UMA Awards 2019

Dr. Carol McKinley has dedicated herself to the EAGLE Commission and the UMA Board for many years, selflessly giving many hundreds of hours to further the mission of UMA and EAGLE.

She has been a critical, driving force, working behind the scenes to update the EAGLE standards and processes to position EAGLE as a respected, viable accreditation body. She has served as an educator and mentor for new Peer Reviewers and organizations considering EAGLE and supported the UMA leadership and team during challenging leadership transitions to keep EAGLE strong.

On behalf of UMA and EAGLE, she has encouraged the sharing of strong best practices among our UMA and EAGLE Members. This is part of her dedicated commitment to helping organizations provide the very best care and services to those we serve.

Asbury’s Workforce Engagement and Retention Program seeks to attract and retain best-in-class associates for Asbury Communities by aligning organizational priorities with associate feedback. This program is a primary focus in meeting Asbury’s Strategic Goal to be an Employer of Choice in each of their markets.

The cornerstone of this program is creating a culture that inspires and engages through focus on four key areas that have a significant impact on associate attitudes about their workplace: accountability, trust, higher purpose and listening to those closest to the process. These themes are embedded throughout the organization through processes and communications – and begin on the associate’s first day of employment.

In 2016, a tragedy occurred at a Delaware residential program that took the life of a young lady from Maryland. This prompted the expedited, targeted removal of all Maryland youth from that facility – eleven of which were accepted by Board of Child Care (BCC). The programming needs of these individuals were considerably outside the traditional profile served by BCC at its high intensity group home. BCC’s research of other providers working with this population and subsequent adaptations to its service delivery model ultimately showed very positive outcomes. Big picture, BCC’s outcome data prompted the State of Maryland to release new programming opportunities to serve this population long-term and was awarded a contract to start in 2019. BCC’s response to a tragic situation truly demonstrated the organization’s purpose of enriching communities, one family at a time. Youth previously considered not serviceable by any Maryland residential provider could receive higher quality care closer to their families and support network.

Asbury Communities saw an opportunity to be innovative within senior living by using technology to help associates be more productive and connected. They launched an employee app to better engage and connect with all Asbury associates, especially the organization’s non-desk workers, by creating a more seamless and efficient way to share messages and connect with online training and other resources.

By providing Asbury’s 2,400 employees with technology they already use every day – a phone-based app – they have more time to do the work they find meaningful, serving residents.

Methodist Children’s Home (MCH) new residential homes are designed and furnished as a direct result of their trauma-informed findings learned through expertise in Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) practices. This includes a sensory room used for self-regulation; one-story, open layouts for added security and to encourage greater interaction between staff and residents; private bedrooms and bathrooms which promote greater felt-security for residents; LED lighting which research shows can support better self-regulation in trauma-affected individuals; and multiple home-parent quarters to assist with recruitment and retention of staff. These innovative homes have already begun to draw interest and attention from other like-minded residential childcare organizations around the nation. The new homes create an atmosphere where children feel safe and loved and have the opportunity to foster healthy, nurturing relationships, all in an environment utilizing cutting-edge research in the field of childcare and trauma recovery.