Presbyterian Senior Living CEO is retiring
James Bernardo, president and CEO of Presbyterian Senior Living, Dillsburg, PA, is retiring at the end of this year after 37 years with the company.
Bernardo has served in many positions over the course of his time with PSL, including executive director and chief operating officer. He has been president and CEO for the past three years.
Bernardo also previously served as treasurer of the LeadingAge Board of Directors.
Phoebe Ministries names EVP/COO and CFO
Robert Richards, CPA, and Thomas Baer have been promoted by Phoebe Ministries, Allentown, PA, following the retirement of Lisa Fichera.
Richards has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer. He is in charge of managing healthcare services, pharmacy service operations, marketing, human resources and affordable housing. Richards also is a staff liaison to Phoebe’s governing board and board committees, and he is a member of the subscriber committee for the Phoebe Reciprocal Risk Retention Group.
He first joined the company in 2015 as senior vice president of finance and was promoted to chief financial officer in 2017. Previously, Richards was a vice president at Good Samaritan Health System and Montgomery Hospital, both in Pennsylvania. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson University, formerly Philadelphia University, with an undergraduate degree in accounting.
Baer is now the company’s senior vice president of finance and chief financial officer, overseeing the billing and revenue cycle department. He also is responsible for directing the finance, contract services and information technology sectors. Additionally, he is a staff liaison to Phoebe’s Governing Board and works closely with the audit, finance and investment committee. He is a member of the subscriber committee for the Phoebe Reciprocal Risk Retention Group.
Baer was first hired by the company in 2007 as corporate controller, then promoted in 2014 to executive director of finance. He previously worked for tax and accounting firm Campbell, Rappold and Yurasits. He earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from Shippensburg University.
Asbury Foundation promotes Susan Mayernick to EVP, welcomes Carolyn Stamatakis as new board chair
Susan Mayernick has been promoted to executive vice president at The Asbury Foundation.
Mayerick joined the organization in 2018 as vice president of development. She helped develop and roll out a new strategic plan to enhance the philanthropic impact of the foundation within the overall just-launched Asbury Communities strategic blueprint. In addition, Mayerick helped the foundation have its best year ever for philanthropy in 2021, with more than $11.7 million in gifts and commitments affecting Asbury residents and employees.
In her new role, she will broaden her major and planned gift responsibilities throughout each of Asbury’s eight continuing care retirement communities. She will oversee the development and operations teams within the foundation and work alongside foundation President and CEO J.D. Shuman in further developing and executing the foundation strategic plan to optimize philanthropy for the benefit of all who are served by Asbury.
Also at the Asbury Foundation, Carolyn Stamatakis is now chair of the board of directors. She has been involved in the foundation for many decades in many roles.
As chair, Stamatakis will use her organizational skills, strategic vision and acumen she accrued through a fruitful career in financial advisory services.
Stamatakis has worked for many financial companies, such as Standard Federal Savings and Loan and Capital One, in her career.
Solvere Living hires Rich Gordon as VP of sales and marketing
Rich Gordon has been hired as vice president of sales and marketing at Solvere Living, St. Petersburg, FL.
Gordon has more than 20 years of sales and marketing experience in senior housing. Before joining Solvere, he was the regional sales and marketing director at Civitas Senior Living. There, he oversaw a portfolio of new and existing communities in the southeast with a focus on community branding, as well as increasing revenue and occupancy growth.
Gordon has an undergraduate degree in management and marketing from Staten Island University.
Masonic Homes Kentucky welcomes Brent Bayes as VP of sales
Brent Bayes has joined Masonic Homes Kentucky, Louisville, KY, as vice president of sales, a new position.
He will oversee the company’s ongoing independent living, assisted living, memory care and personal care sales strategies. Before joining Masonic Homes Kentucky, Bayes was senior director of sales and marketing at The Arlington of Naples, Naples, FL, and the director of sales and marketing for Asbury Methodist Village in Gaithersburg, MD. He started his career as an accountant and financial analyst in the senior care profession.
