Movers & Shakers – People and Positions for January 2013

Happy New Year, senior housing professionals! It’s 2013, and we have a whole new round-up of people who have been making moves and shaking things up in the industry.

Did any of your new year’s resolutions include taking a new position or joining a different company? Look for senior housing jobs nationwide on SHN’s job board.

Employers: Take advantage of our job board to look for some of the best and brightest in the industry. Post a job on the SHN job board for less than $1 per day, and attract local and national candidates through our system that leverages these postings throughout the SimplyHired network. Post a job now.

Cantata Adult Life Services Names John Larson CEO

Chicago-based not-for-profit Cantata Adult Life Services promoted John Larson to Chief Executive Officer this month. Larson takes over for Dennis Sonnenberg, who will assume a new role as Foundation President. In Larson’s new role as head of Cantata, he will spearhead the company’s ongoing efforts to expand and initiate new business ventures and partnerships, including a consulting arm of the Cantata parent company that will offer consulting services to other adult life services organizations seeking to improve operational efficiencies and outcomes.

As Chief Operating/Financial Officer for Cantata, Larson lead the charge to form a new strategic vision for the organization, positioning Cantata Adult Life Services to become one of the premier providers of services to older adults and their families in the Chicago area.

Larson brings with him thirty years of experience in finance, operations, information systems and management. Larson’s career began in finance with Old Republic International Corporation. He currently serves as Treasurer of Trinity Risk Solutions, and is a past treasurer for Abbeyfield Senior Housing. Larson serves on several advisory committees, and was named an American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) Leadership Fellow in 2009. Larson earned his Bachelor’s in Business Administration from University of Illinois at Chicago.

GlynnDevins Promotes Jeremy Johnson to VP of Creative

GlynnDevins Advertising & Marketing announces the promotion of Jeremy Johnson as vice president of creative for the marketing and advertising agency, which specializes in the field of senior living.

As vice president of creative, Johnson will be responsible for overseeing the creative department, including the conceptual development and execution of all creative materials.

Johnson has more than 15 years of creative experience and is a veteran of GlynnDevins, joining the team in August 2000. He is actively involved in the American Advertising Federation of Kansas City (AFFKC), having served as president of AAFKC Art+Copy Club and currently serving as a 2013 ADDY Show Chair.

Life Care Services Appoints Julie Bissonnette as Executive Director of Newcastle Place

Life Care Services, an LCS company, recently assumed management of Mequon senior living community Newcastle Place, and it has named Julie Bissonnette as executive director. Bissonnette will oversee all operations at the community recently purchased by LCS.

Bissonnette brings years of senior living management experience to Newcastle Place having worked at three Life Care Services communities prior to accepting the position. She has held roles of increasing responsibility, including the position of executive director at Peabody Retirement Community in North Manchester, Ind.

With Life Care Services now managing Newcastle Place, Bissonnette will guide the implementation of some of the company’s signature programs at the community including a customer service initiative and a resident wellness plan. She and her staff are also currently soliciting input from all Newcastle Place residents with a survey to gauge opinions on the operations and services such as dining, transportation and resident activities.

Bissonnette holds a bachelor’s degree in health care administration from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and she lives with her husband in Oak Creek.

The Barrington of Carmel Names Dana Shore Director of Sales and Marketing

The Barrington of Carmel senior living community has named Dana Shore director of sales and marketing. The announcement was made by Kristen McCaig, vice president of corporate sales and marketing for Senior Quality Lifestyles Corporation, which sponsors The Barrington.

Shore brings to The Barrington more than 20 years experience in sales and marketing as well as in management. Prior to joining The Barrington, Shore performed in many roles at Brookdale Senior Living, the nation’s largest provider of senior housing, in Indianapolis.  Her roles there included sales and marketing manager, national sales specialist and director of sales and marketing of the entry fee division.  

Omnicare Names Bob Dries SVP of Financial Operations, LTC Group

Omnicare, Inc. (NYSE: OCR) today announced Bob Dries has been appointed Senior Vice President Financial Operations, Long-Term Care Group.

Mr. Dries will have broad-based financial and operating responsibility for Omnicare’s Long-Term Care business. He will report directly to Nitin Sahney, Omnicare’s President and Chief Operating Officer.

Mr. Dries has been working at Omnicare in roles of increasing responsibility since 1996 and brings an extensive experience within pharmaceutical services into his new role.  Most recently, Mr. Dries served as Senior Vice President of the Operations Finance Group after having served as Vice President and Group Executive of the Operations Finance Group from 2005 to 2010. He previously served as Vice President of Internal Audit from 1999 to 2005 and Director of Internal Audit from 1996 to 1999.

Prior to working at Omnicare, Mr. Dries held various positions at KPMG Peat Marwick. Mr. Dries received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting, with a major in Finance, from the University of Kentucky. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Senior Living Management Names Jonathan Sperber as Executive Director of The Peninsula

Senior Living Management (SLM) is pleased to announce Jonathan Sperber has been named executive director for The Peninsula, an assisted living and memory care community located in southern Broward County. He is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management team of The Peninsula and to assure the quality of care for residents.

