Maple Pointe being honored

Rockville Centre’s Maple Pointe Assisted Living will be receiving a state award for the way it has changed its employee moral and retention.

When Executive Director Tammy Marshall took over the facility in 2005, employee turnover was at 69 percent. Today, that number stands at 19 percent. The facility is being given the New York State Health Facilities Association/New York State Center for Assisted Living will award the 2014 Innovative Workforce Practice Award for Staffing, Recruitment and Retention.

The change is attributable to the culture of gratitude that Marshall has created at Maple Pointe.

“It’s been a process over five years,” Marshall said. “I started small with the department heads and creating a sense of gratitude among us.”

Marshall would have the 10 department heads compliment each other for work well-done. Eventually, the practiced branched out to staff as well. “We wanted to make sure the frontline staff knew they were appreciated,” said Marshall.

At staff meetings, department heads will single-out staff members who did an excellent job and went above-and-beyond expectations.

More recently, Marshall has gotten the residents of Maple Pointe involved as well. When the residents want to recognize a staff member, they can write the staffer’s name and what they did on an index card and pin it to a centrally located board.

“The residents love it,” Marshall said. “They love to be able to recognize staff. And there’s nothing more rewarding when you work in healthcare to know the people you work for are appreciative, too.”

Maple Pointe will be receiving the reward from the state later this month.