St. Louis, September 5, 2019 – Lutheran Senior Services (LSS) received top awards yesterday from LeadingAge Missouri, a statewide association that brings together not-for-profit senior living organizations. Two LSS programs and one LSS employee were honored during LeadingAge Missouri’s 2019 Conference, which took place in St. Louis this week.
There have been many changes in the Assisted Living industry in recent years. Most notably, Assisted Living residents and their family members are now looking to receive increased social benefits and medical care within this level of living and to stay in Assisted Living longer. To respond to this market demand, LSS studied, developed, and implemented a model based on individual care needs. This allows residents with higher medical needs to be able to stay in Assisted Living longer while new applicants with higher needs can move into Assisted Living. The work that went into this new model earned LSS the Excellence in Service Award. This award recognizes innovative and exceptional programs in the area of staffing and care delivery and/or programs and services for residents and families, management operations, or networking and services for the community.
LSS’ Educational Series on navigating the aging journey provides unbiased, straightforward, and trustworthy senior living industry information to those making difficult decisions for themselves or a loved one. The multifaceted series began with a series of free luncheons hosted in the St. Louis area where attendees heard from experts on topics related to aging and senior living. Blogs by the presenters were posted on the LSS website along with videos to provide around-the-clock access to the information and to reach an exponentially larger audience. The 2018-2019 Educational Series received the Distinguished Service Award. This award recognizes an outstanding contribution toward the welfare of older persons in such areas as research, education, communications, and public policy.
Lori Baumhoer, Director of Social Services at Heisinger Bluffs, received the Employee of the Year Award. This award is presented to an individual employee who has made an outstanding contribution to the mission and philosophy of a LeadingAge Missouri aging services member and/or has demonstrated unusual commitment to preserve the dignity, well-being, and independence of older Missourians and/or adults with disabilities. Baumhoer’s colleagues praise her as a person of great integrity and a great leader in the community.
“It’s an honor for Lutheran Senior Services to be recognized by our peers for senior programs providing Excellence in Service and Distinguished Service as well as the Employee of the Year,” said John Kotovsky, LSS CEO. “But the real reward here is being able to provide excellent services to older adults through many different channels. We’re proud of the work we do at LSS and how we continue to find new ways to live out our Christian mission of Older Adults Living Life to the Fullest.”
Lutheran Senior Services (LSS) is a mission-driven, not-for-profit network that specializes in housing, care, and supportive services for older adults 62+. With 21 locations in Missouri and Illinois, LSS serves more than 13,000 seniors a year through options that include Senior Living Communities offering all levels of care, Affordable Housing for those with limited incomes, and Home & Community Based Services. LSS builds upon 160 years of excellence in living out its Christian mission of Older Adults Living Life to the Fullest.
For more information, contact Craig Workman at 314.446.2466.