Parkside Health and Rehabilitation Center Receives FHCA 2015 Media and Community Involvement Award

Deland Nursing Center Receives Statewide Honors for Outstanding Community Service, Media Outreach

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 11, 2015
CONTACT: Kristen Knapp, APR
(850) 701-3530 or kknapp@fhca.org

Tallahassee, FL - Florida Health Care Association (FHCA) recently presented Parkside Health and Rehabilitation Center, a 122-bed skilled nursing facility in Deland, with the Association’s 2015 Media and Community Involvement Award. Administrator Heather Jackson accepted the award on the facility’s behalf in Orlando during the FHCA 2015 Annual Conference in front of over 800 long term care professionals gathered from across the state of Florida. The Award is given annually to a long term care center which actively engages their local community and the media to help raise positive awareness about the long term care profession and the work providers do to continuously improve resident quality of care and quality of life.

Parkside Health and Rehabilitation Center is known for partnering with their local community organizations to enrich the lives of their residents through special events and activities, including field trips to the local state park, sports complexes, community events and cultural experiences. A partnership with the New York Yankees organization has fostered the success of an ongoing tradition at the center which celebrates milestone birthdays – a seniors All Star Baseball game in which residents can relive their favorite childhood memories.

The center also hosts a number of intergenerational activities throughout the year, bringing in children from the local Head Start program and giving Stetson University students the opportunity to volunteer. Pet therapy programs, church groups and a local Spanish group also partner with the center to give residents an excellent way to connect with the community and experience new activities.

The center, which was voted the 2014 Best of the West Rehab Center by readers of the Daytona Beach News Journal, also gives back to their local community, participating in food drives, donating to local churches and taking part in the community Alzheimer’s Association Walk.
“FHCA is pleased to present Parkside Health and Rehabilitation Center with the 2015 Media and Community Involvement Award,” said Emmett Reed, Executive Director of Florida Health Care Association. “Their enthusiasm and dedication to their residents and the work they do to involve their local community makes them an excellent role model for other long term care centers across the state.”

The 2015 Media and Community Involvement Award is part of Florida Health Care Association’s Long Term Care Excellence Awards. These awards annually honor a Nursing Home and Assisted Living Facility Administrator of the Year, Resident of the Year, the Willis J. Gregson Associate Member of the Year and a number of community volunteers for their service to long term care.  For more information about FHCA’s Long Term Care Excellence Awards, visit the Quality Improvement section of the FHCA website at [url=http://www.fhca.org]http://www.fhca.org[/url].

ABOUT THE FLORIDA HEALTH CARE ASSOCIATION
The Florida Health Care Association (FHCA) is a federation which serves nearly 1,000 members and represents over 500 long term care facilities that provide skilled nursing, post-acute and sub-acute care, short-term rehab, assisted living and other services to the frail elderly and individuals with disabilities in Florida. The mission of FHCA is to advance the quality of services, image, professional development and financial stability of its members. As Florida's first and largest advocacy organization for long term care providers and the elderly they serve, the Association has worked diligently since 1954 to assist its members with continuously improving quality of care and quality of life for the state’s growing elder care population. For more information about the Florida Health Care Association, visit [url=http://www.fhca.org]http://www.fhca.org[/url].

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