Geriatric nursing assistant brings home top honors

There is a special bond between a resident and their caregiver. A nursing assistant is the one who fulfills a variety of a resident’s needs—from transferring, assisting with mobility to even combing hair … well, you know better than I do all the major and minor tasks that these frontline heroes perform.

This past fall, the Maryland Chapter of the National Gerontological Nursing Association (NGNA) awarded the Cynthia Steele Caring Hands Award to Tyrone Stanley (pictured), a geriatric nursing assistant at William Hill Manor, a CCRC in Easton, Md. The award, named for Cynthia Steele, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and developer of the Dementia Care Skills Lab at Copper Ridge Institute, has been presented to a nursing assistant who provides extraordinary service to elderly adults.

Stanley has been honored for his proactive approach to residents with dementia and his skill at identifying changes in his residents. One of his innovations it to take photos of everyday items to help residents communicate as their own communication skills decline.

As Isabella Firth, president of the LifeSpan Network, expressed, “Many of our elders rely on the services of nursing assistants every day. They do a vital and difficult job, often with little public acknowledgement. It is a pleasure to see individuals like Tyrone get recognized for their hard work and passion.”

The other seven finalists for the Cynthia Steel Caring Hands award for 2011 are: Gladys Beverly, Oak Crest; Shykia Ferguson, ManorCare Towson; Patricia Generette, Oak Crest; Audrienne Johnson, Hopkins Elder Plus; Mary Johnson, GBMC ACE Unit; Michelle Lamb, GBMC ACE Unit; Nicole Logan, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

Stanley has since been nominated by the Maryland NGNA Chapter to receive the national 2012 Excellence in Nursing Award. I’d like to offer Tyrone and the seven other finalists congratulations from Long-Term Living, and personally thank them for their dedication, hard work and special care.

Sandra Hoban

Sandra Hoban was on I Advance Senior Care / Long-Term Living’s editorial staff for 17 years. She is one of the country’s longest-serving senior care journalists. Before joining Long-Term Living, she was a member of the promotions department at Advanstar Communications. In addition to her editorial experience, Sandi has served past roles in print and broadcast advertising as a traffic and talent coordinator.