Send your personnel news to Lois Bowers at [email protected].
Benchmark Senior Living promotes Kris Martel to chief human resources officer
Kris Martel has been promoted to the position of chief human resources officer at Waltham, MA-based Benchmark Senior Living. She is the first person to hold the position in the company’s first in its 25-year history.
In her new role and as a member of Benchmark’s senior leadership team, Martel will continue to focus on strategic investments in recruitment and retention and company culture programs, including Benchmark’s equity and inclusion initiative.
Martel joined Benchmark as vice president of human resources in October 2021. During her time at the company, Benchmark said, she spearheaded the largest single investment in wages in company history, including establishing a minimum wage for all frontline employees and an increased minimum wage for the company’s resident care employees who provide direct resident care. In addition, she expanded the breadth of mental health services offered to employees.
Before joining Benchmark, Martel was vice president of human resources at Point 32 Health, formerly Tufts Health Plan, where she implemented talent management and continuous change initiatives to instill employee trust. She holds an MBA from Bentley University.
Heritage promotes Runnoe to chief nursing officer, Roth-Bottoni to regional director of operations
Amanda Runnoe has been promoted to chief nursing officer of West Allis, WI-based Heritage Senior Living.
In her new role, Runnoe will oversee strategic planning, new advancements in resident services, oversight of new quality initiatives and the expansion of the company’s staff education services.
Since joining Heritage Senior Living in 2011 as a resident aide in healthcare, Runnoe has held various positions with increasing responsibilities, including wellness director, executive director and vice president of clinical and quality services. In those roles, she has overseen day-to-day operations across Heritage Senior Living communities.
Before joining Heritage Senior Living, Runnoe was a registered nurse supervisor at Oakwood Villa in Altoona, WI.
Heritage Senior Living also announced the promotion of Tammy Roth-Bottoni to regional director of operations. In this role, Roth-Bottoni will oversee multiple locations, providing operational support while also serving on Heritage Senior Living’s corporate support team, managing special projects and initiatives.
Health Services Management announces Samantha Choate as chief nursing officer
Samantha “Sam” Choate has been named chief nursing officer of Health Services Management. In her new role, she will ensure regulatory compliance standards are met and that company policies and procedures align with the strategic direction of HSM.
Choate has 10 years of nursing experience and has held a variety of roles in leadership, support, clinical oversight and guidance across all healthcare communities throughout HSM.
She previously was director of nursing with Sava Senior Care, where she quickly rose to the position of division vice president of clinical services, responsible for 56 facilities throughout Kansas, Nevada and Texas.
Choate received a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University in 2010, an Associate in Applied Science of Nursing degree from McLennan Community College in 2012, and a Master of Science in Nursing degree from Texas A&M Corpus Christi in 2017.
American Senior Communities names Mindy Shapiro chief compliance officer
Mindy Shapiro has joined American Senior Communities as chief compliance officer.
In her new role, Shapiro oversees ASC’s compliance program, ensuring compliance with regulatory obligations and company policies, developing education and training programs, conducting compliance investigations and compliance plan development.
Before to joining ASC’s leadership team Shapiro spent more than 25 years practicing law in government and private practice settings. She has extensive experience in healthcare law, according to ASC.
Shapiro earned her undergraduate degree at Indiana University and received her law degree from University of Dayton.
Senior Lifestyle promotes Jennifer Kleckner to SVP of asset management
Jennifer Kleckner has been promoted to the position of senior vice president of asset management at Chicago-based Senior Lifestyle Corp. She joined the company in 2008.
In her new position, Kleckner will oversee the asset management team as well as the procurement and capital and plant operations teams. She will work to identify opportunities to improve processes and will continue to work to drive results as the company expands.
Kleckner has been with the asset management department for more than a decade, assisting with the expansion of the team to eight professionals and the integration of new technologies to streamline their work. She and the asset management team have focused on engagement with investor partners and implementing processes, reports and analytics to improve operational results and customer service, thereby strengthening partnerships.
Kleckner earned her undergraduate degree from Wisconsin School of Business in 2005 and completed the Wisconsin real estate program.
Jewish Senior Life announces new VP, foundation executive director
Wendy Ferrer has joined Jewish Senior Life, Rochester, NY, as the vice president of marketing and communications. In this role, she will shape communications strategies in an effort to expand and amplify the continuing care retirement community’s local and national recognition as a leader in providing a full-spectrum of aging and rehabilitative healthcare services.
