Louisville, KY (November 16, 2009) – Mary Haynes, the administrator at Nazareth Home in Louisville, is the recipient of the 2009 Ira O. Wallace Award. This award is the highest honor given to an individual in the long term care profession in Kentucky.
The annual award, named for the founder of the Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities (KAHCF), is given to the individual who best represents “outstanding leadership and meritorious, unselfish service and dedication to the association.” KAHCF is the trade association that represents proprietary and nonproprietary long term care facilities across the Commonwealth.
Haynes has had an active career serving the residents of Kentucky, but her focus on caring for people with Alzheimer’s has made her a state leader on this issue. She developed Kentucky’s only two licensed free-standing Alzheimer’s Centers, along with programs and services for families and persons living with dementia. In 1994, Haynes was asked to chair a steering committee on clinical care for the Governor’s Task Force on Alzheimer’s disease during the Gov. Brereton Jones’ administration. She is currently the past president of the Kentucky Association of Health Care Facilities.
“Mary has been such a leader in this state for individuals and families dealing with Alzheimer’s disease. Her drive and determination to better those individuals’ lives is particularly noteworthy,” said KAHCF president Ruby Jo Cummins Lubarsky. “She has brought that same determination to reshaping our profession and focusing on person centered care, which will benefit future residents of not just Nazareth Home, but all Kentuckians. Mary deserves our congratulation.”
Haynes is a visible community leader, working through Louisville’s Leadership Network and Leadership Louisville to raise awareness to the importance of nursing home care and volunteering on the faculty at Bellarmine and Spalding universities. She was the Association’s Administrator of the Year in 2004 and presented with the Nelda Barton Award for community service in 2005.
The presentation was made during the Annual Awards Banquet on the last evening of KAHCF’s Annual Meeting November 12.
