James M. Berklan, McKnight's Editor

If you’re a long-term care provider, there’s no way you can spend your days doing nothing. It’s simply impossible. You know it and we know it. So now here’s one more thing for you to do.

Get your staff and their hard work some national recognition.

How, you ask? Think about your operations and program offerings and pull out the best ones. Describe the technical challenges of making one work, or the technical aspects that make it special.

We’re not talking about having to make nuclear missiles here, or even curing cancer or eradicating pressure ulcers from the face of the Earth.

Just what works. For you. Without a doubt, there are plenty of things that qualify.

Once you and/or a few colleagues have identified some points of pride, click here. Fill out the simple (free) form and — voila! — you will be entered in the Second Annual McKnight’s Technology Awards contest. There is no cost, and the potential reward can be great.

It really is as simple as that. I meet too many high-quality providers through the year to let our deadline for this contest get any closer without urging you to enter.

Ah, yes, the deadline. It is July 12 — as in little more than a week after July 4 holiday hoopla next week. Sure, you have a little time after that Thursday bonanza, but it’s liable to leave you a bit short on staff for a while afterward. Why procrastinate and put any more deadline pressure than necessary on yourself?

My suggestion: Discuss this blog post with any trusted colleagues you wish — ASAP — to get the ball rolling. Then click on the link and fill out the basic entry form we provide. You could do it this afternoon, tomorrow or in any brief period in the coming days. Multiple entries, across various categories are allowed.

These long-term care peers found happiness and glory for taking the chance last year. You’ll find plenty more written about them if you type any of their names in the “search” function at this website. We celebrated the winners and runners-up in our November 2012 issue and online. Then, go ahead and Google them the same way, including “and McKnight’s” to make sure you narrow the search a bit. See what else was written and said. It is, among other things, a marketing department’s dream scenario.

Kind of has a nice ring to it doesn’t it? Especially for your community and those dedicated employees you have.

Fifteen providers learned last year how easily it can be done. Won’t you join the eligible pool this time around?