(EMAILWIRE.COM, September 25, 2009 ) CLEVELAND, Tenn. – The American College of Health Care Administrators bestowed its national Excellence in Leadership Award on Forrest Preston, founder and chairman of Life Care Centers of America, on Monday, Sept. 21.

“Mr. Preston has made a great impact on long-term care since he started his first nursing home in 1970,” said Marianna Grachek, president and CEO of ACHCA. “You can see his commitment to quality in Life Care buildings and, over the years, that commitment has raised the bar throughout the long-term care industry.”

The Excellence in Leadership Award was established to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to enhancing quality in long-term care leadership and to leadership development.

Preston has been an active supporter of ACHCA for more than two decades, encouraging all Life Care executive directors to become members of ACHCA and to achieve professional certification through this national organization. Preston puts an emphasis on professional advancement for associates in other disciplines as well, including medical directors and directors of nursing.




“Life Care Centers of America sponsors an average of 40 people annually to become licensed administrators through its administrators-in-training program,” said Guy Crosson, board member of ACHCA and executive director at Life Care Center of Red Bank in Chattanooga, Tenn. “I don’t believe there is another health care company that invests in administrators as much as Life Care does, and that is thanks to Mr. Preston and his vision of what we all can become.”

Preston opened his first nursing facility, originally Garden Terrace Convalescent Center and now Life Care Center of Cleveland, on Jan. 4, 1970. At the time that Life Care Centers of America incorporated on Jan. 6, 1976, it encompassed six centers. Since then, it has grown to include more than 220 facilities in 28 states from Rhode Island to Hawaii.

Founded in 1962, ACHCA is the only professional association devoted solely to meeting the professional needs of today’s long-term care administrators. Its mission focuses on advancing leadership excellence in long-term care through the provision of leadership education, promotion of professional advancement programs such as fellowship and certification, and facilitation of leadership development. The College’s diverse membership includes administrators of assisted living centers, nursing homes and retirement communities. For more information about ACHCA, call (202) 536-5120, visit www.achca.org or email info@achca.org.

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