Omega Communities Names Christopher Rio President and Chief Operating Officer

PR Newswire

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Feb. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Omega Communities announced the addition today of Christopher Rio as President and Chief Operating Officer of the senior housing company effective February 1. Rio has over 30 years of senior executive experience operating and managing multiple senior housing portfolios, health care ventures and hospitality companies. Rio has worked with Omega as a consultant since August 2017 and has had the opportunity to work closely with current management as well as the leadership teams for each of the individual Omega communities. He is skilled at identifying and implementing business turnaround strategies and management initiatives to reduce operating inefficiencies. His Profit and Loss management and motivational leadership have enabled him to consistently exceed forecasted growth in company profitability and value.

Most recently, as President of The LaSalle Group's Management Company and Executive Vice President of the parent company, Rio provided executive leadership of the companies' senior housing, assisted living, memory care management division for its 43 community, multi-state portfolio. In 2017 he led the packaging, negotiation and completion of a 15-year sale/leaseback transaction with a publicly traded REIT on a five-community portfolio. He also directed all preopening licensing and operations for 12 purpose-built memory care communities. Prior to that, Rio provided senior management oversight for Senior Living Communities' portfolio of large campus CCRCs throughout the Southeastern U.S.

From 2000 to 2005, Rio served as COO for Southern Assisted Living, Inc. ("SALI"). At SALI, Rio provided P&L and operations management for 46 senior care communities serving more than 3,000 residents. He managed the full integration of multiple operating budget systems, financial/investor reports, and departmental policies/procedures for the acquisition and merger of a 30-property senior living portfolio. As SALI's senior operations executive, Rio led the transformation of the company from an entrepreneurial start-up organization into an efficient and profitable operating company.

Pat Trammell, Chairman and CEO of Omega Communities acknowledged the significant addition to the Omega management team saying, "Chris is a proven and successful leader in our industry. We know Chris had multiple opportunities, and we are honored he chose to be a part of Omega Communities. We appreciate his confidence in our four existing communities' operations, our future pipeline and growth strategy and our overall business model. Chris has already made significant contributions as a consultant since August, and we are very excited about where he will lead us in the future."

On joining the Omega team, Chris Rio said, "Omega has a proven track record of developing high-end, Class A properties and delivering them on time and on budget. The current communities are located in some of the best growth markets in the nation, and the opportunity for additional growth is significant. I am looking forward to being a part of a quality organization and helping to build it into one of the premier senior living providers in the country."

Omega Communities is a for-profit, faith based developer of senior housing headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Omega has opened four assisted living and memory care communities in Florida and Alabama since August, 2015. Omega successfully licensed more than 500 memory care and assisted living beds during that time. Omega's communities include The Springs at South Biscayne in North Port, Florida (thespringsatsouthbiscayne.com), The Fountains of Hope in Sarasota, Florida (fountainsofhope.com), Cypress Point in Fort Myers, Florida (cypresspointseniorliving.com) and River Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama (riverhighlands.com). Omega Communities has additional projects under development in Lady Lake, Florida and McDonough, Georgia.