A woman who was one of the founders of the state-of-the-art care village company Belong, which has a village in Macclesfield, has been awarded the MBE in the Queen's birthday honours.

Tracy Paine, who lives in Sandbach, was awarded the MBE for her role revolutionising dementia care in the UK, pioneering the care village model.

The care village model has improved the quality of life for thousands of older people over the last decade and helped change the more institutional, task-orientated approaches to care.

As then Operations Director, Tracy was part of the Senior Management team which launched the first Belong village in Macclesfield in 2007. Belong Macclesfield is located on Kennedy Avenue.

Tracy's Macclesfield place of work is situated on Kennedy Avenue.

There are now seven Belong villages include one in Crewe, Chester and Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Alongside former Chief Executive Nick Dykes and Finance Director Tracey Stakes, Tracy went on to transition the not-for-profit organisation's provision from operating traditional care homes to establishing seven villages in the North West as well as dementia specialist home care and day care services.

Tracy said: "I am so very honoured to have been awarded an MBE in theQueen's Platinum Jubilee year. 

"My career in nursing has been the most exciting journey over 42 years and in particular, I would like to thank the many colleagues and partners who have supported me over the years, particularly as a director of me over the years, particularly as a director of Belong. 

Tracey works at Upton Priory care village Belong Macclesfield. (Image - Alexander Greensmith)

"I'm incredibly proud of what we achieved as a team, particularly in redesigning the built environment to world-class standards and provisioning the very best in dementia care through the household model and the village community.

Tracy worked tirelessly for the organisation until standing down from her post as Deputy Chief Executive last summer.

She is a trustee for the End-of- life Partnership, NAPA (the National Association for the Provision of Activities) and a healthcare tech start-up.

Belong's Chief Finance Officer, Chris Hughes, who worked with Tracy for much of her career with Belong, said: "Tracy always put the needs of the person with the dementia front and centre in everything we did as an organisation, and her dedication and passion were an inspiration to many. We are absolutely delighted that her contribution to the sector has been recognised in this way."

It is not the only royal recognition received by the Macclesfield institution of late.

The Macclesfield dementia care specialists have a gym, cafe, hair salon and more inside their facility. (Image - Alexander Greensmith / Macclesfield Nub News)

Belong also featured in the commemoration of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee when it was chosen to feature in the official publication of Her Majesty The Queen: The Official Platinum Jubilee Pageant Album, which launched as part of the weekend's celebrations and profiles 70 outstanding organisations that have positively impacted life in the UK over the past seven decades. 

Belong Macclesfield is located on Kennedy Avenue, SK10 3DE. Find more about them here.

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