6720 Century Avenue, Middleton, WI 53562 | (608) 836-8900
Middleton Glen Retirement Community has been selected by Mather Institute as a 2022 honorable mention recipient of the Promising Practices Award. Now in its twelfth year, this awards program recognizes organizations that are moving away from conventional practices by developing and implementing new and innovative approaches for older adults. Middleton Glen Retirement Community was chosen based on its successful approach to residents helping residents plan for emergencies.
“The Promising Practices Award honors Middleton Glen for its resident-led initiative to help themselves and their neighbors prepare for natural disasters and other emergency situations,” said Cate O’Brien, PhD, VP and Director, Mather Institute. “The awards honor true leaders in innovation and implementation. We hope these award-winning projects will serve as a catalyst for organizations across the country and around the world to spark new ideas for creating or enhancing their own programs.”
The “What’s in YOUR plan?” initiative developed by residents is a multi-level awareness and involvement campaign with workshops, tools, resources, and neighbor networks to encourage and facilitate resident preparation.
The program was created by Middleton Glen’s Emergency Preparedness Planning Committee (EPPC). Susan Heneman, resident and EPPC chairperson, said, “Staff is on-site only during business hours. When they aren’t here to help, then what do we do? We realized that it was imperative that residents prepare to help themselves and their neighbors during emergencies. Our seven-member committee spent six months researching best practices of other organizations and reviewing source materials available through CDC, FEMA, American Red Cross, state- and county-level disaster assistance programs, and others.”
The result is a program that can be repeated or duplicated. A key component is the workshop which offers training about evacuation processes, and information about emergency go bags. Neighbor networks are an important follow up, which increase awareness of who may need assistance, nearest exits and places of safety when leaving the building isn’t possible.
A full complimentary report on the 2022 Promising Practices recipients and honorable mentions, Innovation at Work 2022, is available for download at matherinstitute.com/promising. Nominations will open in March for the 2023 Promising Practices Awards, with a submission deadline in April.
About Middleton Glen Retirement Community
Middleton Glen is an independent living retirement community in the Middleton Hills neighborhood, within walking distance to shopping and dining, and only minutes from the State Capitol in Madison. More information is available at www.middletonglen.com and www.facebook.com/middletonglenretirementcommunity.
About Mather
Founded in 1941, Mather is a nondenominational not-for-profit organization based in Evanston, Illinois, that creates Ways to Age Well.SM Mather Institute is its research area of service, and serves as an award-winning resource for research and information about wellness, aging, trends in senior living, and successful aging service innovations. To learn more, find your way to mather.com.
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https://www.matherinstitute.com/senior-living-professionals/promising-practices-awards/
Additional contacts:
- Susan Heneman, resident and EPPC chairperson, 608-203-8051,sheneman@charter.net
- Kay Kruser, executive director, 608-836-7998 ext. 223, kkruser@middletonglen.com