Local Nurse with Stamford Ties Wins Lifetime Achievement Award

The following is a release from Atria Senior Living:

Marylyn Kusek, RN, Resident Services Director at Atria Darien, has been awarded the prestigious Martha Everett Meng Lifetime Achievement Award from the Connecticut Assisted Living Association (CALA). This award recognizes a commitment to providing exceptional, quality care to older adults in Connecticut, as Meng did throughout her career.   

In her current role as Resident Services Director at Atria Darien, which she has held for 15 years, Kusek works to ensure residents are safe and as healthy and independent as possible. With more than 25 years of experience in senior living, Kusek previously worked at Atria Stamford and then joined Atria Darien when it opened in 1997. For five years she served as the Resident Services Director in both communities.

Kusek has served as a co-chair of CALA’s Supervisor of Assisted Living Services Committee for the past six years. She is also a professional development course instructor for nursing supervisors at CALA and has served as a Board Member for four years.

"It is a great honor to see Marylyn recognized with the Lifetime Achievement award. Marylyn is incredibly committed to caring for our residents and is a key part of the Atria Darien management team, which together, have a combined total of 200 years of experience in the senior living industry," said Wendy Winnick-Baskin, Executive Director at Atria Darien. "Our team’s extensive experience working with older adults allows us to provide the quality care and support that our residents deserve. The longevity of our staff here at Atria Darien is phenomenal and unique in the senior living industry."

The Martha Meng Lifetime Achievement Award was created this year in memory of Meng and to recognize the impact she made on seniors in Connecticut and the industry as a whole. Meng was considered a national expert in the field of assisted living, and helped write and implement Connecticut's assisted living regulations. She was an active CALA board member, committee chair and faculty member. Kusek was chosen to receive this award because of her commitment to providing exceptional care to seniors, which exemplifies the important legacy that Meng created.