Team Members in 17 Senior Living Communities Vote to Honor Tracy Spallone, Tyler Mizak
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Tracy Spallone, approaching her 20th anniversary with IntegraCare, and Tyler Mizak, who is in his second year as part of the team, each emerged as winners in the 2024 Peer Recognition Award voting among 17 senior living communities.
• Newhaven Court at Lindwood’s Spallone, Regional LifeStories Director, earned the IntegraCare LifeStories Peer Recognition Award.
• Colonial Courtyard at Bedford’s Mizak, who is both LifeStories and LifeStages Director at the senior living community, garnered the IntegraCare LifeStages Peer Recognition Award.
The IntegraCare announcement coincides with National Activity Professionals Week (Jan. 21-27), which “provides a timely opportunity to foster and showcase the wonderful things that Activity Professionals create.”
Spallone’s longevity and dedication to the memory care residents stood out to her peers who voted.
“Tracy’s expertise and compassion for seniors suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s are unmatched,” said Gary Renwick, IntegraCare Area General Manager West. “She is not only an expert in this discipline in her community, but also among her peers in the organization. Tracy has extensive experience and utilizes her skill set to get to the heart of the individual and whole-heartedly believes this terrible disease does not define the resident.”
The focus on the personal life story of each resident is what sets IntegraCare apart, according to Spallone.
“It’s all about individualized care. Who they are,” Spallone said. “Every individual has a story. We do everything based on their life story and who they are as a person, what their likes are. We set them up to succeed. I want them to be as independent as they can be.”
The peer recognition surprised Spallone, who preferred to deflect the attention.
“This is humbling,” Spallone said. “I don’t do my job for recognition. It’s about the residents and not about me. It’s their home, and we work in it. I’ve always had the philosophy they don’t live where we work. We work where they live.”
Colonial Courtyard at Bedford’s Mizak, 27, recently became a Certified Dementia Practitioner. He applies the lessons he learned throughout the certification process to his roles in helping the senior living residents.
“There is no other LifeStages Director as motivated and vibrant as Tyler,” said Bobbi Olson, IntegraCare Director of Operations Eastern Region. “He truly enjoys entertaining the residents, and his creativity and fun personality is felt in every activity and evidenced by the smiles and upbeat atmosphere he provides for both the residents and the team.”
His positive demeanor and upbeat approach came naturally to Mizak. The fact that his peers noticed is humbling, he said.
“I am appreciative and honored to receive this recognition, but this is more about the residents and my fellow team members,” Mizak said. “We all work together to improve the lives of our residents and provide a peace of mind for their families.”
For more information, contact Belinda McQuaide, IntegraCare Chief Operating Officer, at bmcquaide@integracare.com, or 724.940.5544, EXT 110.