Discovery Senior Living hires new COO

Bill Sciortino

Bill Sciortino has been hired as the new chief operating officer at Discovery Senior Living

He joins the company after 18 years with Vi Living in Chicago. There, he began as chief information officer and ended as COO. 

In his new role, Sciortino will aid in creating personalization of resident experiences across the company’s 62 communities in 14 states.

Five Star Senior Living announces senior vice president and chief operating officer

Margaret Wigglesworth is the new senior vice president and chief operating officer at Five Star Senior Living.

She has almost three decades worth of management experience. Before joining Five Star, she held leadership roles at the International Council of Shopping Centers, Cresa and Colliers International Group.

Wigglesworth will lead the company’s operations and direct various aspects of its administrative functions.

Brookdale Senior Living hires new chief information officer

Chris Bayham

Chris Bayham has joined Brookdale Senior Living as chief information officer, reporting to Chief Financial Officer Steve Swain.

“Chris has over 20 years of experience in IT leadership, specializing in the healthcare industry,” Brookdale President and CEO Lucinda “Cindy” Baier said during the company’s recent second-quarter earnings call. “He will lead our great IT organization, which has continued to drive innovation, such as the implementation of our proprietary sales and marketing system, electronic residency agreements and improvements in services provided to residents.”

According to the Nashville Post, Bayham comes to Brookdale from Change Healthcare, which he had joined in late 2015 as senior vice president of technology operations. He became CIO there in March 2017. During Bayham’s time at Change Healthcare, the company merged with the majority of McKesson Technology Solutions to grow to more than $3 billion in revenue; the company went public in late June. Before Change Healthcare, Bayham was with Cardinal Health.

Queen Anne Manor names new executive director

Chandler Lewis

Chandler Lewis has been hired as the new executive director at Queen Anne Manor, an Integral Senior Living community.

Before joining Queen Anne Manor, Lewis graduated from the University of Washington; he is finishing his master’s degree at Johns Hopkins University.

Lewis has experience as the general manager for a Holiday Retirement community in West Seattle.

Caruth Haven Court hires new executive director

Laura Allegro has been named the executive director at Caruth Haven Court, a senior living community in Dallas.

She will oversee the 91-resident community’s care programs, and ensure the safety and security of residents.

Allegro is a graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington.

Waltonwood Lake Boone hires four

Samantha Toms, Takisha Craven, Laura Gremore and Sharon Staten have been hired by Waltonwood Lake Boone. They will be joining the assisted living and memory care team.

Toms is the memory care life enrichment manager. She is a graduate of East Carolina University and has a master’s degree in recreational therapy administration. She has previously served as a recreational therapist.

Craven is the memory care wellness coordinator. She has 10 years of experience working with seniors with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

Gremore is the assisted living life enrichment manager. In her new role, she will help develop personalized programming for residents based on hobbies, interests, occupation and life events. 

Staten is the assisted living wellness coordinator. She is an LPN and has served as a nurse for more than 15 years.

Maplewood Senior Living promotes one

Lauren Stowell has been promoted to executive director of Maplewood at Danbury

She previously served as community relations director at Maplewood at Newton. Stowell will transition to her new role this month. She will oversee all day-to-day operations as well as lead efforts in planning and development of new programs.

Stowell has more than 10 years of experience in the healthcare and senior living industries. 

Conservatory at Plano appoints new executive director

Nicole Dodson has been named the new executive director of Conservatory at Plano

Dodson has experience in sales and management roles at other senior living and healthcare providers and as established a multi-location manufacturing operation. Her career began with the Oklahoma Department of Health, where she worked on drug and tobacco prevention initiatives.

She will now oversee community and care programs for the 222-resident community.

LeadingAge PA announces new director of member engagement

Megan Stedjan has become the director of member engagement at LeadingAge PA.

Stedjan is a licensed clinical social worker with almost two decades of direct case management and leadership experience in independent living, assisted living, nursing care and home- and community-based services throughout Pennsylvania and Maryland.

She earned her undergraduate degree in social work from Messiah College and a master’s degree in social work from Temple University.

