LeadingAge conference selects The Legacy Willow Bend as model for excellence in senior living

PLANO, Texas - July 30, 2013 - PRLog -- The Legacy Willow Bend is one of five Dallas senior living communities selected in late May by LeadingAge as a tour destination for the 2013 LeadingAge Annual Meeting & EXPO when it comes to Dallas October 27-30. The LeadingAge organization consists of 6,000 not-for-profits, 39 state partners, hundreds of businesses, research partners, consumer organizations, and foundations across the United States that focus on advocacy, education, and applied research that support the overall health and wellbeing of seniors, children, and those with special needs.The goal is to make America a better place to age. Organizers of the highly respected national conference were looking for communities that represent a range of services and support throughout the continuum of care. The Legacy Willow Bend is the only life care community chosen for this prestigious honor, and their programs and goals for the company made an impression on LeadingAge Education Development Manager Kirsten Jacobs.

“We are particularly excited about the way The Legacy Willow Bend has prepared for incoming generations of older adults,” said Jacobs. “We also noticed that wellness is a focal point of the community, and that is something we look forward to highlighting. When we toured the community, we sat with a group of members and listened to what they appreciate about The Legacy. Hearing their praise gave us a great window into the organization.”

The member site visits are open to conference attendees who consist primarily of non-profit health care providers and select business firms. The first to register will have the opportunity to tour The Legacy and four other communities.

“We are honored to have been selected as a tour destination during the LeadingAge Annual Meeting & EXPO,” said Michael Ellentuck, president of The Legacy Senior Communities. “In addition, The Legacy Willow Bend has been chosen as the site for the first meeting of the 2014 LeadingAge Leadership Academy class.”

During the same LeadingAge conference weekend in October, a group within the LeadingAge organization called LeadingAge Leadership Academy will also tour The Legacy. The Academy is made up of 32 Fellows consisting of LeadingAge provider members from across the country who go through a yearlong program, and part of that program is the annual meeting together. The 2014 Fellows will be the 8^th Leadership Academy class, and they will be gathering as a group for the first time to tour two member communities that were selected – The Legacy Willow Bend and CC Young.

“The purpose of the Leadership Academy is to strengthen not-for-profit leadership in aging services,” said Kevin, education development manager of LeadingAge. “The Legacy’s participation as a member site visit host is to expose Fellows to innovative organizations across the continuum and the visionary leaders who enable transformation. Fellows learn about the organization itself and the contributions of the leaders (at all levels) responsible for creating unique care environments and programming.”

This announcement kicks off plans for the October conference, which will consist of 200 education sessions that focus on everything from marketing strategies that boost occupancy to new models of care over the course of four days. Registration begins in July.

The Legacy Willow Bend, Plano’s first and only life care retirement community, is situated on a 28-acre site at Spring Creek Parkway between Preston Road and Ohio Drive. The Legacy Willow Bend offers resort-style services and amenities for active, independent seniors, as well as all levels of health care services on-site. The community features 103 independent living apartment homes, 12 custom independent living villas, 40 assisted living apartment homes, 18 memory support suites, and 60 private skilled healthcare suites.

The Legacy Willow Bend is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit retirement community owned by parent company, The Legacy Senior Communities, Inc. The Legacy Willow Bend, the only Jewish-sponsored life care retirement community in Texas, is open to people of all faiths.  For information, call (972) 468-6208, or visit www.thelegacyWB.org.