Movers & Shakers: ACHCA’s New President and CEO

ACHCA Announces New President and CEO

The American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA), the only association solely devoted to the needs of post acute and aging services professionals, has appointed Cecilia Sepp, CAE as its new president and CEO, effective Jan. 4, 2016. 

Sepp brings more than 20 years of experience in the association community and will see the organization through the next phase of development as it continues to support health care administrators. Prior to join ACHCA, Sepp served as vice president and client operations officer at the Association Laboratory where she worked with a variety of health care associations on projects such as membership research and strategic planning.

She is also the founder and principal for CS Association Services, where she delivered strategic planning, research, communications, component relations, volunteer management and organizational strategy services for a variety of nonprofits and associations. She has a background in health care as a staff member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and was a policy analyst in the area of health care at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

She is a Certified Association Executive (CAE) and has served on many councils and committees for the American Society of Association Executives including the Component Relations Section Council, Foundation Development Committee, and Political Action Committee. 

Sepp’s predecessor, Marianna Kern Grachek, FACHCA, Retired Emeritus Certified, announced her retirement in June. Sharon Colling, CNHA, CALA, FACHCA has acted as interim president and CEO. 

Keystone Hires New Director for Memory Care

Keystone Place at Buzzards Bay Assisted Living and Memory Care, a retirement community that offers a continuum fof care in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, has appointed Dawn Cobb as its newest director. She will be in charge of the community’s memory care program.

Cobb brings 13 years of experience to Keystone Place. She previously worked as a program director at Hopkinson Senior Living Residences in Hopkinton. She got her start in senior living at Hearthstone Alzheimer’s Care in Hopkinson in 2002.

She is a Massachusetts-certified emergency medicate technician, a certified dementia practitioner and an Arthritis Foundation exercise program instructor.  

Devonshire at PGA National Promotes Kevin Donnelly to Executive Chef 

Devonshire at PGA National, an Erickson Living community in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, has promoted Kevin Donnelly to executive chef. He begun the role in October 2015 after being hired as a sous chef this fall.

In this role, Donnelly will oversee the culinary production at the community’s five dining venues for breakfast, lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. He will also oversee operations for resident events and banquets. As executive chef, he will support the recruitment, hiring, development and retention of culinary staff, the largest team at the community. 

Donnelly brings more that 15 years of culinary service, preparation and operations experience to Devonshire at PGA. He previously worked as a sous chef at Stroudsmoor Country Inn, a large-scale event venue in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. He also worked as the head chef at Harvest Specialty Catering in New Brunswick, New Jersey and as the executive chef at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, New Jersey. Additionally, Donnelly worked in culinary production for many years at Somerset Hills Hotel and Inn at Somerset Hills/Hotel Indigo in Warren, New Jersey, where he held several positions including sous chef and executive chef.

Lutheran Home at Napoleon Hires New Executive Director

Lutheran Home at Napoleon, a care community in Napoleon, Ohio, that is operated by Lutheran Homes Society (LHS), has hired Stephanie Keaton as executive director. The community provides independent and assisted living, short-term rehabilitation, long-term nursing care, outpatient therapy and respite care.

In her new role, Keaton will be responsible for the day-to-day operations, community outreach and business development of the LHS Napoleon campus.

Keaton joins the community with 15 years of long-term care experience, most recently serving as administrator of a facility in the Toledo area. She has also held positions such as assistant administrator, staff development manager, human resources manager and business office assistant. Keaton is a licensed Nursing Home Administrator in the state of Ohio.

“Throughout her career, Stephanie has done an excellent job of ensuring high quality care and placing her residents first,” Jeff Rohdy, LHS regional executive director for long-term care services, said in a statement. “We are excited to have her join the Lutheran Home at Napoleon team and continue to provide exceptional service to the Henry County community.”

PointClickCare Promotes Travis Palmquist to VP and General Manager of Senior Living Division

PointClickCare, an electronic health records (EHR) software company in the long-term post-acute care (LTPAC) market, has appointed Travis Palmquist as vice president and general manager of its senior living division. Palmquist was previous the company’s vice president of national accounts for senior living. 

Palmquist has 10 years of operational experience as an executive director, director of operations and regional director of business development for a national provider of senior care and senior living services. He has spent the last 15 years with well-established LTPAC technology companies and technology start-ups in the senior living market.

In his new role, Palmquist will work closely with industry experts and influential leaders to meet the specific technology needs of senior living provides to deliver useful innovation. 

Lantern Hill Announces Two Hires

Lantern Hill, a new retirement community in new Providence, New Jersey, operated by Erickson Living, has hired Theresa Palladino as director of finance and Graham Haskell as director of human resources.

In her new role, Palladino serves as the chief financial officer of Lantern Hill. She joined Erickson in July 2014 as assistant finance director at Ann’s Choice, an Erickson Living community in Pennsylvania. She previously served as chief financial officer and controller at a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in Maryland for 10 years. She holds a M.B.A. and B.S. in accounting and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant.

As director of human resources, Haskell oversees all aspects of the human resource department and directs daily activities. He has 10 years of experience in human resources, most recently serving as senior client service associate for TriNet. 

Bridges by EPOCH at Trumbull Names Nicole Passaro as Wellness Director

EPOCH Senior Living, a regional provider of senior living options, has named Nicole Passaro, RN its new wellness director at Bridges by EPOCH at Trumball, a new memory care assisted living community in Trumball, Connecticut. 

In this role, Passaro oversees daily operations of the wellness staff, including certified nurse’s aides and licensed nurses. She has nearly 10 years of professional experience that includes care coordination, nursing and care supervision. She most recently served as the supervisor of assisted living services at a retirement community in Bridgeport. 

Bridges by EPOCH is a joint development between National Development of Newton and EPOCH Senior Living of Waltham that was created to meet the needs of memory care patients in a supportive and structure residential environment. 

Oak Trace Hires Lynn Woods as Executive Director

Oak Trace, a senior retirement community that offers independent and catered living, memory support, skilled nursing care and rehabilitation located in Downers Grove, Illinois, has appointed Lynn Woods as its new executive director. In her new role, Woods will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations at the community, which features 219 residential living apartment homes and a variety of services and amenities for 400 residents.  

Woods has 16 years of senior living leadership experience, and most recently served as executive director for Brookdale Senior Living where she oversaw and supervised all operations at a retirement community and all health services. She also previously held leadership positions at Alden Management Services and Sunrise Senior Living.