BradleyHealthcare celebrates 60th anniversary Nursing Home Week

Bradley Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center had plenty of reasons to celebrate on Friday.

Not only did their big party serve to cap off the National Nursing Home Week festivities, but it also marked the starting point for the facility's 60th anniversary celebration.

"We are so excited about celebrating 60 years. No other facility in the area can say they've been around for 60 years ? even this year we won for the Best of the Best, so to me, it's just looking ahead and continuing to provide great care for our patients and their families," BHRC Marketing Director Annette Smith said.

"Also, we're trying to set up some new programs with our skilled nursing rehabilitation and we're excited about that as well."

Future 60th anniversary festivities are in the works, as the facility continues to celebrate the milestone.

"It's quite a landmark event for any facility to survive 60 years in this day and age where we are buying and selling facilities left and right ? for one county to keep and maintain a facility this long is really a credit to the government and citizens of the county," BHRC Administrator Scott Oliver stated.

The facility normally holds a party for its employees to honor National Nursing Home Week, but this year, it was made even larger in honor of the 60-year milestone. Bands Bethany Grace and Bad Tattoo and Courtney Daley and the Daley Grind provided the live music. Bagby's Critter Corral brought in a petting zoo for children and adults alike to enjoy. A Koana Ice Truck was on hand to help keep party goers cool, and Oliver's "world famous" pulled-pork barbecue was enjoyed by all.

The secret for Oliver's smoked barbecue?

"Slow going," he declared.

"It takes 17 hours a batch and it's all in the rub and the wood."

The mood was festive, as employees and their families, as well as residents and their families, enjoyed the barbecue shindig.

"I've been here for 10 years now and it's a great place to be. There's a family kind of feeling, it's almost a small town inside there and that's nice," floor technician Robert Drozak said.

Nursing Director Sandra Lingo, who worked as a CNA at BHRC 25 years ago, is proud to have seen the building come so far.

"(We) are still caring for the people of our community and delivering quality care, adding technology daily to speed up that care and give it more efficiency," Lingo said.

"The training of our nurses and the new techniques and things they can use to care for our cardiac and stroke patients is very exciting to me - we're growing the field of what we can do to care for our residents and the community of Bradley County."