David J. Hegarty

Hergary to retire from position as president and COO of Senior Housing Properties Trust

David J. Hegarty will step down from his positions as president and chief operating officer at Senior Housing Properties Trust and his role as executive vice president of The RMR Group effective April 30, SNH announced Monday.

Jennifer F. Francis will succeed him at the real estate investment trust as president and COO. To ensure a smooth transition, Hegarty will remain an employee of RMR until his retirement on Sept. 30, and he will be available to assist both SNH and RMR on an as-needed basis thereafter.

Hegarty has been president and COO of SNH since its founding in 1999. He oversees all of SNH’s property acquisition and disposition activities.

Independent living communities represent 30% of the REIT’s portfolio, and assisted living communities make up 25%, according to an investor presentation released Monday by SNH. By far, the operator with the highest percentage of properties in the seniors housing portfolio is Five Star Senior Living, with 185 communities. Brookdale Senior Living and Sunrise Senior Living also figure more prominently in the portfolio than do other operators, with 18 and three communities, respectively.

Hegarty has been with RMR since 1987 and has held numerous positions with affiliates of SNH since 1987. He is a certified public accountant and, before 1987, was employed by Ernst & Young.

Francis is a 12-year veteran of The RMR Group and currently is a senior vice president responsible for asset management and leasing activities at all RMR-managed properties. Before joining RMR in 2006, she was a partner at CBRE/NE Partners, where she provided brokerage and corporate advisory services for large corporate clients on their national commercial real estate portfolios.

Previously, Francis was a vice president at the Gunwyn Co., where she was responsible for the asset management of a portfolio of commercial, retail and residential assets.

Francis has more than 30 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry. She is a member of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties and a member of the Commercial Real Estate Women.

SNH also announced Monday that Jennifer B. Clark has been appointed as a managing trustee of SNH, effective immediately, to fill a vacancy on the board.

Clark will continue to serve as SNH’s secretary and as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary of The RMR Group Inc. and The RMR Group LLC.

Clark also serves on the boards of The RMR Group Inc.; Sonesta International Hotels Corp., an RMR-managed company; and RMR Advisors LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of RMR. Before joining The RMR Group in 1999, she was a partner at the law firm of Sullivan & Worcester LLP, where she had a broad-based real estate and finance practice.

Tami Kozikowski named chief operating officer of The Waters Senior Living

Tami Kozikowski has been named chief operating officer for The Waters Senior Living, Minnetonka, MN, effective April 16.

The owner/operator/developer is Minnesota’s fourth-largest woman-owned business. The company has eight communities, with three more set to open this year.

Kozikowski most recently served as corporate executive vice president and president of LifeSpa at Life Time Fitness, a $1.5 billion healthy-way-of-life company. Over the course of her career, she has served in executive positions at companies including Best Buy, Advance Auto Parts and Arthur Anderson.

She holds an MBA from University of California, Los Angeles, and is a certified public accountant (inactive).

Will Marshall named CFO for Arrow Senior Living Management

Will Marshall has joined Arrow Senior Living Management as chief financial officer. The St Charles, MO-based sales and management company has 15 senior living communities across five states.

“In addition to Will’s broad experience in accounting, audit, review, compilations and non-traditional engagements, his background with unions, healthcare, local governments and other industries is strategically aligned with our plans for continued expansion,” said Stephanie Harris, CEO and principal of Arrow Senior Living Management.

Before joining Arrow Senior Living Management, Marshall was a CPA in private practice for the past nine years. Earlier in his career, he was a staff accountant with the St. Patrick Center in downtown in St. Louis. He earned his undergraduate degree in accounting and business management from Missouri State University.

Schekesia Meadough joins LaSalle Group as vice president of health and wellness

Schekesia Meadough, BSN, RN, CDP, has been promoted to vice president of health and wellness at the LaSalle Group, an Irving, TX-based family-owned and operated standalone memory care assisted living community company.

She will continue to expand clinical education and quality initiatives at the company’s network of Autumn Leaves communities while also overseeing compliance with state regulatory bodies in the nine states where LaSalle operates. These ongoing initiatives include implementation of a wellness program using proprietary risk-management tools; establishment of advanced nursing protocols in an effort to enhance resident care and safety; advocacy for innovation in life engagement programming using purposeful living programs; and assessment of all aspects of supplier relationships to streamline procurement processes and improve cost efficiencies.

