Washington, D.C. – The American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) presented three extraordinary leaders in long term care with the distinguished Joe Warner Award today.

AHCA/NCAL bestows this prestigious award on Association members who have worked directly to educate Members of Congress about the needs and interests of long term care patients and residents. These members share the same passion and commitment to progressing long term and post acute care as the late Joe Warner of Illinois-based Heritage Enterprises, for whom the award is named. All the recipients share a compassionate and caring view of our nation’s frail, elderly, and disabled.

“The awardees characterize the goals and priorities our profession is working to achieve and has dedicated their career to advocating on behalf of those people who often cannot speak for themselves,” stated Bob Van Dyk, Chair of AHCA’s Board of Governors. “On behalf of AHCA/NCAL and our membership, we thank them for their commitment to advancing quality long term care in their home state and for sharing their expertise with our providers, who are caring for millions of Americans nationwide.”

Senator Stebanow (D-MI) and U.S. Representative Sander Levin (D-MI)  joined AHCA/NCAL in honoring Gail Clarkson, highlighting her dedication to providing and improving quality in long term care. Clarkson has a long history of excellence in the health care community, as a former nursing home administrator, director of nursing, intensive care nurse, and the current CEO of MediLodge, a group focused on providing quality care.

U.S. Representative Mike Coffman (R-CO) joined AHCA/NCAL in honoring Arlene Miles with the Joe Warner Award. Miles is the President and CEO of the Colorado Health Care Association (CHCA). Miles has been instrumental in developing several successful programs for Colorado’s long term care community.

U.S. Representative Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) joined AHCA/NCAL in honoring Michael Torgan with the Joe Warner Award because of his great contributions to advancing quality long term care in California and nationwide. Torgan is the Executive Vice President of Country Villa Health Services. He has over 20 years of experience in long term care and has proven himself to be a great advocate of quality improvement.

The Joe Warner Award celebrates individuals who are committed to the improvement of the long term health care profession. Their respect and compassion for the elderly is clearly seen in their actions and accomplishments in the field. These humble and dedicated leaders have worked diligently to improve quality and help the long term care community progress. The awardees’ actions exemplify the qualities of Joe Warner himself, who devoted his life to improving the lives of the elderly and frail.

As the nation’s largest association of long term and post-acute care providers, the American Health Care Association (AHCA) advocates for quality care and services for frail, elderly and disabled Americans. Compassionate and caring employees provide essential care to one million individuals in our 11,000 not-for-profit and proprietary member facilities.