Perkins Eastman adds one

Brian Devlin has joined Perkins Eastman as a principal to its senior living practice. 

He is responsible for addressing the challenges that the company and clients are facing in the senior living industry.

Devlin has an undergraduate degree in architecture from Texas Tech University. He has been instrumental in more than $1 billion in project development and millions of square feet of design and construction throughout the United States over the past 17 years, according to Perkins Eastman.

LeadingAge Florida announces new Board of Trustees members

Joel Anderson has been announced as LeadingAge Florida’s new Board of Trustees Board chairman.

He is the CEO of Village on the Isle in Venice and was the past chair of LeadingAge Florida’s Continuing Care Public Policy Committee and of the Governor’s Continuing Care Advisory Council.

Also elected to the board is Scott Cairns, executive director of Indian River Estates in Vero Beach; Aimee Hilton, administrator of St. Andrews Estates in Boca Raton; Chris Newport, executive director of Sinai Residences of Boca Raton; and Steve Kramer, president and CEO of The Mayflower Retirement Community in Winter Park.

Marcus & Millichap expands board of directors

Lauralee Martin (2015 HCP investor day presentation)
Lauralee Martin

Lauralee Martin, former CEO of real estate investment trust HCP, has been added to the board of directors for Marcus & Millichap. She will serve on the audit committee.

Martin also was president and a board member of HCP until 2016. Prior to that, she worked at Jones Lang LaSalle in a variety of leadership roles, including CEO, Americas, and global chief operating and financial officer. She also served as chief financial officer at Heller Financial and as president of General Electric Mortgage at GE Capital.

Martin also currently serves on the boards of Kaiser Aluminum Corporation and QuadReal Property Group.

Veltex Corp. appoints new board member

Luba Andrus, RPh., M.J., formerly of Omincare, has been appointed to the board of directors for Veltex Corp

Andrus has more than 30 years of executive, operational and retail leadership experience in both the pharmaceutical and cannabis industries. She now owns and co-founded two medical marijuana dispensaries in Illinois.

She previously owned and operated several retail pharmacies. In addition, she served as director of outpatient services and then as chief operating officer for Omnicare. In 2016, she founded Medication Therapy Management to provide comprehensive educational services specializing in the application of medical cannabis.

Beazer Homes USA announces new board members after retirements

Sunrise Senior Living CEO Chris Winkle and David Spitz have been announced as two new members to the board of directors for Beazer Homes USA. The news comes after the retirement of three directors.

Winkle will serve on the finance committee. Spitz will serve to the board’s compensation committee. He is CEO of ChannelAdvisor Corp., an e-commerce cloud platform. 

The three retiring directors are Brian Beazer, the company’s founder and chairman emeritus; Stephan Zelnak, the current chairman; and Peter Leemputte, a former chairman of the board’s audit and compensation committees. 

NCAL announces 2019 award winners

The National Center for Assisted Living announces the recipients of the 2019 NCAL Awards Program. The awards are designed to recognize assisted living caregivers and programs deemed to be exemplary and will be presented at the AHCA/NCAL annual meeting this fall.

Jaclyn O’Keefe has won the Administrator of the Year award. She is the administrator at Heritage Woods of Rockford, managed by Gardant Management Solutions. During her four years in the position, she has helped the community improve staff retention, increase annual survey scores and raise resident satisfaction, according to NCAL.

John Walters, LPN, is Assisted Living Nurse of the Year. He is the nurse supervisor at Dominican Village and oversees the clinical needs of the 65 residents in the community. Additionally, Walters facilitates a support group for families and caregivers to discuss topics such as stress management.

Shirley Perdue received the Noble Caregiver in Assisted Living award. Perdue has been a resident aide at Richland Place Senior Living for the past nine years. She is known for going above and beyond for the residents and when inclement weather is in the forecast, she will bring a sleeping bag to work to spend as many nights as necessary to ensure residents are cared for and safe.

The National Assisted Living Week Program of the Year went to Stone Hearth Estates. The staff there put together a National Assisted Living Week program with the theme “Capture the Moment.” The program included a photo booth with local celebrities, a caricature artist who drew residents’ portraits, and an exhibit of American photos from the Library of Congress.

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