Meadough also has developed formal nurse leadership training to assess and measure quality improvements and drive dementia care knowledge for all team members, with the goal of attaining state-recognized, zero-deficiency performance at all Autumn Leaves communities.

Before joining LaSalle in 2015 as a regional director of healthcare, Meadough served as a nurse surveyor for the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Service, as a regional program director and faculty member for Kaplan Higher Education and as an evaluator for the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services. She began her career as a trauma nurse at Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center in Houston.

LaPalma Dobler to lead Century Park Associates’ clinical teams

LaPalma Dobler recently was named national director of resident care for Century Park Associates. The company manages more than 40 senior living communities in 20 states.

Dobler, who has her doctorate in nursing, will oversee the policies, procedures and care service practices for the organization. The position is a new one for Century Park.

“LaPalma’s role will be to not only support our regional nurses but to develop and implement new standards of resident care in our assisted living and personal care communities,” said Jenny Graham, Century Park’s director of operations. “Her experience and knowledge in clinical immediately gave us more opportunity to train and support our resident care associates.”

Dobler has been a registered nurse for more than 42 years and has worked in senior care for more than 20 years. She most recently was a regional nurse for Century Park in Florida. She also was a regional nurse for Century Park’s sister company, Life Care Centers of America, in Colorado, and a director of nursing for Life Care Center of Longmont, CO.

Originally from Ellendale, ND, Dobler currently lives in Hudson, FL. She also has an office at Century Park’s headquarters in Cleveland, TN.

Sally Groome is new vice president of sales and marketing at WesleyLife

Sally Groome has been named vice president of sales and marketing at WesleyLife in Johnston, IA.

She is expected to be a key driver of the community’s growth and development strategy, further positioning the organization to help the increasing numbers of individuals who wish to remain independent, wherever they call home.

Groome joins WesleyLife from Luthercare, a nonprofit, multi-site aging services organization based in Lititz, PA. There, she was vice president of marketing and communications.

Groome also was an executive for nonprofit and for-profit entities ranging from the United Way of York County, PA, to Adhesives Research, a global developer and manufacturer of pressure-sensitive adhesive products that supplies several window and door manufacturers in central Iowa.

She has an undergraduate degree in business administration from Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, PA.

Christine Morrissey named executive director of Flatirons Terrace

Christine Morrissey has been named executive director of Flatirons Terrace, a 54-apartment independent living community in Boulder, CO, managed by Dial Retirement Communities.

She will oversee the community’s operations.

“Having worked in Flatirons Terrace previously, being part of the team that opened the community in 2008, and knowing many of the residents, I am eager to return to assume a leadership role,” Morrissey said.

She previously was the associate director of Golden West Senior Living, where she managed the operation of 300 senior living apartments.

In 2011, Morrissey completed the LeadingAge Larry Minnix Leadership Academy. She has an undergraduate degree from Villanova University and a master’s degree in gerontology from Naropa University.

Jennifer Lopez named community relations director of Sage Park Assisted Living and Memory Care

Jennifer Lopez is the new community relations director of Sage Park Assisted Living and Memory Care, a Watercrest Senior Living Group community in Kissimmee, FL.

The 128-unit (104 assisted living and 24 memory care apartments) senior living community is expected to open this fall.

Lopez brings 10 years of experience in healthcare to her new role, having moved full circle in her career from labor and delivery to hospice care. She worked closely with clinical staff in business management, sales and marketing, opening a new hospice community in Orlando.

Crestavilla names resident care director, sales and marketing assistant

Patti Berman has been named resident care director, and Trina Tripoli has been named sales and marketing assistant and move-in coordinator, at Crestavilla in Laguna Niguel, CA. The community is expected to open later this spring.

Berman will be managing medical needs for the community and working with physicians to provide care for residents. Before Crestavilla, Berman spent 25 years working with older adults in south Orange County as the nursing director for Brookdale San Juan and as the director of clinical services for the Fountains at Sea Bluffs and the Covington.

Tripoli has more than 20 years of experience in regional and national account management, is a certified professional life coach and is knowledgeable in compounding pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals.