Sperber’s experience in senior living management has included managerial positions with leading providers of independent, assisted living and memory care communities. Most recently he was associated with Atria Senior Living in Riverdale, N.Y., and served as an executive director leading the day-to-day operations, recruiting and training team members and successfully maintaining high customer satisfaction.

For five years, he was with Sunrise Senior Living and also held management positions at communities in New York City and Stamford, Conn. He was promoted to executive director having joined the company as a Reminiscence Coordinator. During his tenure with Sunrise, he was credited with restructuring and renovation an Alzheimer’s Dementia Care Department achieving 100% deficiency-free quality and maintaining 100% occupancy levels. The company honored him for his work in assisted living services.

Sperber earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Yeshiva University in N.Y., and a Master of Science degree in hospitality management from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, N.J. He is a native South Floridian and is bilingual and fluent in Spanish.

Ross Dickmann Named Executive Director of The Terraces at Bonita Springs

SantaFe Senior Living has named Ross Dickmann as the executive director of new senior living community The Terraces at Bonita Springs, in Bonita Springs, Fla.  Dickmann is responsible for the start of operations and managing day-to-day operations of The Terraces, which is currently under construction and scheduled to open in the summer of 2013.

Dickmann has more than 15 years of leadership experience in senior living. He’s led successful openings and ongoing operations of communities in Washington, D.C.; Aventura, Fla; and most recently Querencia at Barton Creek, a retirement community located in Austin, Tex. Prior to his career in senior living, Dickmann spent 20 years in active service in the U.S. Coast Guard, achieving the rank of Master Chief before his retirement.

A well-known leader in senior living, Dickmann has received numerous awards and special recognition in his career for achievements, including resident satisfaction, fiscal management, highest sustained occupancy and excellence in hospitality.

The Terraces at San Joaquin Gardens Adds to Culinary Team

The Terraces at San Joaquin Gardens has added two highly experienced professionals to The Terraces’ culinary team, and is in the process of building three new dining venues for residents, which will open in the summer of 2013.

New Executive Chef Todd VanDerPoel is a master chocolatier and a self-taught ice sculptor, who looks forward to wowing residents with his stunning ice sculptures and chocolate designs. With more than 20 years of experience, the award-winning chef loves to cook with a modern flair, and focuses on local, fresh and seasonal foods. 

VanDerPoel has been cooking since the age of 16. He received culinary certification from the American Culinary Federation from Fresno City College and attended the Culinary Institute of America in Napa. Previously, he was part of the culinary teams at the San Joaquin Country Club and Sunnyside Country Club in Fresno.

The community also named Jason Quigley as director of dining services. Before joining The Terraces at San Joaquin Gardens, Quigley worked as general manager for Marriott Hotels in Miami, and has held many positions in the hospitality industry.

In May, The Terraces at San Joaquin Gardens plans to open three new dining areas, including fine and casual dining. Quigley and VanDerPoel will be responsible for designing menus for more than 300 residents and creating more than 1,200 meals a day.

Friends House Hires Travis Staples as Executive Director

Friends House, a not-for-profit continuing care retirement community in Santa Rosa, California, and Pacific Retirement Services, Inc. (PRS), a not-for-profit senior housing and care provider that manages Friends House through its California affiliate, Retirement Services, LLC, has appointed Travis N. Staples, NHA, as Executive Director of Friends House, effective immediately. 

Staples is a licensed Nursing Home Administrator in Oregon and California. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and a Certificate of Applied Finance and Economics, both from Southern Oregon University. During college, he was awarded an internship at PRS, which owns and manages several CCRCs and senior affordable housing centers in five states.

He gained a breadth of experience while serving in various capacities at the PRS headquarters in Medford, Ore. Later, he was hired by PRS to be a Management Analyst, working concurrently as the interim Executive Director of Friends House.

National Lutheran Community CCRC Appoints New Executive Director

The Village at Rockville—A National Lutheran Community (TVAR) in Rockville, Md., announced Jana Broughton as its new Executive Director. Following an executive search, Broughton was selected to take the helm at TVAR effective Jan. 2, 2013.

A native of Michigan, Broughton relocated to Northern Virginia with her husband in the spring of 2012. Most recently she was the Executive Director for Fellowship Square Foundation, a provider of affordable housing for the elderly and disabled in the Washington, D.C.-area.

Broughton, a licensed Nursing Home Administrator, has more than 19 years of administrative and leadership experience in skilled and long-term care settings with MediLodge Group, Inc. in Washington, Mich. In her career she has been a corporate-level specialist, professional speaker, educator, lobbyist, marketing project manager and consultant. She also served a four-year term on the Health Care Association of Michigan’s board as an advocate for senior care.

