Kevin O'Neil, M.D.

Brookdale Senior Living Chief Medical Officer Kevin O’Neil, M.D., is joining Ascension Senior Living, where he will hold the same title, effective Oct. 31.

“I am impressed with the passion, dedication, vision and commitment to the quality of care and quality of life of older adults from the Ascension Senior Living team,” he said. “I sincerely believe that, through Ascension Senior Living, we can help transform geriatric care in this country.”

Ascension Senior Living has 28 communities in Washington, D.C., and 11 states — Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin — with its largest presence in Kansas, Missouri and Tennessee. Its communities offer one or more options in senior living: day care, independent living, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing or rehabilitation. The company also has Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly in Kansas and Tennessee. Ascension Senior Living is part of Ascension, which says it is the largest nonprofit health system in the United States and the largest Catholic health system in the world.

In his new role, O’Neil will be tasked with driving the clinical and quality strategy and goals of Ascension Senior Living, leading initiatives to improve clinical quality and outcomes, establishing evidence-based practice standards and enhancing resident and provider experiences. He also will be responsible for implementing initiatives that measure, assess and improve the quality and consistency of care delivered to all residents of Ascension Senior Living.

O’Neil also will serve as the geriatric medicine lead for Ascension Health, the healthcare delivery subsidiary of Ascension, and will be part of Ascension’s Clinical Integration Committee.

“Dr. O’Neil is a recognized professional in the senior living and geriatric medicine fields,” said Jesse Jantzen, president and CEO Ascension Senior Living. “I am extremely happy that he has agreed to join us and help to integrate and align our clinical resources and services and identify opportunities for coordinating care across the continuum while enhancing the aging experience of residents and program participants at our programs and communities.”

O’Neil is a clinical professor in the Department of Aging Studies at the University of South Florida, Tampa. He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in both internal medicine and geriatric medicine and is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of the American Geriatrics Society.

He is a certified medical director, a distinction from AMDA — The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, and serves on the organization’s board. O’Neil also is vice chairman and chairman-elect of the board of directors of the Senior Friendship Centers of Southwest Florida and serves on the board of First Step in Sarasota, FL, which provides addiction recovery programs.

O’Neil is a member of the editorial board of the peer-reviewed medical journal The Medical Roundtable: General Medicine Edition. He also is co-editor and a contributing writer to the “Optimal Aging Manual.”