Richmond’s premier physical therapy and rehabilitation healthcare provider has been notified this week that it has won two national awards and three statewide awards. Competing against healthcare organizations from across the U.S., Sheltering Arms was honored with a gold Aster Award, given only to the top five percent of entries. Sheltering Arms was also notified that it has earned an award in the 27th Annual Healthcare Advertising Awards, and has won three awards from the Virginia Society for Healthcare Marketing and Public Relations (VSHMPR).

Sheltering Arms is being honored with a gold Aster Award for its Spine Clinic Brochure. One of the largest national competitions of its kind, The Aster Awards is hosted by Marketing Healthcare Today Magazine and Creative Images, Inc.. This elite program recognizes outstanding healthcare professionals for excellence in their advertising/marketing efforts for the calendar year 2009. This year, entries were received from approximately 3,000 organizations from across the United States as well as Canada and South America.

“It was an honor to have Sheltering Arms participate in the 2010 Aster Awards Competition. The quality of this year’s entries went well beyond the judges’ expectations,” said Melinda R. Lucas, Aster Awards Program Coordinator.

The same Spine Clinic Brochure that was honored with an Aster Award also won two additional awards. Sheltering Arms received a Bronze Award for the brochure in the 27th Annual Healthcare Advertising Awards, sponsored by Healthcare Marketing Report. The brochure was given a first place award by the VSHMPR. Sheltering Arms also received second place awards in that statewide competition for its 2008 Annual Report and its Power to Overcome Documentary.

“We’re obviously thrilled to receive these recognitions,” said James E. Sok, Sheltering Arms President and Chief Executive Officer. “While these are marketing awards, the pieces feature the exceptional care our team provides to Sheltering Arms patients every day. I am honored to lead an organization that is dedicated to quality on all levels.”

All winners of the Aster Awards are published at www.AsterAwards.com, as well as in Marketing Healthcare Today, a national healthcare marketing magazine.

These two dynamic and growing Richmond icons share a genuine commitment to the community. Both are non-profit health care organizations started by women who wanted to ensure that members of their communities were able to receive the care they needed and deserved, regardless of their ability to pay. This continues to be a core component of their missions today.

As Sheltering Arms and Lucy Corr bring their strengths together with this multi-year contractual relationship, residents throughout Central Virginia will benefit from top-notch long-term care. While Lucy Corr Village provides superior skilled nursing expertise, Sheltering Arms offers knowledge of contemporary therapy techniques, ongoing training of licensed therapists, and an emphasis on exceptional clinical outcomes.

“I know that Lucy Corr Village received several proposals, and I am very proud and that Sheltering Arms is their selected provider,” says James E. Sok, Sheltering Arms President and Chief Executive Officer. “This opportunity allows us to expand our continuum of services and make our research, technology and caring approach available to more patients.”

Partnerships such as this will become increasingly important as the baby boomer population ages and more people find themselves in need of comprehensive, quality rehabilitative care.

The two men will be honored this Friday night by the Woman’s Club, where many of their plays have been staged.  The evening will celebrate their decades of contributions to local theater.  The Richmond Times-Dispatch today ran a story on the upcoming event…

The evening will focus on the 22-year run of drawing-room comedies Watkins and Riddick staged at the theater of the Bolling Haxall House, the downtown Richmond home of the Woman’s Club for more than 100 years. But it’s more than that, said organizer Ann Belk and countless others who have known and worked with Watkins and Riddick through the years.

The evening is called “As Far As Love Can Reach,” and will feature nine love scenes from some of Watkins and Riddick’s most memorable plays.  It will take place at the theater at Bolling Haxall House.  For more about Riddick and Watkins, and for information on how to attend “As Far As Love Can Reach,” check out the article in today’s Times-Dispatch.