Send your personnel news to Lois Bowers at [email protected].
Le Groupe Maurice names Alain Champagne president and CEO
Alain Champagne has been appointed president and CEO of Montreal-based Le Groupe Maurice and will assume the position in October.
In 2019, Chicago-based real estate investment trust Ventas acquired a $1.8 billion portfolio of 31 independent living communities, plus four in progress, in the Quebec market by investing through an 85% / 15% equity partnership with Le Groupe Maurice. Earlier this year, Ventas announced that it was pursuing several new development opportunities with the company.
Company founder Luc Maurice will remain chairman of both the company’s advisory committee and the Luc Maurice Foundation and will maintain his role as spokesperson and ambassador for the industry with government officials and the general public.
In his new role, Champagne will be responsible for executing the business plan while further advancing the company’s social and environmental mission.
Champagne has been president of the Jean Coutu Group since 2019 and also formerly was president of McKesson Canada. Additionally, he previously held various management positions at PepsiCo Canada and Procter & Gamble.
Holder of an undergraduate degree in business administration, he is actively involved with several charitable organizations, most recently the CHUM Foundation and Parkinson Quebec.
Retirement Unlimited names Jennifer Oscar, RN, regional director of clinical services in Florida
Jennifer Oscar, RN, has been named regional director of clinical services for Retirement Unlimited Inc.’s nine communities in Florida.
Oscar has been employed by RUI since 2021 and has worked in healthcare as a nurse for 23 years. She began her clinical career in 1999 as a licensed practical nurse in a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment center, where she worked alongside a general surgeon in Orlando, FL, for 13 years. She then taught medical assisting for two years before going back to school in 2015 to obtain her RN while also working for an assisted living facility. She was promoted several times before taking on the corporate role of divisional director of resident services.
Oscar received her Associates of Science in Nursing degree in 2018 from Lake Sumter State College.
Presbyterian Senior Living names Paul Katz, MD, CMD, corporate medical director
Paul Katz, MD, CMD, has been named corporate medical director at Dillsburg, PA-based Presbyterian Senior Living. He succeeds Russell Breish, MD, who is retiring from the role.
Katz has more than 15 years of experience in geriatrics/post-acute and long-term care medicine.
Before his appointment to PSL, Katz was director of medical services for Westminster Oaks, Tallahassee, FL, and chairman of the Department of Geriatric at the Florida State University College of Medicine. His career also has included serving as vice president of medical services at the Baycrest Health Science Centre, an affiliate of the University of Toronto; chief of the Division of Geriatrics at the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY; and medical director of Monroe Community Hospital in Rochester, NY.
Katz is a former president of AMDA–The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine and serves on the editorial board of JAMDA, the Journal of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, as a senior associate editor.
Sun City West names Kim Gaunt executive director
Kimberley “Kim” Gaunt has been named executive director at Sun City West Assisted Living, a Pegasus Senior Living community in Sun City West, AZ.
Gaunt has been a licensed practical nurse for 41 years in various capacities in the healthcare industry, including critical care, occupational health, oncology, emergency departments and long-term care case management. She also has worked in leadership roles for the past 10 years, including supervisor, manager and wellness department director.
She has worked in senior living for 12 years.
Maris Grove names Ryan Doherty director of sales
Ryan Doherty has been named director of sales at Maris Grove, an Erickson Senior Living continuing care retirement community in Glen Mills, PA. He brings more than 15 years of senior living experience to the leadership position.
Before joining Maris Grove, Doherty ws a sales counselor at Ann’s Choice, an Erickson Senior Living retirement community in Bucks County, PA. He began his career at Erickson in 2007 as a restaurant associate. He quickly moved through the ranks, serving in diverse roles including service coach, administrative assistant, assistant manager and senior sales associate.
Doherty has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree focused in marketing from Temple University’s Fox School of Business and Management.
Tech Ridge Oaks hires Dontae Perry as memory care coordinator
Dontae Perry is the new memory care coordinator at Tech Ridge Oaks, North Austin, TX, managed by Civitas Senior Living. He has worked in senior living for 12 years.
Perry graduated in 2012 from the University of Alabama with an undergraduate degree in elementary education and psychology. He then attended Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, AL, where he majored in nursing.
His career has included working in a hospital emergency department, for a hospice program and as a healthy lifestyles director.
