Sarabeth Hanson

Sarabeth Hanson promoted to president and CEO of Harbor Retirement Associates

Sarabeth Hanson has been named president and CEO of Vero Beach, FL-based Harbor Retirement Associates, a regional senior living development and management company. She formerly was chief operating officer.

Former President and CEO Tim Smick will transition to chairman and managing partner, effective immediately. In his new role, Smick will spend much of his time in new business development, strategic planning and capital development.

“As we have worked on our succession plan the last three years, it became apparent to me that Sarabeth was a natural to assume the role of president and CEO,” he said in a statement.

Hanson brings 25 years of senior living experience to her new role. She is active on the executive board of the American Seniors Housing Association and the Florida Senior Living Association (formerly Florida Argentum). She has been a presenter at National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care, ASHA and Argentum conferences.

HRA, which operates 29 communities in seven states and is partnering on the construction of eight more communities in seven additional states, recently marked its 15th anniversary. The company manages more than $150 million in revenue and approximately $1 billion in assets while employing 2,000 associates.

Miles Parsons promoted to CEO of Mansfield Memorial Homes

Miles Parsons has been promoted to CEO of Mansfield Memorial Homes, Richland County, Ohio’s only non-profit continuing care retirement community, which has been serving the Mansfield, OH, area for more than 60 years. He formerly was administrator.

Parsons completed his internship at Mansfield Memorial Homes in 2011. In 2012, he was named as the assistant administrator, working his way towards the administrator role the following year.

During his tenure, he directed his teams to four Ohio Department of Health deficiency-free surveys and was a nominee for the Ohio Resident Activity Professionals Administrator of the Year in 2013.

Parsons was a member of the inaugural class to obtain licensure as a certified executive for assisted living. He left Mansfield Memorial Homes for two years in 2015 to focus on a struggling facility in neighboring Knox County. There, he worked to increase census to full occupancy and increased staff retention almost 60%.

He was selected to the Executive Director Advisory Board, representing the top 10% of administrators with the sixth-largest provider of long-term care in the country, and his community was one of 20 in Ohio to receive the 2017 American Health Care Association Bronze Award.

Parsons returned to Mansfield Memorial Homes in September as administrator.   

Mark Krystopa named vice president of dining services at Allegro

Mark Krystopa has been named vice president of dining services at Allegro.

Krystopa brings more than 20 years of industry knowledge related to menu development, food innovation, service standards and product identification to his new role, in which he will support dining operations and lead the next generation of food and beverage innovation for Allegro’s communities.

A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York, Krystopa’s most recent position was with Hyatt Hotels & Resorts in Chicago. As the corporate director of culinary operations, Americas, Krystopa was responsible for a region encompassing more than 350 hotels, spanning North, Central and South America. His focus was on menu standardization, supply chain management and brand support for the surrounding food and beverage industries.

Krystopa’s prior experience includes positions as executive chef and beverage director at The Andaz Hotel in Savannah, GA. He also worked on Hilton Head Island, SC, at private gated residential communities.

A native of Philadelphia, Krystopa has been awarded the designation and certification of chef de cuisine by the American Culinary Federation.

Sara Mitchell named communications director and client relations manager at Solinity

Sara Mitchell has joined Knoxville, TN-based senior living owner/operator Solinity as communications director and client relations manager.

In her new role, she will ensure consistent communication both internally and externally while overseeing projects, objectives, timelines and deadlines.

Although Mitchell is new to the senior living industry, she has more that five years of professional experience as an anchor and host for various networks, including ESPN – SEC Network and CBS Sports Network, where she produced, shot, scripted, edited, anchored and reported. In addition, she managed social media for several organizations and brings public relations experience to the team.

“In addition to developing new prototypes for housing and services, the company is the new management for the state association, LeadingAge Tennessee, and I’m thrilled to work alongside community executive directors and members of LeadingAge Tennessee to help inspire, serve and advocate for aging seniors,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell earned her undergraduate degree in recreation and sport management, with a business administration minor, from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She also completed her master’s degree in sport management at UT Knoxville, reporting on the Volunteers sports teams and working as a production assistant for VFL Films.