Bayes has an undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Florida and a master’s degree in accounting from the University of South Florida.
Retirement Unlimited Inc. brings Micah Hunt to the team as regional director of sales
Micah Hunt has joined Retirement Unlimited Inc., Roanoke, VA, as regional director of sales.
In this capacity, he will oversee sales and marketing, as well as provide support and strategic guidance, for the company’s southern Virginia communities.
Hunt also currently serves as a board member for the Virginia Assisted Living Association.
The Springs Living announces promotions
Candice Marcks, Zach Fletcher and Matt Stubblefield have been promoted at The Springs Living, McMinnville, OR.
Marcks is now senior director of sales and marketing, bringing more than 25 years of experience in the senior living field into the role. Before her promotion, she was regional director of sales for the company. She has worked in senior living since 2006 and joined The Springs Living in 2010 as the community relations director at The Springs at Tanasbourne in Hillsboro, OR.
Fletcher has been promoted to the director of creative design. In this capacity, he will lead the company’s graphic design, photography and video services, spanning all internal and external marketing and communications. He has been with the company since 2018 and was creative design coordinator for the past three years. Before joining The Springs Living, he worked as the director of marketing for Apple Roofing and Pioneer Roofing in Nebraska for four years. Previously, Fletcher was a production assistant for Hawaii 5-0 (CBS-TV) in Hawaii, where he supported the television show’s director and production team. He earned a degree in television production from the University of Hawaii in Honolulu and holds a certificate in digital marketing from Brigham Young University – Hawaii.
Stubblefield now is director of marketing, a position where he will drive the company’s marketing strategy, brand awareness and digital marketing efforts. He previously worked on The Springs Living’s digital marketing team from 2019 to 2020 and also contributed sales and marketing support for the opening of two Springs Living communities. Outside of The Springs Living, Stubblefield worked in sales and marketing at start-up TrovaTrip and was a marketing project manager for Pendleton Beef, where he oversaw the branding and marketing launch. He has an undergraduate degree in communications and general business from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.
Salmon at Natick hires Asif Merchant, MD, as medical director
Asif Merchant, M.D., an adviser to Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) about OVID-19 vaccines, has joined Salmon at Natick, Natick, MA, as the Salmon Health and Retirement community’s new medical director.
Merchant is chief of geriatrics and extended care network at Newton Wellesley Hospital. In this position, he oversees occupational therapy for older adults in the Greater Boston area. Merchant is also a partner of New England Community Medical Services, where he created a collaborative practice of more than 50 physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants providing a variety of clinical care in assisted living and skilled nursing in the Greater Boston Area.
Merchant finished an internal medicine residency at North Shore University, as well as fellowships at the Harvard School of Medicine and Long Island Jewish Medical Center for Medical Education and Geriatric Medicine.
Merchant is board-certified in internal medicine as well as geriatric, palliative and hospice care. He is chair on the geriatrics committee of the Massachusetts Medical Society and an associate clinical professor at the Tufts School of Medicine.
In September 2020, Merchant was appointed to Baker’s COVID Vaccine Advisory Group, where he has advocated to state health officials for the vaccination of homebound residents. He currently serves on the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s ‘Reopening of Nursing Home in MA’ Task Force.
Bethany Vrouhas, MS, assistant director of the assisted living program at NECMS and a nurse practitioner, also will be joining the Salmon team. Laura Bauer, NP, will join the team at Beaumont Rehabilitation & Skilled Nursing Center, and Svetlana Shrimberg, NP, will join the team at Whitney Place Assisted Living and Memory Care.
The Springs at Whitefish promotes Jillian Gue to executive director
Jillian Gue has been promoted to executive director of The Springs at Whitefish, a Springs Living assisted living and memory care community in Whitefish, MT.
