SIKESTON, Mo. — Americare, operator of River Bend in Great Bend, has been recognized by NRC Health for excellence in outstanding customer experience and employee culture.

Americare has earned both the 2020 Customer Approved and Employee Approved awards from Lincoln, Nebraska–based health care-intelligence firm NRC Health. The customer award recognizes senior-care organizations across the country for creating an outstanding care experience for their customers, and the employee award recognizes senior-care organizations across the country for engaging and inspiring their employees.

River Bend in Great Bend is an Americare Senior Living community.

“It is an incredible honor to be selected for these awards as a Top 20 rated company out of 81 of the nation’s leading senior living providers across the country, said Clay Crosson, president and chief operating officer for Americare. “Every member of the Americare team, from those providing direct care to residents at our 144 facilities, to those providing the support across the Americare system, is to be congratulated on this remarkable recognition. It is truly a stunning achievement in the senior-care industry, and a rare distinction. Only top-performing organizations, those with the highest percentage of positive ‘would recommend’ respondents, can qualify. It is the second year in a row for the Customer Approved Award for Americare and the first time for the Employee Approved Award.”

Only 20 Independent Living, Assisted Living, or Skilled Nursing organizations earned each of these remarkable distinctions, and only nine won both. Customer Approved Awards were selected according to the results from NRC Health’s 2019 Resident and Family Experience Survey, and Employee Approved Awards winners were selected according to the results from NRC Health’s 2019 Employee Experience Survey.

To qualify in the customer category, organizations must have a high percentage of respondents willing to recommend their locations to friends and family. To qualify in the employee category, organizations must have a high percentage of respondents willing to recommend their locations as places to work. This measure is known as the Net Promoter Score (NPS), and it strongly correlates with both customer satisfaction and enduring loyalty, or with employee engagement, organizational loyalty, and job satisfaction, respectively.

“These Customer Approved organizations have dedicated themselves to creating enriching experiences for each person they serve,” said Stephanie Kolbo, NRC Health’s vice president of business development. “As the survey results show, their efforts have not gone unnoticed by residents and their family members. It’s NRC Health’s pleasure to recognize their achievement.”

“In senior living, employee culture makes all the difference,” continued Kolbo. “These Employee Approved organizations have developed working environments that both create and sustain employee engagement, so workers can dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to the people they serve. NRC Health commends these organizations for their dedication to their staff.”