Allendale Community for Mature Living Named Finalist for NJBIZ Healthcare Heroes Award Program

April 24, 2012 - PRLog -- The Allendale Community for Mature Living has been named a finalist for Nursing Home/Assisted Living Facility of the Year in the 2012 NJBIZ Healthcare Heroes Awards Program. A pioneer in modern-day eldercare, The Allendale Community was one of the first of its kind in the region to incorporate four fully-licensed levels of residency - The Allendale Nursing Home, The Rehabilitation Center at The Allendale Community, Carlton Court and The Atrium Assisted Living - offering a full continuum of care in one campus-like location in Bergen County.

NJBIZ's Healthcare Heroes Awards Program honors both individuals and organizations making a significant impact on the quality of healthcare in New Jersey. Finalists and winners were chosen by an independent panel of judges including Mary Ann T. Donohue, Ph.D., RN, APN, NEA-BC, Jersey Shore University Medical Center; Dr. Richard Dool, Seton Hall University; Dr. Vincent Grasso; D.N. Lombardi, Ph.D., USMC®, Stevens Healthcare Partnerships; Dean Paranicas, Healthcare Institute of New Jersey and David Taylor, New Jersey Patient Care and Access Coalition.

"It's an honor to be named a finalist in the Nursing Home/Assisted Living Facility of the Year category of the Healthcare Heroes Awards," said Hector Giancarlo, M.D., F.A.C.S., founder and president of The Allendale Community. "From our earliest days, my goal was - and continues to be - to help older adults remain as active and self-sufficient as possible throughout the natural aging process."

Developed in stages beginning in 1967, this senior housing community provides residents flexible healthcare services to meet their evolving needs as well as a full complement of hospitality services and enrichment programming. The Community has been renovated in stages to keep pace with evolving technology, care modalities and the health and lifestyle demands of today's senior population.

The flagship, The Allendale Nursing Home, is a 120-bed, Medicare-certified skilled nursing facility providing 24-hour, long-term, and hospice-care services. Offering speech, occupational, and physical therapy services to people of all ages, the Rehabilitation Center specializes in treatments for joint replacement, orthopedic fractures, cardiac rehabilitation, post-chemotherapy, I.V. therapy and a wide range of neurological diseases.

Carlton Court, a memory care neighborhood, originally opened in 1972 as an assisted living residence. In 2010, the community expanded its memory care services for residents, who now enjoy a safe and secure environment with diverse therapeutic and enrichment programs designed to help people with dementia-related conditions. Comprised of 50 rooms and suites, the residence features a circular dining room; activities center; library; sunroom adjoining a landscaped courtyard; and a sensory stimulation room.

Rounding out the campus is The Atrium Assisted Living, which was built in 1989 as an independent senior living community. In response to the evolving health and wellness needs of its residents and today's seniors, The Atrium became a certified assisted living residence in 2011. Comprised of 50 rooms and suites, the residence is staffed 24-hours a day by a registered nurse with on-call physicians for immediate medical care, if needed. Certified nurses and personal care assistants are dedicated to preserving each resident's privacy and dignity. The Atrium also offers the Senior Social Club, due to an overwhelming demand in Northern New Jersey for an adult day program, and respite services through its Short-Term Stay Program.

"The Allendale Community is - and always has been - very family-oriented, which is what impressed me most when my mom wanted to move here," stated Learle Van Emburg, a retired social worker who has had ties to the senior campus since 1995, when her mother became a resident, and has been a resident since 2003. "I like being a part of this community of people whose talents and experiences are fascinating."

Finalists for the 2012 Healthcare Heroes Awards will be recognized - and the winners will be announced - in each of the eleven categories during a breakfast awards ceremony on June 19, 2012 at The Palace in Somerset Park in Somerset, N.J. In addition to Nursing Home/Assisted Living Facility of the Year, categories include Corporate Achievement, Education Hero Individual and Organization, Hospital of the Year, Innovation Hero Individual and Organization, Nurse of the Year, Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Center of the Year, Physician of the Year, and Volunteer of the Year.