Afrika Parks Joins Van Dyk Health Care as Administrator in Ridgewood
Ridgewood, NJ (PRWEB) January 23, 2017 -- Van Dyk Health Care has hired Afrika Parks as Administrator of its Ridgewood facility, which has spanned three generations of family ownership and was recently named one of America’s “Best Nursing Homes” by U.S. News & World Report for the fourth consecutive year.
“Our Ridgewood community deserves a proven leader like Afrika Parks, who understands the emerging challenges facing our industry and who embraces our reputation of Family Caring For Family,” said Robert Van Dyk, President & CEO of Van Dyk Health Care and former chairman of the American Health Care Association. “Afrika will immediately add to the warmth and compassion of our dedicated staff while using her unique clinical background toward skillful problem-solving and team-building.”
Throughout her career, Parks has managed to use her RN, BSN and MSN degrees in diverse settings of skilled nursing and post-acute care. She served as an administrator of a 154-bed skilled nursing facility, lifting it to five-star status. She has direct experience in recruiting physicians for specialty programs in pulmonary, infection control and palliative care. As a director of nursing, she successfully managed clinical operations that have led to safe discharges and high patient satisfaction.
“Having an experienced administrator with a nursing background is a huge advantage to our staff, our patients and our families,” Van Dyk added. “Our community looks to us to find solutions for those in need. That’s the responsibility of being named one of the top nursing homes in the country. We need to earn that distinction everyday with our commitment to quality care.”
As one of America’s “Best Nursing Homes” for the fourth straight year, Van Dyk Health Care at Ridgewood was one of only 9 percent of providers nationwide to receive a perfect five out of five stars from U.S. News & World Report.
The award-winning staff in Ridgewood has also secured such prestigious awards as Caregiver of the Year by the Health Care Association of New Jersey in 2013, 2014 and 2016, as well as Key to Quality from the National Association of Health Care Assistants from 2013 to 2016.
Van Dyk Health Care has implemented several innovative specialty programs to provide personalized care, improve overall health outcomes and teach patients how to sustain wellness and quality of life within their own homes. HeartWays is a unique cardiac clinical pathway program, originally launched in Ridgewood, under the direction of a certified cardiologist and an advanced nurse practitioner to serve patients with Congestive Heart Failure. Van Dyk’s rehab company provides physical therapy and occupational therapy to help patients regain muscle strength and flexibility, improve coordination and endurance, and provide alternative measures to cope with physical restrictions.
About Van Dyk Health Care
Van Dyk Health Care, founded in 1953, has built an unsurpassed reputation for excellence in senior care, spanning three generations of family caring for family. Under the leadership of CEO Robert Van Dyk for over 20 years and an award-winning staff, Van Dyk Health Care remains one of the top care providers in the nation, dedicated to its mission of finding solutions to better health and quality of life throughout New Jersey. Van Dyk Health Care offers the full continuum of care services with two nursing and post-acute care facilities in Ridgewood and Montclair, an assisted living community in Hawthorne, a home care company and a soon-to-open memory day care center. The company works closely with partnering hospitals and physicians to ensure its short-stay patients return home quickly and safely. Learn more at vandykhealthcare.com.
Laura van der Leeuw, Van Dyk Health Care, http://www.vandykhealthcare.com, +1 2016897979, [email protected]
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