Lyngblomsten wins 2013 award for workplace excellence

On Friday, February 8, Lyngblomsten received the 2013 Excellence in the Workplace Award from Aging Services of Minnesota. The Workplace Award honors an older adult services organization as an employer of choice for progressive practices that enhance employee satisfaction and retention, promoting careers in the field of senior services and investing in its employees. The Aging Services awards are among the highest honors for aging services organizations and professionals in Minnesota. Paul Mikelson, President/ CEO, accepted the award for Lyngblomsten in front of an audience of 1,500 aging services professional colleagues who gathered in Minneapolis for the 2013 Aging Services Institute. Lyngblomsten was founded by a group of Norwegian women who chose the name to honor their home country of Norway, where at the time the lyng was the national flower. Lyngblomsten has been home not only to the older adults who have lived here, but also a source of support and pride for families, employees, volunteers, congregations and neighbors who have helped build its legacy. It’s also being honored as one of the great places to work. The organization offers scholarship funds to promote careers in older adult services and has formed partnerships with a number of outside organizations including local colleges, public schools, Easter Seals and the Jobs Corps. The scholarship program has assisted 29 employees who have been or are currently in LPN or RN programs. Lyngblomsten has developed training for all staff in palliative, or comfort care. It was selected by The Struthers Parkinson’s Center to be a designated site in the east metro, and the staff is undergoing 12 months of intensive training on Parkinson’s Disease and other movement disorders.