She has a B.A. in social work and sociology from the University of Michigan in Flint, Mich., and is currently pursuing her M.S. in management and leadership from Walsh College in Novi, Mich. Broughton lives in Fairfax with her husband Jeff and they have three adult children and three grandchildren. They attend Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Herndon, Va.

NCR COO Elected Vice Chair of LeadingAge Ohio Board of Directors

Mark Ricketts, Corporate Chief Operating Officer for National Church Residences headquartered in Columbus, was elected Vice Chair of the LeadingAge Ohio Board of Directors. Ricketts is currently serving his first three-year term on the LeadingAge Ohio Board of Directors.

As Vice Chair, Ricketts serves as a member of the LeadingAge Ohio Board of Directors and Executive Committee, continuing his service in setting policy for the state association and helping to monitor the overall performance of the statewide association. Ricketts previously served as an Ohio Delegate to LeadingAge, the affiliated national association of LeadingAge Ohio. He has also served on the national association’s Leadership Circle and Membership Committee as well as on the Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF), Housing Partnership Network and Midwest and National Affordable Housing Management Associations.

Ricketts was recently named Corporate Chief Operating Officer after 12 years serving as Senior Vice President and COO (Affordable Housing). National Church Residences is the nation’s largest not-for-profit developer and manager of affordable senior housing, with more than 330 communities in the United States and Puerto Rico. In addition, National Church Residences operates supportive housing for the formerly homeless, continuing care retirement communities, home health care, assisted living, adult day care and skilled nursing facilities.

Healthsense Names A.R. Weiler Chief Executive Officer & President

Healthsense, Inc., the leading provider of next-generation remote monitoring solutions for the senior care market, today announced that A.R. Weiler has joined the company as president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. Healthsense’s co-founder and previous CEO, Brian Bischoff, will serve as a consultant to the company. 

Weiler is a health-care industry veteran who brings more than 20 years of leadership experience to Healthsense. He has held a variety of executive positions including senior vice president of payer services for Emdeon, senior vice president for Virgin HealthMiles, senior vice president of provider sales and account management at UnitedHealth Group’s Ingenix, and vice president of Oracle’s North America health-care division.

In recruiting Weiler to lead the Healthsense team, the company accelerates the momentum around extending the reach of its remote monitoring platform throughout senior living communities and homes across the United States. An established leader in providing solutions to the congregate senior living space, Healthsense is poised for an exciting expansion into the dual eligible and Medicare Advantage markets.

To support Healthsense’s expansion plan, the company recently raised an additional $7 million in financing from two industry partners: Merck’s Global Health Innovation Fund, LLC (GHIF) and Fallon Community Health Plan (Fallon). GHIF and Fallon joined Healthsense’s existing investors in the round, including Radius Ventures, Ziegler and the West Health Investment Fund.

The company’s leading product is the eNeighbor® passive monitoring and analytics platform, which offers caregivers the ability to proactively identify emerging health concerns before they turn into emergencies. Care providers can also be automatically alerted to emergent situations like falls or nighttime wandering, minimizing the potentially catastrophic consequences of such events. Healthsense’s suite of solutions can meet the monitoring and oversight needs of individuals across the continuum of care, helping them remain independent, safe and secure.

Scott Kavel Joins Greystone’s Seniors Housing Group

Greystone, a leading national provider of multifamily and commercial mortgage loans, recently announced that Scott Kavel has joined the firm’s seniors housing group as Managing Director. Based in Atlanta, the seniors housing group seeks to arrange debt and equity for borrowers across the United States, working with agency partners such as Fannie Mae and FHA, along with offering its own capital for bridge and mezzanine loans.

Kavel brings more than 20 years of experience to Greystone and has arranged approximately $5 billion in seniors housing finance throughout his distinguished career. As Managing Director, Kavel will work closely with the current team to develop and expand their client relationships, as well as originate new seniors housing business. He will report to Joe Mosley, Executive Managing Director of Greystone Servicing Corporation.

Kavel holds an MBA in Real Estate and Risk Management from the University of Georgia, and a BS in Accounting from Florida State University.

United Methodist Retirement Communities Welcomes Sherry Taylor to Board

United Methodist Retirement Communities, Inc. (UMRC) has announced Sherry Taylor as the latest appointment to its Board of Trustees.

Taylor has been a partner at the Detroit-based law firm Dickinson Wright since 2009, when she was also named one of 20 Up and Coming Lawyers by Michigan Lawyers Weekly. In 2010 and 2011, she was named a Michigan Super Lawyer’s “Rising Star” in the areas of employee benefits and the Employment Retirement Income Security Act.

Taylor is a member of the State Bar of Michigan’s Litigation Council, Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, Federal Bar Association, Straker Bar Association, Wolverine Bar Association, Women Lawyers Association of Michigan and the Detroit Chapter of the NAACP’s Legal Redress Committee.

She earned a Juris Doctor from the Wayne State University Law School and resides in Southfield.