FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sam Planta
splanta@touchstone-communities.com
tel. 210.828.5686
or Scott Stevens, 512.413.9540
MINISTERIAL SERVICES LAUNCHED FOR EMPLOYEES AND THEIR FAMILIES AT TOUCHSTONE COMMUNITIES
Free Chaplain Support Enhances Workplace Quality of Life
(SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS) – November 5, 2006 -- Touchstone Communities, a growing provider of skilled healthcare in Texas and Arizona, today announced that its employees at eleven communities and company headquarters are being provided free, confidential chaplain service as a corporate benefit to each staff member. The non-denominational ministers visit the staff at each site every week.
“We work to excel in providing the absolute highest level of care for each of our residents, focusing on treating the whole person. It’s important that we offer our employees as much support as we expect them to provide each of our residents,” said Britta Strickland, chief operating officer for Touchstone. “This is another way that we invest in our employees and their family members, which should help them be better prepared to care for others.”
Touchstone Communities staff will be supported by Marketplace Ministries, an employee care provider. Local chaplain teams are specifically selected and trained to serve both employees and their families. Services range from confidential pastoral discussions to weddings, hospital visits, jail visits and funerals. The chaplains are part of a non-profit organization and do not represent company management.
“This service supports the good health of our team,” said Carl Fellbaum, president of Touchstone Communities. “In addition to offering counsel on traditional issues like personal problems, the ministers also help with grief management and special occasions. Our organization operates as a family and we try to anticipate and support every individual’s need.”
As owner/operator of skilled care communities in Texas and Arizona, and managers of multiple Texas state veterans homes, Touchstone Communities plans to acquire, develop and manage other premier communities that offer a range of Alzheimer’s care, assisted living and skilled nursing care in rural and urban markets. This growth strategy, which Touchstone leadership describes as “caring for families, one generation at a time,” is designed to provide the top-quality service and long-term stability that many families, caregivers and skilled healthcare workers seek.
ABOUT TOUCHSTONE COMMUNITIES
Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, Touchstone Communities provides the aging population with extensive health care services, including skilled-nursing care, assisted living, Alzheimer’s care and rehabilitative services. With more than 1,000 employees, Touchstone Communities independently owns six communities in Texas at Brenham, Del Rio, LaVernia, Rockdale, Snyder, Troup and two in Arizona, both in Prescott. Touchstone also manages Texas state veterans homes in Bonham, Floresville and Temple, Texas. For more information, visit www.Touchstone-Communities.com