The Village Nursing Care Centre near Craughwell has been shortlisted for an award for its outstanding efforts to change the course of tomorrow for patients in Ireland. The Village Nursing Care Centre was one of the 15 inspirational and important shortlisted projects from the healthcare sector in the inaugural Astellas Changing Tomorrow Awards.
As a result of
being shortlisted, representatives from The Village Nursing Care Centre will be invited to attend the Astellas Changing Tomorrow Awards ceremony in Dublin on Monday January 31, 2011 where each of the winners of five categories will receive a specially-commissioned trophy and a €1,000 educational/research grant.
‘Bringing the Community to the Care Centre’ was one of three shortlisted projects in Category E Changing Tomorrow through Environmental and Social Responsibility. The other short listed candidates are Cork University Hospital and the Asthma Society of Ireland.
The Village Care Centre implemented a programme of events and activities to help build ties with the local community and enrich the lives of the care centre residents. The centre decided to develop this programme to remove any feelings of social isolation which may be experienced by care centre residents. It was agreed that a strategic programme of events, outings, transportation and communication was needed in order to ensure that members of the nursing care community could continue to feel valued in their local community and to increase awareness of the care centre amongst the local community.
The judges felt that this programme was a great example of a community initiative, highlighting the level of social involvement and care for patients that should be executed within every nursing home in Ireland.
The Astellas Changing Tomorrow Awards, which are in their first year, were set up to recognise exceptional work being undertaken by professionals working in health to change tomorrow for their patients, in whatever field or aspect of healthcare that they are involved in. Close to 100 entries for the Astellas Changing Tomorrow Awards were entered nationwide, varying from advocacy groups, doctors, nurses, patient groups, hospital administrators and physiotherapists; highlighting the commitment and day to day efforts to the improvement of the provision of healthcare to patients in Ireland.