PruittHealth-Santa Rosa earns Media and Community Involvement Award

MILTON — PruittHealth-Santa Rosa in Milton received the statewide 2017 Media and Community Involvement award from the Florida Health Care Association. FHCA presented the award during its annual conference in Orlando July 31-August 4.

In partnership with Second Wind Dreams, a nonprofit organization, PruittHealth educated the Santa Rosa and Escambia County community about long term care and elders and the need to empower them with dignity, hope and joy as they age.

Throughout the year, PruittHealth has granted opportunities to individuals, including Marie Garner and Paul Bruketa. Garner received the opportunity to work with Channel 3 News. The experience helped raise awareness about the hopes and dreams that still live inside many elders in long term care today.

Musician Paul Bruketa reconnected with a former band member, and with help from several community organizations, performed a concert for the community. The event drew coverage from radio stations, The Pensacola News Journal, Santa Rosa Gazette and national news coverage from "Good Morning America" and the "Ellen DeGeneres Show."

A 120-bed nursing center, PruittHealth is involved in the local community, donating baskets to Emerald Coast Hospice, hosting tribal dancers from the Santa Rosa Creek Indian Tribe, and conducting holiday events for residents.

“PruittHealth’s commitment to the community is one of the reasons it is among the finest centers in Florida,” FHCA Executive Director Emmett Reed said. “The center’s enthusiasm and dedication to its residents, in addition to the work it does to involve its local community, makes it an excellent model for other long term care centers across the state.”

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: PruittHealth-Santa Rosa earns Media and Community Involvement Award