Movers & Shakers — People and Positions for April, Part III

The Bristal at Armonk Appoints Nichola Johnson as Executive Director

The Bristal at Armonk in New York, an assisted living community that offers memory care support as well as enhanced levels of care, has announced the appointment of Nichola Johnson as executive director.

In this position, Johnson will oversee all aspects of community operations for The Bristal at Armonk. 

She brings more than 18 years of professional experience to the senior living industry. Prior to joining The Bristal, she served seniors in North Carolina, Florida, California, South Carolina, Virginia and Kansas. Her experience includes quality assurance, program development and creative integrated market planning, and the execution of strategies and actions. Johnson is also a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator. 

Located in Armonk, less than an hour’s commute from New York City by car or rail, the three-story 119,000-square-foot building includes a total of 112 assisted living residences comprised of eight “friendship” suites, 36 studios, 56 one-bedroom and six two-bedroom residences. There are also 40 apartments dedicated for residents who require memory care.

EPOCH Senior Living Names Director of Community Relations

Bernadette Clougher has been named director of community relations at Bridges by EPOCH at Westwood, a memory care assisted living community opening in summer 2015 in Weswood, Mass.

Clougher will oversee community outreach and tours and act as a resource for families to help those with memory challenges lead meaningful and fulfilling lives.

Clougher has 10 years of experience working with area memory care organizations and communities in addition to her personal experience with memory care, helping her mother who had Alzheimer’s disease. 

As a result, the provider says, Clougher brings a unique personal level of experience, passion and understanding to her role. 

When open, Bridges by EPOCH at Westwood will offer 64 apartments for individuals with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

Lasell College Welcomes New President of CCRC

Lasell College President Michael B. Alexander has announced the appointment of Anne E. Doyle as president of the continuing care retirement community (CCRC) Lasell Village, Inc. and vice president for Lasell Village at Lasell College.

In this position, Doyle is responsible for the overall management and operation of Lasell Village, a senior housing community located on the Lasell College campus and managed by the college.

With a focus on living and learning, Lasell Village was the first to feature a formal, individualized and required continuing education program for the CCRC’s residents.

In her separate role as vice president for Lasell Village at Lasell College, Doyle will be a fully participating member of the senior management team of Lasell College, which makes most of the decisions about the planning, operation and evaluation of the college.

Doyle joins Lasell Village with knowledge and experience in the health and senior care industry. Previously she served as chief operating officer and senior vice president for business development at Connected Living, Inc., a technology company providing engagement and enrichment opportunities for seniors throughout the country.

Before that, she served as chief operating officer for Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, held senior positions at Tufts Health Plan and Fallon Community Health Plan and was the director of the Massachusetts statewide rollout of the Program for All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).

Doyle recently completed 10 years as board chair and director of the Caring for Carcinoid Foundation. She has served on multiple health care boards and as chair of the Lincoln School Committee in Lincoln, Mass.

She began her new position on March 30 and succeeds Dr. Paula Panchuck, who retired from the position after 29 years.

AdCare SVP, Chief Accounting Officer Resigns

Sheryl A. Wolf, the senior vice president, controller and chief accounting officer of AdCare Health Systems, Inc., recently resigned from the company effective May 1, 2015, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

After Wolf’s departure, Allan J. Rimland, the company’s president and chief financial officer, will serve as the company’s principal accounting officer.

No further information was provided.

Covenant Village of Florida Names Director of Financial Management

Steven J. Zorn has been appointed director of financial management at Covenant Village of Florida, a faith-based, not-for-profit CCRC in Plantation, Fla. operated by Covenant Retirement Communities. He will report to Executive Director Ian Lee Brown.

Zorn is responsible for the financial operations of the community, which serves residents in 294 residential living apartments, 21 assisted living apartments, 22 memory support apartments and a 60-bed skilled nursing center.

He brings to the position 20-plus years of experience in accounting, financial shared services and corporate budgeting, and will use that experience to oversee the community’s efforts on internal controls, resident relations and transactional compliance support. Zorn’s expertise will also help ensure accurate and effective financial planning, reporting services and decision-making within the community.

Prior to joining Covenant Village, Zorn worked as an auditing manager for the South Florida region at Broniec Associates. Before that, he was director of accounting and financial services for Abbey Delray South, a CCRC in Delray Beach, Fla. He also supported Abbey Delray, a sister community, in the role of area director.

Previously, he worked for General Electric, Lockheed Martin, Equifax and Bausch & Lomb.

Lenbrook Announces Promotions, New Board Appointment and Staff Addition

Lenbrook, Atlanta’s only CCRC to be nationally accredited by CARF-CCAC, has promoted Felecia Sveda to the new position of vice president of hospitality services and has elected Dick Groves, a seasoned hospitality industry executive, to its Board of Directors. In addition, Lenbrook has promoted Allison Collier to senior manager of sales and residency and welcomes Christina Ramey as director of its new L.I.V.E! services program.

