Cypress Cove, Cypress Living Selected Recipients of LeadingAge Florida Awards in Excellence

(Fort Myers, FL – September 3, 2021) – The Life Plan HealthPark Florida community of Cypress Cove has been selected by Florida’s senior care and service community organization, LeadingAge Florida, as recipient of its 2021 Excellence in Collaboration and Innovation Awards.

The two awards were presented in separate ceremonies this past week during the state association’s annual membership convention held in Orlando. LeadingAge Florida, the state’s largest advocacy support association, is comprised of more than 400 mission-driven communities housing more than 80,000 senior residents.

Troy Churchill, CEO and President of parent company Cypress Living, and Cypress Cove Executive Director Mary Franklin jointly expressed their appreciation to LeadingAge Florida for recognizing the outstanding beneficial collaborative and innovative efforts their organization’s staff, volunteers, leadership, and residents have demonstrated.

“We are deeply honored to be chosen as recipients of these prestigious awards,” Churchill and Franklin stated. “Our sincere thank you is extended to LeadingAge Florida and the hundreds of Cypress Cove residents and staff who, during difficult pandemic times, have responded as a family using creativity and unbridled willingness to work together for the common good of community.”

The award for Excellence in Collaboration commends Cypress Cove for its community’s exceptional teamwork and solution-building among residents and staff by using creative ingenuity to produce effective operational methods during uncharted pandemic times. The abnormal became the normal for Cypress Cove with nurses becoming iPad experts, activity directors mastering the art of Instacart, dining employees preparing, packaging and delivering daily meals to residents, and other staff multi-tasking as market store operators, security gatekeepers and package delivery carriers.

Residents responded by donating needed food to local foodbanks, gifting tens of thousands of dollars to help 300 financially struggling employees with families adversely affected by the pandemic, by collecting over 600 toys for needy neighborhood children, and by raising significant funds for a gift of appreciation to all staff. Additionally, residents volunteered nearly 11,000 hours of their time helping with dozens of everyday tasks while also providing sufficient funds to gift 23 staff and children higher education scholarships.  The conclusion was a community who multiplied its strength through a culture of collaboration.

The selection of the Cypress Living as Innovation Award recipient cites the unique application steps beyond the norm by combining technology with innovative concepts to open greater possibilities for helping provide more efficient and effective care benefitting both client and healthcare worker.

“The inspiration by two forward-thinking innovators – Troy (Churchill) and Vice President of Innovation, Joe Velderman,” says Franklin, “have essentially moved many or our healthcare and residential living services beyond planning to efficient functionality and benefit.”

Award presenters pointed to the introduction of innovative solutions for the Cypress family that have proved even more relevant during the pandemic by allowing greater operational efficiency. For example, Cypress at Home’s medical field care team is backed by a host of integrated technologies offering next-gen primary care service to its clients allowing for in-home, in-person, virtual care.

As Cypress Cove’s skilled nursing healthcare setting, medical care teams are equipped with telepresence robots who conduct “their” rounds in skilled nursing settings. Other technologies integrated into daily operational care include a mobile HIPPA-compliant instant-messaging system and a mobile health service cart named “Shirley” that assists home caregivers with in-home visits. 

Outside of medical healthcare, the community has upgraded its Wi-Fi system providing improved device onboarding, network segmentation, and security while supporting further use and development of various “Smart-Home” technologies. Advanced technology has been integrated in virtually all aspects of everyday life at Cypress Cove, including the addition of a robotic food delivery service in one of the community’s restaurants.