Friendship Village has been named as one of three recipients of the 2017 NuStep Pinnacle Award in the Senior Living Division. The international award, presented by NuStep, Inc., recognizes excellence in whole-person wellness programming for older adults.

Implementation of the Seven Dimensions of Wellness Model within the community was used as the judging criteria. These are social, vocational or occupational, spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional and environmental.

“We’ve always recognized that development and growth in all seven of these dimensions are crucial to enjoying long-term health and happiness,” said Jessica Enriquez, manager of wellness services at Friendship Village. “We make sure that every resident has many opportunities to attain the proper balance of these areas in their life, through the more than 1500 programs and activities that we offer monthly.”

The announcement of the award was the culmination of a six-month process that the Lifestyles Department of Friendship Village embarked on earlier this year. Friendship Village was one of more than 200 applicants from across the country, vying for the highly esteemed award. The process included extensive documentation of the community’s commitment to wellness. A review team from NuStep visited Friendship Village and interviewed the lifestyles team about programming, leadership, theory and organizational structure.

“Attaining the Pinnacle Award reflects our commitment to continue to pursue opportunities that further the wellness of our residents. Additionally, we constantly work to redefine active aging within our industry. The motto of Friendship Village’s lifestyles team is to ‘help people become the strongest versions of themselves.’ In order to accomplish this, we as a team, continue to become the strongest leaders and advocates in wellness,” said Mike McCann, director of lifestyles.

“We are very excited to have been recognized by receiving this prestigious award,” said Jessica. “We have a long standing commitment to wellness and this award acknowledges our efforts as well as our success. “

“Each of the 2017 Pinnacle Award winning organizations are notable in their dedication to helping individuals achieve optimum wellness,” said Steve Sarns, vice president of sales and marketing for NuStep. “Through their remarkable efforts, the quality of life of older adults, whether frail or active, in assisted living or aging in place, is being enriched and enhanced in untold ways.” The award recipients will have special recognition in the ICAA Journal on Active Aging, and will receive a banner, and a crystal trophy.