Ferrer founded Red Purse Marketing, an award-winning firm providing communications advisory services to healthcare organizations and mid-sized businesses across the East Coast. She previously held marketing and communications leadership roles at Rochester Regional Health and Unity Health System.
Additionally, W. Thomas McDade Clay has been selected as the executive director for the Jewish Senior Life Foundation.
In this role, McDade Clay will provide leadership and vision to enable continued growth of advancement programs and fundraising for Jewish Senior Life. He is responsible for managing all aspects of the foundation.
Life Care Services hires Micah Terry as regional marketing and sales specialist
Micah Terry has been hired as a regional marketing and sales specialist for Life Care Services.
In his new role, he oversees and manages the marketing and sales teams of Shipley Living and Foulk Living of Wilmington and Millcroft Living of Newark. Last year, LCS became the management company for the three Delaware-based senior living communities.
Terry works with marketing leadership in the three communities, with a focus on increasing census at each.
He joined the company with an education in behavioral science and healthcare administration gained at Wilmington University, retail furniture sales and operations management experience, and marketing experience, LCS says.
Heritage Ministries promotes Carrie Johnstone to executive director
Carrie Johnstone has been promoted to executive director of Vinecroft Retirement Community, a Heritage Ministries independent living community in Clarence Center, NY. She will be responsible for sales and business development and will oversee all teams and operations.
Johnstone, previously the acting executive director, in the past spent seven years as a member of the Heritage team in Western New York.
She earned an undergraduate degree in psychology and minor in sociology, with intensive studies in counseling and cognitive behaviors, at Fredonia State University. She also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in photography.
Before joining Heritage, where she has served as both a life enrichment director and a community life director in Chautauqua County, Johnstone worked in systems management for more than a decade.
NCAL announces 2022 award recipients
Three individuals have been announced as winners of 2022 awards from the National Center for Assisted Living:
- Administrator of the Year: Nicole Ellis, The Cottages of Middleton, Middleton, ID. This award recognizes an assisted living administrator or executive director deemed to demonstrate outstanding innovation, achievement and capabilities in the provision of high-quality person-centered care in a service-oriented culture in an assisted living community.
- Assisted Living Nurse of the Year: Doreen Locke, RN, DON, Odd Fellows’ and Rebekahs’ Home of Maine, Auburn, ME. This award recognizes a licensed practical or registered assisted living nurse deemed to demonstrate outstanding compassion, supervisory success, innovation, achievement and capabilities in the provision of high-quality person-centered care in a service-oriented culture in an assisted living community.
- Noble Caregiver in Assisted Living: Barbara Quezada, Beehive Homes of Taylor Ranch, Albuquerque, NM. This award recognizes a frontline caregiver, support or office staff member from any department for contributions deemed to have led to improved quality of life for the residents and to have created a better work environment for the assisted living community’s staff.
These three people will be among those honored at the 73rd AHCA/NCAL Convention & Expo in October in Nashville, TN.
ConnectOne Bank’s new healthcare commercial banking division to be led by James Vincenti
James Vincenti is set to spearhead ConnectOne Bank’s newly dedicated healthcare commercial banking division team.
He will lead the division and will work with borrowers that have operations in multiple states to offer a variety of depository and professional loan services, with a focus on long-term care providers.
Vincenti brings experience in lending and advising specific to the healthcare sector, with a background spanning healthcare lending, commercial lending, not-for-profit and treasury management services. Before joining ConnectOne, he ran the healthcare commercial banking division at Investors Bank for almost 10 years, where he and his team were responsible for generating more than $1 billion in loans to healthcare clients.
Cushman & Wakefield hires new seven-person team, led by Brian O’Connor
Brian O’Connor, MAI, CRE, is set to pave the way in further expansion for the Cushman & Wakefield Valuation and Advisory Living Sector practice area.
O’Connor, as executive director, brings 36 years of experience, including evaluating local economic conditions and forecasting future demand for multifamily housing and commercial space. He was the principal author of the Seattle Metropolitan Area Apartment Market Report. He also has developed expertise in performing complex feasibility and investment analysis for multiple types of commercial properties.
Also joining the team:
- Soryun Fitzpatrick, director.
- Brian Mitchell, associate director.
- Howard Ruthman, associate director.
- Scott Wilson, associate director.
- Kellen O’Connor, associate.
- Raphael Nunziata, appraisal coordinator.
The team will provide third-party valuations, market studies and other advisory services.
Send your personnel news to Lois Bowers at [email protected]. High-quality color headshots are welcome but not required.
