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FHCA 2012 Media and Community Involvement Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 30, 2012
Contact: Kristen Knapp, APR
(850) 701-3530 or kknapp@fhca.org

TALLAHASSEE, FL - Florida Health Care Association (FHCA) recently presented Health Central Park of Winter Garden with the Association’s 2012 Media and Community Involvement Award. Administrator Lori Jowett accepted the award on the facility’s behalf in Orlando today during the FHCA 2012 Annual Conference in front of over 600 long term care professionals gathered from across the state of Florida. The Award is given annually to a long term care facility 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.

Health Central Park makes media relations and community outreach a top priority.  The facility has been featured numerous times in the Orlando area weekly and daily newspapers and business journals. Articles have highlighted their involvement in community events, expansions at the facility, partnerships with local volunteer groups and more. One front-page article in the Orlando Sentinel focused on the facility’s use of the iPad 2 as a tool to help with residents’ cognitive stimulation, memory skills, reading and music. The article was picked up nationally, and the Sentinel also developed a video, which went viral. Hundreds of calls and emails resulted, along with a generous donation of five additional iPads from their local American Legion.

Health Central Park is also actively involved with a number of civic organizations and they partner with several community groups which host meetings at their facility. They understand the importance of intergenerational programs, connecting local high school organizations and most recently, a local elementary school, with their residents. These activities have helped provide additional media coverage and fostered an important connection between Health Central Park’s residents and Winter Garden community members of all ages.   

“FHCA is pleased to present Health Central Park with the 2012 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 facilities across the state.”

The 2012 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, 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 www.fhca.org.

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 www.fhca.org.  

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