accepted by Cathy Cooper, EveryAge’s chief human resources officer.

These initiatives have contributed to EveryAge’s recognition as a Best Workplace in Aging Services™ and other national accolades, including being ranked 18th in the small/medium senior housing category by Fortune magazine. For the fifth consecutive year, EveryAge has also been certified as a Great Place to Work®, underscoring its commitment to building a supportive and inclusive workplace environment.