The OPTIMA Award

**The 2017 OPTIMA Award competition is now open**

Let the competition begin! To begin the 2017 OPTIMA Award application process, complete the form here. Completing the form and its 50-word summary will allow you to download the submission guide, which will help you prepare the rest of your submission. The final submission deadline is 5 pm EDT on July 5, 2017.

New in 2017: This year we have two categories. On the submission form you will be asked to choose which category you are entering, and you may enter a program only once.

Now in its 21st year, the OPTIMA Award is I Advance Senior Care’s national best practices program recognizing exceptional programming and person-centered service delivery within senior care settings. I Advance Senior Care (previously Long-Term Living) created the OPTIMA Award in 1996 to showcase innovative, resident-centered, outcomes-oriented programs and initiatives that enhance the daily quality of life and encourage the optimum abilities of residents living in skilled nursing facilities, assisted living and other senior care settings. Submission-worthy projects can come from any department involved in professional senior care service delivery, including programs that address nursing care, social services, staff development, quality improvement, dining services, memory care and rehabilitation, to name a few.

To compete well in the OPTIMA Award competition, a candidate’s submission needs to describe a recent program or project that reaches beyond common industry practices in approach or technique. The independent judging panel looks for strategies in providing care and services that can serve as a model for others nationwide.

The OPTIMA Award winners will each receive an engraved OPTIMA statuette and will have their programs featured in in-depth feature articles written by the I Advance Senior Care editorial staff.

For more information, email Editor-in-Chief Pamela Tabar at ptabar@iadvanceseniorcare.com.

Could your recent program initiative or project be the next OPTIMA winner?

Getting started involves two easy steps:

1. Fill out this short form, including a 50-word description of your program, to begin the process.

2. Completing the form will allow you to download the OPTIMA Award Submission Guide, which will guide you step-by-step through the preparation of your submission entry. Downloading the submission guide does not obligate you to submit an entry.