Golden Living Receives 60 Prestigious AHCA/NCAL Quality Awards in 2009

FORT SMITH, AR--(Marketwire - August 13, 2009) - 60 Golden LivingCenters have been selected by the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) as recipients of the AHCA/NCAL Step I and II Quality Awards this year. To be selected for one of the independently judged awards, nursing homes must show an extraordinary ongoing commitment to quality care for their residents, as measured against specific criteria.

The AHCA/NCAL Quality Awards are designed to recognize quality achievement, while supporting improvement efforts in long-term care through the promotion of education and awareness. The awards are modeled after the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, which is the nation's highest award for distinguished health care achievement.

"Including this year's recipients, our company has earned a total of 241 Quality Awards since AHCA started the program in 1996, with more than half of those coming in the last three years under our new ownership," said Neil Kurtz, M.D., President and CEO of Golden Living. "This achievement is unmatched in the industry."

"Our employees strive every day to raise the bar of quality care in each of our LivingCenters," said Larry Deans, President of Golden LivingCenters. "The significant number of awards we have earned is a direct reflection of our progress in becoming a company that is synonymous with quality care."

To be selected by AHCA/NCAL as a Step I Quality Award recipient, a nursing home must demonstrate an organization-wide commitment to a patient-centered mission, define its principal customers and their expectations, and indicate how it is striving to meet their needs.

Quality Award recipients at the Step II level must have demonstrated excellence in the core values and concepts of visionary leadership, focus on the future, resident-focused care, management that measures and analyzes performance, organizational and personal learning, valuing staff and partners, systems perspective and innovation, and focus on results and creating value. To be eligible for the more rigorous Step II designation, nursing homes must also have previously earned the AHCA/NCAL Step I Quality Award.

"Golden Living is at the forefront of the quality movement and we applaud them for their efforts to incorporate processes that demonstrate enhanced quality," said AHCA/NCAL President and CEO, Bruce Yarwood.

A ceremony honoring the recipients of this year's awards will be held at the AHCA/NCAL Annual Convention and Exposition, Oct. 4-7, 2009 in Chicago.

About Golden Living (www.goldenliving.com)

The Golden Living family of companies provides care and services that directly or indirectly serve the elderly and disabled, including companies that operate nursing homes and provide rehabilitation therapy, hospice care, home health services and temporary staffing services. There are more than 300 Golden LivingCenters (skilled nursing facilities) in 21 states. Golden Living also offers assisted living services at more than 40 locations. In addition, the Golden Innovations companies are leading providers of integrated senior healthcare services, partnering with more than 1,000 nursing homes, hospitals and other healthcare organizations in 37 states. Golden Innovations companies include Aegis Therapies, AseraCare Hospice and Home Health, 360 Healthcare Staffing, Ceres Purchasing Solutions, and Vizia Healthcare Design Group. Collectively, the Golden Living family of companies has nearly 40,000 employees who provide quality healthcare to more than 30,000 patients every day.

Golden Living 2009 Quality Award Recipients Step II Recipients Golden LivingCenter - Clovis Clovis CA Golden LivingCenter - St. James St. James MO Golden LivingCenter - Richland Johnstown PA Golden LivingCenter - William Penn Lewistown PA Golden LivingCenter - Briarwood Tucker GA Golden LivingCenter - Decatur Decatur GA Golden LivingCenter - Rome Rome GA Step I Recipients Golden LivingCenter - Winfield Winfield AL Golden LivingCenter - Hillcrest Fresno CA Golden LivingCenter - Sanger Sanger CA Golden LivingCenter - Portside Stockton CA Golden LivingCenter - Kennestone Marietta GA Golden LivingCenter - Windermere Augusta GA Golden LivingCenter - Muncie Muncie IN Golden LivingCenter - Chase County Cottonwood Falls KS Golden LivingCenter - Fredonia Fredonia KS Golden LivingCenter - Parkway Edwardsville KS Golden LivingCenter - Wellington Wellington KS Golden LivingCenter - St. Matthews Louisville KY Golden LivingCenter - Dedham Dedham MA Golden LivingCenter - Garden Place Attleboro MA Golden LivingCenter - Heathwood Chestnut Hill MA Golden LivingCenter - Lexington Lexington MA Golden LivingCenter - Melrose Melrose MA Golden LivingCenter - Norwood Norwood MA Golden LivingCenter - The Elmhurst Melrose MA Golden LivingCenter - The Hermitage Worcester MA Golden LivingCenter - Lake Ridge Roseville MN Golden LivingCenter - Linden Stillwater MN Golden LivingCenter - Moorhead Moorhead MN Golden LivingCenter - Rochester West Rochester MN Golden LivingCenter - Rush City Rush City MN Golden LivingCenter - Malden Malden MO Golden LivingCenter - New Haven Odessa MO Golden LivingCenter - Westwood Clinton MO Golden LivingCenter - Brook Manor Brookhaven MS Golden LivingCenter - Carthage Carthage MS Golden LivingCenter - Dartmouth Charlotte NC Golden LivingCenter - Sargent Sargent NE Golden LivingCenter - Valley St. Marys OH Golden LivingCenter - Erie Erie PA Golden LivingCenter - Gettysburg Gettysburg PA Golden LivingCenter - HAIDA Hastings PA Golden LivingCenter - Lansdale Lansdale PA Golden LivingCenter - Meadville Meadville PA Golden LivingCenter - Scranton Scranton PA Golden LivingCenter - Shippenville Shippenville PA Golden LivingCenter - Stroud East Stroudsburg PA Golden LivingCenter - Black Hills Rapid City SD Golden LivingCenter - Clark Clark SD Golden LivingCenter - Mobridge Mobridge SD Golden LivingCenter - Prairie Hills Rapid City SD Golden LivingCenter - Watertown Watertown SD Golden LivingCenter - Brandywood Gallatin TN Golden LivingCenter - Springfield Springfield TN Golden LivingCenter - Elizabeth Adam Crump Glen Allen VA Golden LivingCenter - Beaver Dam Beaver Dam WI Golden LivingCenter - Court Manor Superior WI Golden LivingCenter - Kenosha Kenosha WI Golden LivingCenter - Valley of Hayward Hayward WI