For her exceptional work helping Florida’s nursing homes address the outbreak of COVID-19 in long term care centers, A.C. Burke has been awarded the 2020 Willis J. Gregson Award by the Florida Health Care Association (FHCA). The award, presented during FHCA’s 2020 Virtual Conference, is the highest honor an FHCA associate member can receive from Florida’s long term care profession.
Burke is Vice President for Healthcare Quality for RB Health Partners, Inc., and is a former infection prevention official with the Florida Department of Health and Mayo Clinic Florida. Her 20 years of experience includes working in public health preparedness and response roles.
“During these most difficult times, A.C. was quick to offer her expertise as nursing homes were quickly hit with COVID-19,” said Emmett Reed, FHCA’s Executive Director. “She stepped up to share her experience in infection prevention, providing FHCA with vital counsel and leadership that helped us protect our residents from further spread of the virus.”
FHCA often turned to Burke for guidance in infection prevention and control well before COVID-19, but her expertise became even more critical as the pandemic began. Burke is the primary author of FHCA’s Nipping Infections in the Bud program, and she quickly created a virtual program for FHCA to train its members while social distancing.
In the early stages of the pandemic, Burke developed several member resources, delivered webinars, and shared her expertise when FHCA engaged with state officials, including the Agency for Health Care Administration and the Department of Health. Burke was also an integral part of FHCA’s Long Term Care Workgroup, where she helped develop recommendations submitted to the DeSantis administration for reopening facilities to visitors.
“A.C. constantly goes the extra mile when it comes to working in long term care,” Daniel Bozeman, 2019 Willis Gregson award recipient and regional sales manager of Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare, said in presenting the award to Burke. “Especially during this pandemic and the challenges it presents, we are so grateful to have members like A.C. who always look for more ways to serve others.”
The 2020 Willis J. Gregson Award is part of Florida Health Care Association’s Long Term Care Excellence Achievement Awards which were presented during FHCA’s Virtual Conference, August 18-20. These awards annually honor a Nursing Home and Assisted Living Facility Administrator of the Year, a business partner and other individuals for their service and dedication to long term care. For more information about FHCA’s Long Term Care Excellence Achievement Awards, visit the FHCA website at http://www.fhca.org/membership/ltcawards.