For Immediate Release Tuesday, December 3, 2013 Contact Sarah Bascom, sarah@bascomllc.com, 850.294.6636 Lyndsey Cruley, lyndsey@bascomllc.com, 850.524.

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FLORIDA ALFA Shines Spotlight on Outstanding Senior Living Community Leader Margie Longstreth
FL ALFA Applauds South Floridas Longstreth for her Continued Work on Behalf of Floridas Seniors & Local Community Tallahassee, Fla. FLORIDA ALFA (FL ALFA) today shined a spotlight on outstanding senior living community leader, Margie Longstreth. Longstreth, executive director of Five Star Premier Residences of Hollywood, Fla., was awarded the ALFA 2013 Senior Living Community Leadership Award in May 2013. In addition to being recognized as an outstanding senior living community executive director, Longstreth has begun working with Memorial Hospitals South Broward Community Coalition on nursing and case management communication to help develop best practices to ensure safe transitions of care through enhanced communications between hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, long-term acute facilities, home health agencies and assisted living facilities. FL ALFA is fortunate to have an abundance of senior living communities as members who have dedicated staff that go above and beyond to ensure their residents experience the best quality of life possible, and Margie Longstreth is a shining example of this d edication, said Gail Matillo, executive director of FL ALFA. Margie is a tireless advocate for improving quality of life for Floridas seniors, not just in her community but throughout the South Florida region. Her leadership style is unparalleled and day in and day out she strives to make her senior living community one of the best in the State of Florida, and we at FL ALFA are proud of what she has accomplished. Longstreth is also a dedicated community member; recently completing a bike ride from Miami to the Florida Keys as part of the The SMART Ride to raise awareness and funds for four HIV/AIDS service organizations in South Florida Longstreth and her husband raised a combined $3,500. I am honored that FL ALFA would spotlight the work that I am doing here in South Florida, said Longstreth. It is so important that we safeguard the residents in our senior living communities and make their experience a fulfilling and satisfying one. I also believe it is vitally important that we work alongside other organizations in order to make the transition to assisted living facilities a smooth one, and that is why I feel the work the South Broward Community Coalition is vital.

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PAGE 2: FLORIDA ALFA I have also been honored to be part of The SMART Ride for the fourth straight year in a row, continued Longstreth. I find no greater pleasure than giving back to my community, be it as a member of the outstanding staff at Five Star Premier Residences, or volunteering my time to the great community organizations that South Florida is home to. Longstreth serves as executive director at Five Star Premier Residences, a senior living community located in Hollywood, Fla., and operated by Newton, Mass.-based Five Star Senior Living. The Premier Residences community serves 400 residents and employs 200 staff members. Longstreth started at Premier Residences as a sales director for three years, before becoming an executive director at a sister community. She returned to Premier Residences of Hollywood two years ago to serve in the leadership role. ###
FLORIDA ALFA, Floridas chapter of the Assisted Living Federation of America , represents professionally managed senior living communities. The association mission is to raise the bar for operational excellence and serves as the voice for senior living providers in the state of Florida.