Tallahassee, FL, Oct. 30th, 2023 – Florida Health Care Association (FHCA) today announced a partnership with Florida Community Care to provide funding for a new scholarship that will support individuals with a career goal to become a licensed Nursing Home Administrator. The FHCA Rising Long Term Care Leader Scholarship program will provide financial assistance to individuals enrolled in an Administrator in Training (AIT) in a Florida skilled nursing center.

“We are so thankful to Florida Community Care for their partnership and generous support to foster growth in the long-term care profession,” said Emmett Reed, Chief Executive Officer of FHCA. “Florida Health Care Association recognizes that delivering high quality care and quality of life to residents in a skilled nursing center begins with a dedicated leader. The Rising Long Term Care Leader Scholarship is an investment in the next generation of leaders in our field.”

FHCA’s Rising Long Term Care Leader Scholarship will provide $1,500 in financial assistance to selected applicants who are Administrators in Training in an FHCA member nursing center. The Administrator in Training (AIT) program is a supervised internship designed to enhance professional development and prepare the AIT for working in the field of long-term care administration. AITs work under the guidance and supervision of a preceptor, who is a licensed Nursing Home Administrator meeting the qualifications established by the Florida Board of Nursing Home Administrators.

“Florida Community Care is honored to support this important initiative and invest in the long-term care workforce of tomorrow,” said Nestor Plana, Florida Community Care Chairman and CEO. “Rising leaders are developed through meaningful mentorships and quality education programs, such as the Administrator in Training program. We are proud to help lift up future leaders through this scholarship donation.”

In Florida and across the nation, workforce challenges continue to strain skilled nursing facilities, and not just at the caregiver level. A recent study found that while nursing and residential care had the highest wage growth across healthcare settings, employment in those fields still 5.7% below pre-pandemic levels.

FHCA is committed to investing in the long-term care workforce through several scholarship programs and has awarded over $180,000 to long-term care professionals since the association established its scholarship program in 2005.

Applications for the Rising Long Term Care Leader Scholarship will open in January 2024. Scholarships are awarded twice a year and funded through the Florida Health Care Education & Development Foundation, the Association's charitable foundation. For more information, visit the FHC Foundation website at http://www.fhcafoundation.org

For more information about Independent Living Systems and its services, please visit ilshealth.com.

About Independent Living Systems: 

Independent Living Systems (ILS) is a Florida-based company providing a comprehensive range of turnkey payer services to managed care organizations and health care providers that provide care and social services to complex populations in the Medicare, Medicaid, and Dual-Eligible markets. The company also owns and operates Florida Community Care, Florida’s only statewide Medicaid long-term care provider service network, as well as Florida Complete Care, a Medicare Advantage special needs plan for people who live in a nursing home, an assisted living facility, or live at home and have complex health issues that require more coordinated and comprehensive care.

About the Florida Health Care Association

The Florida Health Care Association (FHCA) is a federation that represents more than 80% of Florida's nursing centers, including over 600 long-term care centers that provide skilled nursing, post-acute and subacute care, short-term rehab, assisted living, and other services to the elderly 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 http://www.fhca.org