Movers & Shakers: Heritage Senior Living, Greystone

Heritage Senior Living Names New COO

Heritage Senior Living has promoted its vice president of operations, Pierre Verger, to the title of COO, the company announced.

In his new role, Verger will focus on growth and development and place a priority on creating partnerships and relationships with other health care industry leaders. Verger, who joined Heritage Senior Living in 2016, previously helped the company form strategic partnerships and oversaw a $500,000 investment in technological improvements.

Verger has 20 years of experience in the hospitality and health care industries, including owning a 4-star restaurant and hotel and overseeing operations for 26 nursing homes.

Heritage has added 10 people to the corporate team in the past year and plans to open a new community in Muskego, Wisconsin, in late summer—its sixteenth location.

Greystone Adds Managing Director

Real estate lending, investment and advisory company Greystone has announced that Marc Zimmet has joined as a managing director in the company’s health care lending group.

Zimmet is the founder of Zimmet Healthcare Services Group, a reimbursement-compliance and market intelligence consulting firm. In his new role at Greystone, Zimmet will provide advisory services to Greystone clients while also creating new lending and development opportunities for Zimmet Healthcare, which he will continue to lead.

Senior Living Residences Names CFO As Partner

Senior Living Residences (SLR) has named its current CFO, Renee Twerago, as a partner. She joins other leading executives at the helm of the company.

Twerago, who first joined the company in 2011, specializes in financial reporting operations and also possesses an ability to see opportunities in streamlining business processes, the company said. Prior to joining SLR, Renee Twerago held senior level finance and administrative positions for other similarly growth-oriented companies.

Capital Senior Living Hires Senior VP of Human Resources

Capital Senior Living (NYSE: CSU) has hired Jeremy Falke as a senior vice president of human resources. In this newly created role, Falke will report to CEO Larry Cohen and oversee the company’s resource strategies, including talent management and development, growth and integration success, employee engagement and company culture development.

Falke previously served as the vice president of talent, culture and performance systems for Tenet Healthcare, where he was responsible for all talent planning, development, and cultural programming and transformation for an organization with more than 125,000 employees, 75 acute-care hospitals and 450 outpatient facilities.

Tutera Senior Living VP Elected President of the Missouri Board of Nursing Home Administrators

Mike Levitt, vice president and chief compliance officer for Tutera Senior Living and Health Care, was elected president of the Missouri Board of Nursing Home Administrators. The one-year term began January 2018.

Levitt has served on the Board since 2011, most recently as vice president from 2015 to 2017. Levitt manages government relations for Tutera’s senior living facilities, communities and agencies in 13 states.

Tutera also recently promoted Ryan Fischer to the role of vice president of business development. In his new role, Fischer will continue to oversee managed care contracts and systems, as well as be involved in reimbursement model changes oversight, corporate compliance, government relations, staff recruitment and development and care navigation and integration.

KTGY Architecture + Planning Adds National Development Director

Mixed-use, residential and senior living design firm KTGY Architecture + Planning has named Jeremy Agraz as its national development director In the new role, Agraz will work closely with the firm’s leadership in developing a national development strategy aimed at accomplishing long-term growth objectives.

Agraz is a veteran development executive in the architecture, engineering and planning industry with experience spanning multi-family residential; mixed-use; commercial office; corporate real estate; hospitality; transportation; science and technology; and higher education.

The company also named Wil Wong, a principal based in Irvine, California office, to its board of directors. Wong joined KTGY in 2000 and is responsible for overseeing the design development, production and construction phase of the high-density residential and mixed-use studio of KTGY’s Irvine office.

Additionally, KTGY announced the addition of principal Kamran Charmsaz as a shareholder. Charmsaz is based in the firm’s Tysons, Virginia, office and joins KTGY Tysons’ other shareholders, principals Rohit Anand and Smita Anand. Charmsaz joined KTGY in 2013 and has more than 20 years of architectural experience and practice in the U.S. and internationally.

EPOCH Names VP of Memory Care Operations

EPOCH Senior Living recently named Alicia Seaver Vice President of memory care operations.

In the new role, Seaver will assume operational responsibility for Bridges by EPOCH memory care assisted living communities and report to EPOCH’s COO, Joanna Cormac-Burt. Seaver was previously the director of memory care for Bridges by EPOCH.

EPOCH also named Susan Jackson as director of community relations at Bridges by EPOCH at Trumbull, a memory care assisted living community in Trumbull, Connecticut.

Jackson has more than a decade of sales and marketing experience in the senior living industry. Before joining Bridges by EPOCH at Trumbull, she served as director of sales and marketing at another local senior living community.

Erickson Living CCRC Promotes New Home Care Administrator

Oak Crest, an Erickson Living continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in Parkville, Maryland, has added Celeste Saunders as its newest home care administrator.

In her new role, Saunders will oversee the management and performance of Oak Crest’s Medicare-certified home health agency and home support department.

Saunders, who holds more than 26 years of nursing experience in long-term care, assisted living and home health settings, has also served as home support clinical manager and home support manager during her nine-year tenure at Oak Crest.

Integrace Hires Executive Director for Maryland Life Plan Community

Integrace Buckingham’s Choice, a life plan community in Adamstown, Maryland, has hired Rick Curtis to the role of executive director.

A senior executive with more than 20 years of experience in the senior housing and health care industries, Curtis will oversee the day-to-day operations at Buckingham’s Choice, as well as design and implement strategic plans for the organization, the company said.

Curtis most recently served as the Health Services Administrator for Three Crowns Park in Evanston, Illinois.

Forthcoming North Carolina Community Names Executive Director

Waltonwood Lake Boone, an independent living, assisted living and memory care community in Raleigh, North Carolina, named Allison O’Shea as its new executive director.

O’Shea, who has 15 years of senior living experience now oversees the daily operations and future direction of the community, which is expected to open in May.

She previously held multiple positions in the senior living industry, including business office coordinator, assistant executive director and executive director of a different senior living community in North Carolina.

Washington Life Plan Community Hires Director of Plant Operations

Timber Ridge, a life plan community in Issaquah, Washington, has named Jacob Harder as director of plant operations.

Harder will now direct and supervise the activity of Timber Ridge’s maintenance department and consult with residents for any home remodeling projects, according to the company. Prior to joining Timber Ridge, Harder served as maintenance supervisor at Greystar in Seattle, where he managed three communities and maintenance teams on several remodeling and capital projects.

Planned California Life Plan Community Names Senior Director

Villaggio at San Luis Obispo, a life plan community currently under planning and development at Froom Ranch in San Luis Obispo, California, has promoted Rebecca Gruett to the role of senior director of residency, enrichment and communications.

In her new position, Gruett will provide the primary leadership for Villaggio’s residency, enrichment and communications team. Gruett was also director of enrichment for Villaggio since 2016.

Gruett is experienced in the pre-opening and post-development of life plan communities and previously served as regional director of life enrichment for Episcopal Communities and Services in Pasadena, California. She was also and director of life enrichment at MonteCedro in Altadena, California.

Virginia Life Plan Community Hires New Team Members

The Harbor’s Edge Retirement Community in Norfolk, Virginia, has hired three new team members.

Harbor’s Edge recently named Ann Bowe as vice president of marketing; Katrina Parker as senior living counselor; and Waylon Coulter as IT Manager. The hires all have significant experience in the senior living sector, the company said.

Written by Tim Regan