Three professionals will be recognized by hundreds of their peers at the Washington Health Care Association (WHCA) conference in Spokane on May 23 for excellence in their roles at Mill Ridge Village and El Dorado West.

Jennifer Reich of Mill Ridge Village in Milton is being named Executive Director of the Year, and her Resident Care Director, Danniell Guffey, will be introduced as Nurse of the Year. Terri Wright of El Dorado in Burien won the Red Carpet award for outstanding quality. Winners are nominated by their peers and supervisors and then vetted by the WHCA award committee.

“I feel so honored to be recognized,” Guffey said. “Winning this has been on my bucket list from the beginning of my career.”

“I first met Dannie when she started her career as a caregiver at an assisted living Village Concepts community,” Reich said. “She was working her way through nursing school, and I was honored to have her as my nurse when the opportunity arose.”

Guffey says that working with Reich has been rewarding.

“Jennifer and our Mill Ridge team have had deficiency-free state surveys for the four years,” Guffey said. “She knows the business of assisted living and works hard to make sure all departments are in compliance.”

Mill Ridge Village and El Dorado West offer independent and assisted living. Both are part of Village Concepts, a third-generation, family-owned business with 17 properties in Western Washington.