Grafton Wins First Place in Negley Award

February 26, 2008

N E W S: For Immediate Release
Grafton Wins First Place in Negley Award

Gains National Recognition for Risk Management Excellence

February 26, 2008—Grafton, a leading Virginia-based behavioral healthcare organization, has won the Negley President’s Award for excellence in risk management.

Grafton won the prestigious award for its paper entitled The Minimization of Restraint Initiative describing a process it has initiated for minimizing the use of restraint when managing dangerous situations. This award for outstanding achievement in risk management was presented at the Mental Health Corporation of America (MHCA) conference in Saint Pete’s Beach, Florida on February 21, 2008. In addition to national recognition, Grafton will receive a $15,000 cash award.

MHCA is an invitation only alliance of the highest quality behavioral healthcare organizations in the country. Grafton is one of 120 select members of MHCA. Additionally, Grafton CEO James Gaynor also holds a seat on MHCA’s Board of Directors.

“It is gratifying to see that the innovation and dedication of Grafton’s employees in minimizing risk has been recognized on a national stage,” said James Gaynor, Grafton’s CEO. “It is the extra effort by these outstanding professionals that truly sets us apart as a leader in providing optimum behavioral health services to those under our care.”

“After receiving international recognition for our client services in 2007 and a perfect CARF* rating just last month, this is confirmation that our staff is made up of the best and the brightest,” said Gaynor. “I am proud of them and the dedication and caring they bring to their jobs.”

The Negley Awards, established in 1990 by Negley Associates, Inc., underwriting managers for the Mental Health Risk Retention Group (MHRRG), are a series of cash grants presented annually to provider organizations that demonstrate excellence in risk management practices. The MHRRG was formed to provide a stable source of comprehensive liability insurance for mental health organizations and to improve the quality of care through loss prevention program development. Since the award program’s inception, more than one-quarter million dollars has been awarded to outstanding behavioral healthcare organizations that reduce danger to clients, staff and community.

“Negley Associates is committed to furthering best practices and the overall risk management efforts in the behavioral health care field. The Negley Awards are one way in which we encourage organizations in the industry to share successes amongst their peers in the hopes of providing safer, effective and better care to all the constituents that they serve. The comprehensive presentation made by the Grafton team at the most recent MHCA Annual Conference was extremely informative and we are pleased that Grafton was recognized for their efforts and awarded the Presidents Award by the panel of judges” said Nicholas Bozzo, Managing Director of Negley Associates.

For fifty years, Grafton has been providing 24 hour care and treatment to individuals with co-occurring intellectual, developmental and psychiatric disabilities. As a nationally recognized leader in behavioral healthcare, Grafton employs more than 700 employees and supports more than 400 children and adults. Facilities are located in Berryville, Richmond and the Winchester areas of Virginia.

A psychiatric residential treatment center in Berryville supports children and adolescents with an acute psychiatric diagnosis in addition to an existing intellectual disability. The Winchester and Richmond operations support children and adults who have Autism or other pervasive intellectual disabilities and may also have a concurrent psychiatric condition. Services provided at all Grafton operations include special education services, clinical services, case management services, medical and nursing services and residential support. Grafton is licensed by the Virginia Office of Interdepartmental Regulation of Residential Facilities and accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Special Education Facilities. Berryville’s psychiatric residential treatment facility is CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities)* accredited and approved by Virginia Medicaid.

For more information about Grafton, please go to www.grafton.org.

* The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) has been a leading, independent, nonprofit accrediting body of human services since 1966, and conducts more than 1,600 on-site reviews each year. Its focus is ensuring that services provided by an organization meet the highest industry standards of quality and outcomes.