Sveda, vice president of marketing for Lenbrook since 2008, has been promoted to the expanded role and new position of vice president of hospitality services. 

In this role, Sveda will be responsible for resident satisfaction initiatives throughout the organization and will provide strategic oversight and management of all front-line service departments serving both current residents and prospective residents through enrichment, dining, concierge, valet, security, L.I.V.E! and sales and marketing. 

She first joined Lenbrook as a residency counselor in 2006 and was named vice president of marketing in 2008 when Lenbrook completed a doubling of its facilities. Prior to Lenbrook, Sveda began her career in senior living at Presbyterian Village in Cobb County, first as director of marketing and then as director of Hearthstone, a memory-support assisted living center. 

Lenbrook also has elected Groves to its Board of Directors. Groves brings more than 35 years of experience in the hospitality industry to his board position.

He built a 35-year career with Hilton Hotels Corp., holding executive positions in key markets such as New York, New Orleans, Chicago, San Francisco and Atlanta.

Currently, Groves is executive vice president of business development for Valor Hospitality Partners, a hotel management, development and investment company with projects ranging from Barnsley Gardens in Adairsville, Sea Palms Resort in St. Simons and Pursell Farms Golf Resort in central Alabama to the Westin Edina in Minnesota and the Cape Grace Hotel in South Africa. 

In addition, Collier was recently promoted to senior manager of sales and residency, in which she will oversee the sales team and focus on providing smooth transitions for new residents as they establish their homes at Lenbrook.

Collier joined Lenbrook in 2010 as a residency counselor, bringing more than 10 years of experience in sales and marketing for three senior living communities in Indiana and an equal number of years in public relations and advertising in Ohio. 

Finally, Lenbrook has welcomed Ramey to its management staff as director of L.I.V.E!, a new service coordination program for residents.

Ramey is a Certified Professional Services Coordinator with a specialization in the field of aging services. She is responsible for providing cohesive access to a range of resources for residents and their families particularly with regard to planned and unplanned health events.

Ramey previously held service coordination and activities director positions for Presbyterian Homes of Georgia and Clairmont Oaks for more than a dozen years.  

Dr. Diana Kerwin Partners With Presbyterian Village North

Presbyterian Village North (PVN) — a faith-based nonprofit continuing care retirement community (CCRC) offering independent living, assisted living, short-stay rehab services, skilled nursing and certified memory care — has recently partnered with Diana Kerwin, M.D., internal medicine/geriatrics and cognitive disorders specialist, to support its memory care program and research.

The partnership is focused on three goals: developing a community-wide brain health program to maintain well-being; implementing therapy programs to prevent and reduce the impact of memory loss; and conducting research to detect and treat early memory loss and preserve memory.

PVN has appointed Kerwin as medical director of its memory care program, where she will oversee the care of residents in memory care, all clinical practices, cognitive therapy and memory care research.

Kerwin completed her residency and fellowship training in geriatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago and is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics.

She is the founder of Texas Alzheimer’s and Memory Disorders, a practice that offers patients access to advanced, innovative treatments and procedures for a range of cognitive disorders in adults.

“We feel privileged to welcome Dr. Kerwin to our team, and we are inspired by her passion to care for seniors with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia,” said Ron Kelly, executive director of PVN. “Our community is home to many active and independent seniors, but we also have some of the nation’s top-rated care services available on the campus, including specialized care for those with memory challenges.”

This year, PVN and Kerwin will begin offering a brain health program and memory assessments to all residents of the community. Opportunities for residents to participate in classes focused on ways to keep their brains healthy, such as memory training activities, physical activities, and guidance in selecting foods to maintain a healthy brain will be available.

In addition, PVN will offer brain health assessments, during which Kerwin and fellow team members will determine if residents are having memory loss issues. Then, they will continue to monitor the state of their memories and help them maintain mental acuity.

“Dr. Kerwin was involved in numerous memory care projects at PVN in 2014, so it seemed natural to have her lead the development of our new memory care programs,” Kelly said. “Prior to joining our team, Dr. Kerwin worked as an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine and Geriatrics at Northwestern University. Her experience in this field will help us deliver high-quality programs, conduct important research and impact lives.”

As the number of seniors living with Alzheimer’s is increasing, PVN said it saw a need to add to its existing Alzheimer’s program. In preparation for the new programs it will offer this year, PVN is adding 44 additional memory care-assisted living apartments as part of a $96 million expansion project that includes a state-of-the-art wellness center and new independent living, assisted living and transitional care apartments.

Written by Emily Study