Primrose Retirement Communities announces several appointments

Primrose Retirement Communities has announced several appointments across its portfolio of properties:

  • Rod Clark has been named executive director at Primrose Retirement Community of Kansas City in Missouri. He will oversee the day-to-day operations of the community. Clark previously had been the dining services director at Primrose of Kansas City since 2014. He studied criminal justice and human behavior in college and also completed coursework in the field of human relations.
  • Ashley Craig is the new director of nursing for memory care services at Primrose Retirement Community of Anderson in Indiana. In this role, she is overseeing the care of residents and, in conjunction with Executive Director Kari Alcorn, managing the nursing staff.  She also is ensuring compliance with all necessary regulations. Craig has an undergraduate degree in nursing from Ball State University and has worked in hospitals and as a visiting nurse.
  • Cynthia Fish has been named director of nursing at Primrose Retirement Community of Wausau in Wisconsin. She brings 41 years of nursing experience with her to Primrose, including experience in dementia care, rehab and hospice.
  • Dawn Jones has been named director of nursing Primrose Retirement Community of Pueblo in Colorado. Jones has nursing experience in both home health and long-term care settings. She also is a former senior living executive director.
  • Jordan Murphy has been named executive director at Primrose Retirement Community of Rapid City in South Dakota. He has an undergraduate degree in economics and a master’s degree in healthcare administration. Murphy brings two years of experience as an executive director in an assisted living setting with him to Primrose.
  • Nicole Tolbert has been named sales director at Primrose Retirement Community of Shawnee in Oklahoma. She will oversee all marketing and sales efforts, as well as public relations events and community outreach, for the community. Tolbert has an undergraduate degree in accounting from Oklahoma State University and brings sales and marketing experience in home health, hospice and senior living with her to Primrose.

Patrick McShane named director of sales at Walpole’s New Pond Village

Patrick McShane has been named director of sales at New Pond Village, a Benchmark Senior Living community in Walpole, MA.

McShane has more than 20 years of experience in sales for senior living and healthcare organizations. He joins New Pond Village as it undergoes an $8 million renovation to its assisted living area that also will add memory care to the community’s offerings.

Prior to joining New Pond Village, McShane was the vice president at Creating Results in Virginia. There, he led  the company’s network development and growth.

McShane has an undergraduate degree in marketing from Bentley College and a master’s degree in journalism from Boston University.

Christine McGrath named community relations director of Market Street Memory Care Residence Palm Coast

Christine McGrath has been named community relations director of Market Street Memory Care Residence, a Watercrest Senior Living Group community in Palm Coast, FA. The 64-unit senior living community is scheduled to open this summer.

McGrath’s sales career began with Hyatt and Marriott, where she served large corporate accounts before transitioning to pharmaceutical and medical sales in neurology. She spent 10 years in the medical field.

Hector Velez joins Estancia Del Sol as executive chef

Hector Velez is the new executive chef at the 117-unit Estancia Del Sol, a WESTliving senior living community in Corona, CA.

He has 14 years of experience, having previously worked at Sunrise Senior Living, Atria Senior Living and Senior Lifestyle.

Before starting his career in the senior living industry, Velez worked as a chef for fine-dining restaurants, hotels, catering services, schools and private country clubs, and he led the culinary program for the Boy Scouts of America.

Jennifer Boese joins CliftonLarsonAllen as director of health care policy

Jennifer Boese has joined the national health care practice of professional services firm CliftonLarsonAllen as director of health care policy.

Boese will play a key role in research, content development and education on emerging policy issues as well as key payment models currently in use across the country.

Boese has more than 23 years of experience in public policy and government relations. For the past 13 years, she has been the vice president of federal affairs and advocacy at the Wisconsin Hospital Association. In that role, Boese led WHA’s federal government relations program, serving as head lobbyist and adviser on policies and legislation affecting healthcare providers. She also led the development of issues papers, presentations and other communications on emerging health policy for healthcare providers and other stakeholders.

Boese has held multiple government affairs and advocacy roles throughout her career. She has a master’s degree from the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University and an undegraduate degree from Indiana University-Bloomington.

Send personnel news to Senior Editor Lois A. Bowers. Please include a high-quality color photograph.