Lilly Garcia, environmental services professional at Arbor Terrace Highland Park, has won the Cintas C.A.P.E. Award, a national recognition honoring the people who keep healthcare and senior living communities clean and safe.
Lilly was nominated by Christopher Dale, executive director of the Illinois community, and did not know until the announcement. Cintas traveled to Highland Park to present the award and brought a video crew to document it.
What the C.A.P.E. Award Recognizes
C.A.P.E. stands for Cleaning to Advance the Patient Experience. The award honors environmental services technicians in acute and long-term care settings whose work protects the health and comfort of residents, staff, and visitors.
It is a category of work that rarely gets a spotlight, which is part of why the recognition exists.
The video features Garcia's family and the leaders who work alongside her. In it, Dale draws a line between what a community can train and what it cannot.
"We can teach you the Arbor way of doing things," he says. "You've got skills, you have some experience, but the one thing we don't teach is how to care."
Garcia puts it in her own terms: "When you do your job with patience and love, many blessings come into your life."
A Second Honor in Two Years
The C.A.P.E. Award follows Garcia's selection as 2024 Arbor Star of the Year at Arbor Terrace Highland Park, chosen from more than 100 team members. The Arbor Star program names an honoree at each Arbor community annually, recognizing sustained commitment rather than a single standout moment.
Watch Lilly’s story on our YouTube channel.
