Movers & Shakers: Diversified President Francis Adds CEO Title; Acts Names New CFO

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Diversified Healthcare Trust President Adds CEO to Title

Jennifer Francis is now the CEO and President of Diversified Healthcare Trust (Nasdaq: DHC).

The real estate investment trust’s board of directors promoted Francis to the role in the beginning of June. She previously was the company’s President and COO, and had served in that capacity since 2018.

In addition to her new title as CEO and president, Francis also works as executive vice president of The RMR Group, the alternative asset management company headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts, that manages Diversified.

Francis has more than 30 years of experience working in the commercial real estate industry.

Acts Names New CFO, Bolsters Leadership Team

Acts Retirement-Life Communities has a new CFO and two other personnel announcements meant to bolster its leadership.

Susan Ahern has taken the role of senior vice president and CFO. Ahern has worked with Acts since 2000, and most recently held the title of vice president and controller. Filling in as vice president and controller for Ahern is Peggy Valdivia, who joined Acts in 2006 and most recently worked as corporate director of accounting.

Acts also promoted Gary Ginter to the role of senior vice president of procurement and contract management. He started with Acts in 1989, and has more than 40 years of experience in health care procurement and supply chain management.

Maplewood Adds to Clinical Care Team

Maplewood Senior Living has hired Dawn Jones to the role of corporate director of resident care and Annette Cochefski as regional director of resident services for Connecticut.

As corporate director of resident care, Jones is responsible for maintaining the company’s clinical standards. She has 15 years of assisted living experience and previously worked as a director of nursing and executive director.

Cochefski comes to Maplewood from Brookdale, where she also worked as a director of clinical services.

American House Names VP of Life Enrichment, Cognitive Programming

American House Senior Living Communities has promoted Jodie Audia to the role of vice president of life enrichment and cognitive programming.

In her new role, Audia is responsible for creating and implementing life enrichment and cognitive programming strategies, policies, and programs at American House’s more than 50 communities.

She joined American House in 2018. Before that, she worked as branch director at Great Lakes Caring Home Health and Hospice. Audia has 24 years of experience in nursing overall.

Watercrest Names Area Culinary Director, Talent Acquisition Specialist

Watercrest Senior Living Group has named Sebastian Watteau to the newly created role as area director of culinary operations, and promoted Jessica Desjarlais to the role of talent acquisition specialist

Watteau has a career that includes owning and operating two Texas restaurants, working as food and beverage director for a Hyatt hotel in Washington, D.C. and working as executive chef a hotel in Texas as well as at U.S. federal agencies such as the CIA and National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Desjarlais, meanwhile, joined Watercrest in 2018 as a concierge at Watercrest St. Lucie West in St. Lucie, Florida. Watercrest later promoted her to family office manager. As talent acquisition specialist, she will help recruit new workers and leaders for the company’s communities.

HMP Names VP of Clinical Services, Executive Director for Alabama Community

HMP Senior Solutions has named Michelle Lee Lair to the role of vice president of clinical services; and appointed Jeanne Freeman to the role of executive director of Gordon Oaks Senior Living Community in Mobile, Alabama.

In her new role, Lair is responsible for overseeing operations, financing and quality for all of HMP’s senior living communities. She previously worked as vice president of clinical services at Southwest LTC.

As executive director of Gordon Oaks, Freeman will oversee the community’s operations, memory care and wellness programs. She previously held ED roles at Knollwood Pointe Assisted Living and Memory Care and Fairhope Health and Rehab, Fairhope.

New Jersey Life Plan Community Names Director of Nursing and Outreach Liaison

Laurel Circle, a 202-unit life plan community in Bridgewater, N.J., has named Tigi Kanu to the role of director of nursing and Cynthia Ryan to the role of outreach liaison.

As director of nursing, Kanu will maintain quality at the life plan community’s health center, while Ryan as outreach liaison will help connect the life plan community to the broader community around it. Kanu previously worked as director of nursing at Rose Mountain Care Center, while Ryan worked as manager of sales marketing for a Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD) community in Palm Coast, Florida.

New Senior Sales and Marketing Director for Two Communities Near Chicago

Dee Novak is the new senior director of sales and marketing for two Lexington Square communities in Lombard and Elmhurst, Illinois.

Novak previously worked as a transition specialist for various owners and management companies in senior living.

Boston Community Welcomes Senior Advisor

Michael Murphy is now senior advisor at Waterstone at the Circle, a senior living community in Boston.

He arrives at the community with experience in similar positions, including director of community relations and director of sales and marketing for various senior living and health care providers.

Health Dimensions Group Names Regional Directors of Sales and Marketing; VP of Clinical Services

Health Dimensions Group has added Dawn McPheron and Suzanne Wood as regional directors of sales and marketing; promoted Laura Bourdykin to digital marketing manager; and promoted Melissa Hill to the role of vice president of clinical services.

McPheron and Wood are tasked with overseeing sales and marketing initiatives for HDG’s managed communities and consulting clients, while Bourdykin is responsible for the digital strategies and websites of the firm’s new start-up and managed communities.

As VP of clinical services, Hill is responsible for leadership, clinical performance, and leading the company’s Covid-19 infection prevention and response leadership team and efforts, among other duties.

Argentum Elects Five New Board Members

Five new directors have joined Argentum’s board.

The new directors are: Cindy Baier, president and CEO of Brookdale; Jack Callison, CEO of Sunrise Senior Living; Tana Gall, president of Merrill Gardens; Mary Ellen Pisanelli, senior vice president of legal and administration at Welltower; and Aaron Webb, CEO of CHI Living Communities.

Birchwood Healthcare Partners Hires Two

Birchwood Healthcare Partners has hired Ryan Bloom as vice president of acquisitions and Ryan Housekeeper to lead systemization.

As VP of acquisitions, Bloom will have a hand in business development initiatives including maintaining relationships with industry stakeholders, building and managing acquisition pipelines and processing data.

Housekeeper, meanwhile, will lead systemization, then head up Birchwood’s growth plans on its private-pay senior housing development and acquisition side.