As executive director, Gue will oversee all parts of the community. Before joining The Springs at Whitefish, she was the health services administrator at The Springs at Bozeman. Before that, she was the resident services coordinator at The Springs at Grand Park in Billings, MT, in 2018, which is where she began her career at The Springs Living.
Gue has an undergraduate degree in community health and a certificate in gerontology from Montana State University. She has a master’s degree in health administration from Montana State University, Billings.
Eastcastle Place promotes Cooper Ledvina to move-in coordinator
Cooper Ledvina has been promoted to move-in coordinator at Eastcastle Place, a Life Care Services-managed independent living and assisted living community in Milwaukee.
Ledvina began at the company in 2019, where he served as activities coordinator. He enjoys his new position largely because he can put his varied skills and interests to use.
Sabra Healthcare REIT announces resignation of Raymond J. Lewis
Raymond J. Lewis has resigned from the board of directors of Sabra Healthcare REIT, Irvine, CA, effective Feb. 7.
“Ray has been a fantastic board member, and his contribution to Sabra is invaluable and greatly appreciated,” Sabra CEO and Chairman Rick Matros said.
La Vida at Mission Viejo’s Justine Ortiz announced as ‘Advocate of the Year’
Justine Ortiz, executive director of La Vida at Mission Viejo, an SRG Senior Living independent living, assisted living and memory care community in Viejo, CA, has been named the 2021 Advocate of the Year by the California Assisted Living Association.
The award honors CALA members who actively build relationships with legislators, support CALA’S policy priorities and demonstrate commitment to grassroots action.
Sally Michael, president and CEO of CALA, said Ortiz “demonstrated a strong commitment to building lasting and meaningful relationships with state legislators and their staff” and going “above and beyond.”
Ortiz will be honored during a virtual awards ceremony taking place on Advocacy Day, April 5.
The Architectural Team promotes three
Philip Renzi, Andrew Stebbins, LEED AP, and Anthony Vivirito, associate AIA, LEED AP, have been promoted to associates at The Architectural Team, Chelsea, MA. According to the company’s principals, the promotions of these three long-term employees show their commitment to design expertise, client relations and exemplary project management.
Renzi first joined the company in 1992 and has experience in the sectors of new construction and adaptive reuse in many industries, including senior living. Significant projects he has worked on include the Evergreen Village at Bloomington and Fort Wayne affordable senior housing communities.
Stebbins has been at TAT for 25 years and has managed many projects, including affordable housing and senior living communities. His portfolio includes multifamily housing, Clippership Wharf –– a 12-acre mixed-use residential community –– and Harborwalk Residences. He has more than two decades of experience in designing and project management specifically focused on senior living communities; comprehensive continuum-of-care facilities for independent, assisted and memory care residents; and multifamily housing.
Viivirito first joined TAT in 2003. Clients he has worked with include Anthemion Senior Lifestyles, CA Ventures, Volunteers of America and LCB Senior Living. Recent portfolio accomplishments include The Residence at Penniman Hill and The Residences at Melrose Station for LCB and The Cordwainer for Anthemion.
M+A Architects announces Russ Garber as newest partner
Ross Garber has been announced as the newest partner of M+A Architects, where he is director of the firm’s Senior Living Studio.
Garber joined the company in 2016 and has helped expand the Senior Living Studio by 1,400%. He and his colleagues have won many national awards recognizing their expertise in senior living design. Under Garber’s leadership, the Senior Living Studio also has finished more than 100 projects.
As partner, Garber will be a leader and growth strategist to help continue developing the firm’s growth.
Enseo hires Jeff Johns as managing director of connected solutions
Jeff Johns has joined technology services provider Enseo, Plano, TX, as managing director of connected solutions.
In this position, Johns will lead the growth of room controls, energy management and internet of things products in the senior living and hospitality sectors.
Johns has returned to Enseo after leaving in 2011 to focus on guest room automation.