She also has experience as a volunteer handling all communication aspects of Pedal for Pat, a cross-country cycling event founded by Solinity founder Josh Crisp to raise funds and increase awareness about Alzheimer’s disease.

Angela Copeland named national director of Salize Memory Care at Avanti Senior Living

Angela Copeland is the new national director of Salize Memory Care at The Woodlands, TX-based Avanti Senior Living.

Salize is an extension of Avanti’s senior living communities designed to empower residents living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia to live life to its fullest. The name Salize is derived from the word “salice,” meaning “willow” in Italian. Willow trees, much like memory care residents, adapt and even thrive in the face of difficult life stresses, according to Avanti.

Copeland will be responsible for hiring and selecting Salize directors and helping them set up and run their communities. Avanti partnered with Hearthstone Institute, and Copeland will coordinate training with the organization for all team members to ensure that they deliver exemplary memory care programming.

“We do not expect residents to follow a master schedule,” she said. “We make a point to learn their schedule, preferences and lifestyle so that we can cater to them.”

Copeland joined Avanti Senior Living three years ago. Most recently, she was operations strategist for the company and prior to that was executive director of Avanti Senior Living at Vision Park.

Avanti senior living communities are open in and being built in Texas, Louisiana and Arizona. The company plans to move into other markets nationwide.

Ben Higgins named healthcare operations director for Friendship Health

Ben Higgins, LNHA, has been named director of healthcare operations at Roanoke, VA-based Friendship Health.

He will oversee operations for organization’s skilled nursing facilities, assisted living, home care services and adult day care facility. He also will direct operations for Friendship’s partner facility, Salem Terrace at Harrogate, providing independent living, assisted living and memory care accommodations.

Higgins has years of experience in long-term care administration on a local and regional level. Before joining Friendship, he was administrator of Brandon Oaks Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Roanoke, VA, where he led the team through multiple deficiency-free surveys. In addition, he has served as administrator of Liberty Ridge Health and Rehabilitation Center in Lynchburg, VA, and as regional vice president of operations at American HealthCare.

Higgins is involved with the Virginia Health Care Association and the National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards. He was also one of 38 long-term care professionals from across the country selected to participate in the American Health Care Association’s Future Leaders program in 2016-2017.

Higgins is a graduate of James Madison University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in health services administration.

Fliers, Flournoy are sales and marketing directors at the Residence at Silver Square

Kellie Fliers and Michael Flournoy have been named sales and marketing directors at The Residence at Silver Square, an LCB Senior Living community offering independent living, assisted living and memory care  in Dover, NH.

Fliers has served in the healthcare and senior living industries for several years. Prior to her role with LCB, she was executive director of Langdon Place, a Genesis community in Dover, NH.

Flournoy also has several years of experience within the senior living industry and in sales management. Before joining LCB, he was a director of sales and marketing with Holiday Retirement.

Peter Farewege Jr. named executive director of Juniper Village at Bucks County

Peter A. Farewege Jr. has been appointed the new executive director of Juniper Village at Bucks County, Bensalem, PA.

Juniper is investing almost $10 million in upgrades to the 357,350-square-foot life plan community over a two-year period.

Farewege has more than 13 years of experience in senior care and executive leadership. He is an honors graduate of Utica College of Syracuse University with a master’s degree from SUNY Polytechnic Institute.

Penny Cook named Pioneer Network president and CEO

Penny Cook has been named president and CEO of the Pioneer Network, now in its 21st year. She began serving in the role Monday.

Cook’s commitment to changing the culture of aging and long-term care began early in her professional career as a social worker in Rochester, NY, and continued when she moved to Colorado.

She previously served as the manager of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program in the Denver metropolitan region and as the executive director of the Pioneer Network Colorado Culture Change Coalition. There, she expanded the coalition’s reach to look beyond nursing homes and brought the message of culture change to assisted living communities and home care organizations.

Most recently, Cook was the director of long-term services and supports for Colorado Access, where she managed a state Medicaid contract to connect individuals to long-term services and supports.

Cook received her Master of Social Work degree from the State University of New York at Albany and her Bachelor of Arts in anthropology from Binghamton University.

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