Gallery at Port Orange welcomes new chef, Daniel Kaine
Daniel Kaine has joined The Gallery at Port Orange, Port Orange, FL, operated by Civitas Senior Living, as chef.
Kaine’s culinary career spans 23 years. He began his training in the Navy and attended Paul Smith College, where he earned an undergraduate degree in culinary arts and service management. He is classically trained in French cuisine and has worked as an executive chef for the past 10 years.
Lifespark adds 4 to advisory group amid market expansion
St Louis Park, MN-based Lifespark has added four people to its advisory group as the company plans to expand into new markets by the end of this year.
Joining the group:
- Sunil Sajan Budhrani, MD, MPH, MBA, a healthcare executive, physician and strategic adviser.
- Robert Kramer, founder and fellow at Nexus Insights and co-founder and strategic adviser for the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care.
- Paul Mastrapa, former CEO of Help at Home, CEO and president of Option Care and president of Walgreens Infusion Services.
- Amanda Tan, principal at Accenture.
Eden Alternative welcomes Sarah Thomas to board
Sarah Thomas has joined the board of directors for Rochester, NY-based The Eden Alternative, a nonprofit organization working to improve the landscape of aging services.
Trained as an occupational therapist, Thomas brings more than 20 years of experience to the board. She is the CEO of multiple enterprises, including the consulting firm Delight by Design.
Health Dimensions Group promotes Heather Haberhern to SVP, names Sara Deiter VP
Heather Haberhern has been promoted to senior vice president of quality at Minneapolis-based consulting firm Health Dimensions Group, and Sara Deiter has been named vice president of consulting services.
In her new role, Haberhern provides oversight and strategic direction in matters of compliance, quality of life, clinical services, clinical reimbursement, plant operations, safety, culinary and risk management for HDG’s portfolio of managed communities. She is responsible for ensuring that residents are cared for in a respectful environment consistent with HDG’s values.
Before joining HDG, Haberhern served several senior care organizations around the country in director-level compliance and reimbursement positions. She began her career as an occupational therapist.
Haberhern earned undergraduate degrees in occupational therapy and human ecology/food/nutrition from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
In her new position, Deiter develops and executes sales and business development growth, sales operations, account management and customer satisfaction strategies.
Deiter has 25 years of experience in healthcare, including time as assistant director of the division of nursing home monitoring for the state of Michigan, a nursing home administrator at a state-run veterans home, and positions of director of nursing, district director of clinical operations, vice president of clinical services and chief clinical officer.
Deiter holds an undergraduate degree in nursing from Northern Illinois University and a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Phoenix. She also earned a Post MSN Nurse Practitioner Certificate from the Duke University School of Nursing. She is a registered nurse in North Carolina and Illinois and a licensed nursing home administrator in North Carolina.
HDG provides management and oversight for 47 senior living and care communities in seven states, serving more than 2,500 residents and 2,000 team members.
Governor appoints Kenneth Lee Burgess to Advisory Council on Aging
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) has appointed Kenneth Lee Burgess to the Governor’s Advisory Council on Aging as a member-at-large.
Burgess is a healthcare attorney at Baker Donelson in Raleigh, NC. He previously was the senior director of legal services and facility operations of the American Health Care Association and general counsel of both the North Carolina Health Care Facilities Association and the Assisted Living Federation of America, now known as Argentum.
Two from LCB honored by Massachusetts Assisted Living Association
Amanda Polzin, director of sales and market strategy for LCB Senior Living, and Beverly Curry, resident engagement director at The Residence at Pearl Street, recently were honored by the Massachusetts Assisted Living Association.
Polzin received the Sales and Marketing Excellence Award for her dedication to creating a positive sales and marketing culture within her community for more than 15 years.
Curry was honored with the Exemplifying Excellence in Activities Services award.
IHCA/INCAL announces 2022 Senior Living Award recipients
The Indiana Health Care Association/Indiana Center for Assisted Living recently honored three individuals:
- John Eastman, maintenance supervisor at Saint Anne Communities, Fort Wayne, IN, was named Caregiver of the Year.
- Elodia Guevara, CNA preceptor at Miller’s Merry Manor–Wakarusa, Wakarusa, IN, was named Certified Nurse Aide of the Year.
- Terri Medford, director of nurses at Miller’s Merry Manor–Wakarusa, Wakarusa, IN, was named Nurse of the Year.
