Courtesy Fort Hudson Health System
The CEO of Fort Hudson Health System, Inc., has been awarded the highest honor for excellence in senior care leadership by a statewide association of senior care providers.
Andrew Cruikshank as presented with the 2018 Lawrence E. Larson Memorial Award of Honor from LeadingAge New York on May 24 in Saratoga Springs.
LeadingAge New York represents more than 450 nonprofit senior care organizations from across the state.
The award, named in honor of the association’s first chairman, is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the field and is a recognized leader at the state and national level, with a reputation for humanitarian achievement and professional vision.
Cruikshank serves as the chairman of the LeadingAge New York board of directors. He was nominated for the honor by members of the Fort Hudson Health System board of directors, as well as colleagues within and outside the organization.
“Andy exemplifies the qualities recognized in the Larson Award,” said Keith Laake, president of the board of directors of Fort Hudson Health System. “His vision and leadership have benefited tens of thousands of seniors and their families across Fort Hudson’s service area by ensuring they have access to a continuum of services and a level of quality care that are unsurpassed in this region.”
“Andy is a visionary leader who sees the possibilities in the changing landscape of health care and, through his Chairmanship, helps his fellow LeadingAge members also see the opportunities,” said James W. Clyne Jr., president and CEO of LeadingAge New York.
Cruikshank joined Fort Hudson as CEO in 2000, when the organization consisted primarily of the highly regarded Fort Hudson Nursing Center in Fort Edward. Under his leadership, the organization has grown into a multi-level provider of senior care and housing services for all stages of senior life and health, including skilled nursing care, specialized dementia care, licensed and certified home care, senior day care, short-term rehabilitation, independent senior housing, and care management. Fort Hudson Health System now serves more than 2,000 individuals annually, across nine counties, and is one of the largest employers in the region, with more than 500 staff members.
The Fort Hudson Nursing Center remains the physical cornerstone of the organization. It is the only nonprofit nursing center in Washington, Warren and northern Saratoga counties.
In the coming months, officials said work will begin on a major renovation and modernization of the 49-year-old center, which was the subject of a successful capital campaign led by Cruikshank over the past three years.
Cruikshank has also distinguished himself as an expert and advocate on senior care issues across the state. In addition to his chairmanship of the LeadingAge New York Board, he is a Department of Health appointee on the state Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators, and a member of the Adirondack Health Institute’s Performing Provider System Steering Committee.
He also serves on the board of directors of the Warren-Washington Association for Mental Health and the Hudson Mohawk Health Education Center.
Cruikshank began his healthcare career as a registered nurse after earning his bachelor’s degree in nursing from the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh. He went on to earn his master’s degree in health administration from Russel Sage Graduate School and spent 11 years as a vice president and administrator with another senior care organization before joining Fort Hudson.