Achieving greatness in the face of a pandemic

Envoy of Lawrenceville, in Lawrenceville, Virginia, recently learned that they have won the readers’ choice award for “Best Nursing Home/Assisted Living” for the second year in a row. The award is granted to a care center which is selected by write-in votes from the readers of the Brunswick Times-Gazette, which reaches 17 counties in Virginia and North Carolina.  There are approximately 53 long term and assisted living care centers within those counties, so the distinction is a true honor!

We wanted to go behind the scenes at Envoy of Lawrenceville to learn how they have won the award two years in a row. Allen Sinowitz, executive director of the care center said, “it feels great to win the award again, but what’s even better is that the community knows what we are doing and how we are doing it!” In our conversation with Sinowitz, we learned that success takes a coordinated effort at all levels of the organization. When all of those well-operating levels of the organization come together, the outcome is extraordinary.

Achieving excellence is even more challenging in our current environment because of all the changes that were thrust upon us with COVID-19. Sinowitz noted that there are so many additional regulations because of the pandemic. He started by saying that he is blessed by the administrative team and frontline caregiving heroes at Envoy of Lawrenceville. Together, they have managed to implement all of the new guidelines from CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The new regulations run the gamut from the required use of personal protective equipment (PPE) to the new policy requiring isolation of new residents in private rooms for the first 14 days after admission.

The teamwork doesn’t end there. The residents and their loved ones play a key role too. The care center keeps residents abreast of any developments regarding COVID-19, and the residents are grateful for the information. Family members have been extremely supportive too, and have called Envoy of Lawrenceville to praise them on their excellent handling of the pandemic. The team at Envoy of Lawrenceville is great about keeping families informed during a time when visitors are prohibited from entering the building.

The care center community has risen to the challenge too. Always looking for ways to support the care center, they have donated PPE and provided 14 gallons of hand sanitizer. “So many people have come together to support the care center, it’s beautiful to see,” said Sinowitz.

Things are crazy now, but Sinowitz looks forward to showering his employees with one of their favorite rewards, food! Between the edible treats and making sure the staff is being thanked for the work they are doing every day, Sinowitz hopes that the care center staff, who are the “true heartbeat of our care center,” will understand how much they are valued.

Sinowitz concluded by saying that he thanks the regional and corporate staff from the bottom of his heart. Each day, the care center receives statistics regarding the prevalence of coronavirus in nursing homes in Virginia. “My heart goes out to the facilities with COVID-19 patients,” Sinowitz said. It’s clear that the effects of the pandemic won’t be going away anytime soon, but with all of the levels of teamwork coming together at Envoy of Lawrenceville, we can expect everything will continue to work like a well-oiled machine.