Fifteen women working in senior living, skilled nursing or home care are being announced today as Rising Stars and will be feted May 12 as part of the fourth annual McKnight’s Women of Distinction awards, a joint effort of McKnight’s Senior Living and sister media brands McKnight’s Long-Term Care News and McKnight’s Home Care.

“These honorees, early in their long-term care careers, already have made impressive contributions to their employers and fields,” said McKnight’s Editorial Director, Vice President and Associate Publisher John O’Connor.

The Rising Stars awards category honors women who are either aged fewer than 40 years or have fewer than 15 years of experience in the senior living, skilled nursing or home care fields. All have demonstrated an exceptional commitment at the community or corporate level.

The 15 Rising Stars in the class of 2022:

Sarah Bateman, Administrator, Rochester Regional Health–Edna Tina Wilson, Rochester NY

Patricia Bush, Administrator, Haskell County Nursing Center, Stigler, OK

Anne-Marie Fitz, Executive director, Touchmark at Harwood Groves, Fargo, ND

Elizabeth Ann Fetner, Regional operations manager, LCS, St. Petersburg, FL

Stephanie Maupin, Executive director, Brentwood at Elkhart Assisted Living / Integral Senior Living, Elkhart, IN

Jamie Merrill, Regional vice president of operations, Florida, Brookdale Senior Living, Nashville, TN

Morgan C.B. Miles, LEED AP, Development director, Brightview Senior Living, Baltimore

Holly Artkamp Romie, Chief nursing officer, Bethany Village, Centerville, OH

Crystal Shelby, Regional director of operations, Legacy Healthcare, Skokie, IL

Magen Shelton, Vice president, strategic development, Interim HealthCare of the Upstate, Greenville, SC

Julia Shiner, M.D., MPH, Vice president and medical director of employee health and well-being, Erickson Senior Living, Catonsville, MD

Theresa Watts, Infection control preventionist, Alta Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, Reno, NV

Victoria Wenick, Director of philanthropy, Covenant Living at The Shores, Mercer Island, WA

Trista Wilson, Chief operating officer, English Meadows Senior Living, Blacksburg, VA

Kristina Wright, Nursing home administrator, The Bay at Suring Health and Rehabilitation Center, Suring, WI

More award announcements coming

The McKnight’s Women of Distinction awards program was judged by a national, independent panel of judges. Overall, 27 states are represented by the honorees across all categories.

Once again, a Veteran VIP category will recognize women with at least 15 years of experience who are making an impact on the senior living, skilled nursing or home care fields, and a Hall of Honor category will recognize women who are at a level equivalent to vice president or higher and who have had a significant effect on their organization or industry. Veteran VIPs will be announced Thursday, and Hall of Honor award recipients will be announced Friday.

The 2022 program, as in years past, also will include a Lifetime Achievement Award; the recipient of that award, as well as the recipients of a new Spirit Award, recognizing inspiring women who provide care and services, will be announced later.

Awards dinner and educational event set for May 12 and 13

The 2022 McKnight’s Women of Distinction program also features the return of in-person festivities after two years of virtual celebrations.

All of this year’s honorees will be celebrated May 12 during an in-person cocktail reception and dinner at the W Hotel City Center in Chicago. The presentation of awards will be followed the next day, May 13, by the third annual McKnight’s Women of Distinction Forum, offering educational sessions featuring industry thought leaders discussing important topics. Both events are open to everyone.

For more information and to register for either or both events, visit https://www.mcknightswomenofdistinction.com/. Those with questions about the event should contact Anna Naumoski at [email protected].

Keep up to date with McKnight’s Women of Distinction news on the McKnight’s Senior Living website.

PointClickCare is the Diamond sponsor of this year’s event.