Watercrest Columbia welcomes Blake Patterson as executive director
Blake Patterson has been named executive director of Watercrest Columbia Assisted Living and Memory Care in Columbia, SC, a newly constructed, 107-unit resort-style senior living community that opened to residents in the fall.
Patterson began his career in hospice, later transitioning to the position of marketing director in assisted living and memory care and then to the position of executive director in assisted living, memory care, and independent living. He also has experience as a regional director of sales, leading nine communities’ sales and marketing throughout South Carolina.
AMDA announces 2020-2021 Board of Directors
AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine has elected its 2020-2021 Board of Directors.
Among new members:
- David A. Nace, M.D., MPH, CMD, president;
- Karl Steinberg, M.D., HMCD, CMD, president-elect; and
- Suzanne Gillespie, M.D., RD, CMD, vice president.
Nace is an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He is the director of long-term care and flu programs for the school and as chief of medical affairs for UPMC Senior Communities.
Steinberg has been a nursing home and hospice medical director since 1995. He is chief medical officer for Mariner Health Central, a 20-facility California corporation, and is medical director at Life Care Center of Vista, Carlsbad by the Sea Care Center, and Hospice by the Sea. Steinberg also makes home visits on behalf of Scripps Healthcare. He chaired AMDA’s Public Policy Committee for many years, has been editor in chief of Caring for the Ages since 2009, and is an associate editor of JAMDA.
Gillespie is associate professor of medicine in the Division of Geriatrics / Aging and associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. She also is associate chief of staff for geriatrics extended care and rehabilitation and serves as medical director of the nursing home of the Canandaigua Veterans Affairs Medical Center in the Finger Lakes VA Healthcare System. She has served AMDA in a variety of capacities — chair of the House of Delegates, chair of the Annual Meeting Program Planning Committee, vice chair of the Public Policy Committee, and chair of the Workgroup on Telemedicine — to name just a few.
Additional members:
Secretary: Rajeev Kumar, M.D., CMD, FACP, Chicago, IL (returning).
Treasurer: Jeffrey N. Nichols, M.D., CMD, New York, NY (returning).
Chair, House of Delegates: Wayne Saltsman, MD, PhD, CMD, Burlington, MA (newly elected).
State Presidents Council representatives: Leslie Beth Eber, MD, CMD, Englewood, CO (Returning); John Potomski, DO, CMD, Melbourne, FL (returning); Victoria Walker, MD, CMD, Vermillion, SD (newly elected).
House of Delegates Representatives: Alice Bonner, Ph.D., APRN, GNP, Westborough, MA (returning); Mary P. Evans, M.D., CMD, Charlottesville, VA (returning); Swati Gaur, M.D., MBA, CMD, Gainesville, GA (newly elected).
Immediate past-president: Arif Nazir, M.D., FACP, CMD, AGSE, Louisville, KY.
New capital provider, VIUM Capital, launches with industry veterans
Steve Kennedy and Kass Matt launched a new independent financial services firm, VIUM Capital, based in Columbus, OH, on April 1.
The privately owned and controlled company focuses exclusively on providing capital to the senior housing and healthcare sectors. The firm will offer Federal Housing Administration / Government National Mortgage Association financing, bridge loans and advisory services, as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac agency financing.
Before founding VIUM Capital, Matt spent 14 years at Lancaster Pollard, including the past five years as the firm’s president. Kennedy spent 18 years at Lancaster Pollard as a senior investment banker and member of the firm’s executive committee. Combined, they have originated transactions in excess of $5 billion.
Green Street Advisors appoints chief people officer and chief finance officer
Meg Drago has been appointed chief people officer and Kathy Guinnessey has been named chief financial officer at Newport Beach, CA-based real estate and financial market intelligence provider Green Street Advisors, effective April 1.
Drago will oversee the firm’s global human capital strategy, driving talent acquisition and management strategies, human resource functions and the overall team culture and development. She most recently was regional talent officer at Liberty Mutual and also previously held leadership positions at IronShore and Mastercard.
Guinnessey most recently was treasurer and chief investor relations officer at Dun & Bradstreet, advising the CEO and board on all matters pertaining to the capital structure of the company, concluding with a $7 billion sale to private equity. She also formerly was a CFO at a private equity-backed company.
Architectural firm three expands team
Christine Cook, NCARB, has become a principal at Dallas-based architectural firm three, previously known as Three Living Architecture, as the firm expands into new areas of senior living and luxury hospitality architecture and introduces a new brand identity.
Cook joined three in 1998. As principal, she will shepherd the design and development process from the earliest visioning phases through construction and into post-occupancy evaluations that serve to better the client’s understanding of how buildings perform.
Steven Knox also has joined the firm as designer and senior job captain. He will support the firm’s growing portfolio of projects, overseeing everything from client contact and pre-design to full project delivery and construction administration.
Catherine Wilson, AIA, LEED AP, has joined as project manager. With more than 23 years of experience, she will lead various new projects three has underway in the hospitality and senior living sectors.
Former LeadingAge SVP among 3 to join SCAN Health Plan Board of Directors
Cheryl Phillips, M.D., AGSF, president and CEO for the Special Needs Plans Alliance, is one of three new board members for Long Beach, CA-based SCAN Health Plan, one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit Medicare Advantage health plans.
Phillips, a geriatrician with more than 25 years of experience as a senior executive and clinical leader in the healthcare industry, formerly was senior vice president for public policy and health services at LeadingAge. Her career also includes service as president of both the American Medical Directors Association and American Geriatrics Society. Under then Health and Human Services Sec. Tommy Thompson, she also was selected to serve as a health policy fellow.
Rosemary Ellis, principal of AnderEllis LLC, and Rosemary Turner, deputy chair of the Economic Advisory Council Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, also are new members.
Ellis serves on several boards. Her previous roles include interim president and CEO of EngenderHealth, editor-in-chief of Good Housekeeping magazine, senior vice president and editorial director of Prevention and executive editor of Time New Media.
Turner is president of LEEPS, a technology start-up, and is active on several boards. She had a 40-year career with UPS, serving as president more than 20 years.
Touchtown’s Michael Rethage promoted to senior vice president, head of senior living division at parent company Uniguest
Michael Rethage has been promoted to senior vice president, head of senior living division, at Nashville, TN-based engagement technology company Uniguest.
Uniguest is the parent company of Pittsburgh-based technology company Touchtown, where Rethage has led operations for more than six years. He started as director of operations in 2014, moved up to vice president of customer success in January 2014 and was in that role for four years before becoming senior vice president of operations for more than a year before this promotion.
He will be leading the Touchtown division based in Pittsburgh, including creating new partner relationships to integrate more features into Touchtown’s senior living engagement products, improving processes and workflow, and using customer feedback to continually adapt Touchtown’s products.
Rethage previous experience also includes leading software implementations for a large healthcare provider to managing equipment projects that help run America’s Nuclear Navy.