Enseo announces Corey Rhodes as new CEO
Corey Rhodes has been named CEO of Plano, TX-based technology services provider Enseo. He will lead the company through organic and inorganic growth following a 2021 investment from H.I.G. Capital.
Rhodes succeeds founder and Board Chairman Vanessa Ogle, who, during her more than 20-year tenure, launched the company into an integrated services provider, helped develop innovative products and expanded the vertical markets Enseo serves.
Rhodes joins Enseo from QAD Precision, where he was president. Before joining QAD Precision, he was vice president of sales at E2Open and vice president of sales at Amber Road.
MedCore Partners hires 12 new employees
Dallas-based senior living and healthcare commercial real estate company MedCore Partners has hired 12 new employees within the past year.
- Amber Ashford brings a wide range of experience in accounting, management and business operations.
- Matt Batcher is an experienced senior accountant who began his career in public accounting as an auditor at BDO.
- Brett Flaten joined MedCore to oversee and direct all design and construction activities from site selection through the final licensing and commissioning of MedCore’s senior living and healthcare projects. He has more than 25 years of development and construction experience in senior living, healthcare and mixed-use developments across 20 states, totaling more than $700 million in assets.
- Mike Galindo joined MedCore to oversee and direct the development of senior living and healthcare projects from inception to completion. He began his career in architecture and transitioned to healthcare development in 2016. Since then, he has had development projects throughout Texas and Florida with more than 2.5 million square feet of real estate, valued at more than $600 million.
- David Hua is assistant controller for MedCore’s senior living division. He began his career in public accounting and later transitioned into private accounting, working for international, mid-size, private equity backed and Fortune 500 companies in corporate and structure/merger and acquisition accounting roles.
- Sundeep Jeste brings a successful track record in both operations and asset management to MedCore’s senior living platform. Jeste has more than 20 years of experience in the senior living industry and works alongside the rest of the senior living team on business plan and strategy creation, monitoring performance and partnering closely with operators to deliver desired results.
- Neil Naiser joined MedCore with a primary focus of overseeing all asset management activities at the company. With almost 10 years of senior living experience, Naiser has successfully directed the oversight of business plan implementation and refinance of more than 45 bridge loans, mezzanine loans and preferred equity investments on value-add senior living, multifamily and healthcare projects, totaling almost $1.9 billion in total asset value.
- Court Powell joined MedCore’s brokerage team and brings more than 12 years of experience in commercial real estate and commercial finance throughout the state of Texas. He has completed more than $200 million in commercial debt and equity transactions including retail development, multifamily, and medical office building investments.
- Jordan Sibley joined MedCore as general counsel and brings more than a decade of legal experience in real estate, finance and corporate matters. He has extensive transactional experience in real estate development, acquisitions, dispositions and complex joint ventures. Before joining MedCore, Sibley was employed by both national and regional law firms after having served as general counsel for a family office in Dallas.
- Melissa Thaxton joined MedCore’s accounting team to assist with corporate and construction accounting. She has spent more than 12 years in progressive accounting roles in both small and large multi-entity organizations with the Dallas–Fort Worth nonprofit sector.
- Scott Walker is a healthcare real estate project management and construction veteran. He has directed the design and construction of more than 2 million square feet of senior living, hospital, medical office building and outpatient facility projects.
- Leah Yates oversees all aspects of facilities management and administrative duties to maintain positive productivity of MedCore operations. Yates has more than six years of experience in sales and team support.
Vitas Healthcare names Laury Bliss VP of operations in Southern California
Laury Bliss has returned to Miami-based Vitas Healthcare as vice president of hospice operations in Southern California. In this role, Bliss oversees the teams that provide care.
A former senior general manager for Vitas who was named Top General Manager in 2018, Bliss returns after two years away. She has more than 18 years of experience in hospice leadership and 12 years of experience in multi-site management.
In addition to her tenure at Vitas, Bliss held high-level operational leadership roles with other hospice and home health providers in Southern California. She holds an MBA from Innova University.
Vitas operates 49 hospice programs in 14 states and the District of Columbia. The company employs 9,509 professionals who care for patients with advanced illness, primarily in the patients’ homes but also in the company’s 26 inpatient hospice units as well as in assisted living communities/residential care facilities for the elderly, nursing homes and hospitals.
Send your personnel news to Lois Bowers at [email protected]. High-quality color headshots are welcome but not required.
