The Baptist Home confirms Rodney Harrison as new president
Rodney Harrison, D.Min., has been confirmed as The Baptist Home’s next president, making him only the seventh president in the home’s 107-year history. Harrison began serving as the transitional president in December in preparation for former President Steven Jones’ retirement in January.
Harrison has been a professor for 17 years at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO, and serves as dean of academic strategy. In addition, he has an extensive background in healthcare and healthcare administration, which began in 1983 when he became a registered nurse.
Harrison studied at Dallas Baptist University, obtaining his bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration. He worked on a master of divinity in Biblical languages at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and completed his master’s degree in Christian education from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. He completed a Doctor of Ministry degree at Gateway Baptist Seminary.
In addition to writing numerous published books, articles and papers, Harrison has served for 10 years as a consultant, mentor and coach for several academic institutions across the country, including Hannibal–LaGrange University and Missouri Baptist University.
Cadence Living appoints Mindy Whitworth vice president of operations, Mountain Region
Mindy Whitworth has joined the management team of Cadence Living as vice president of operations – Mountain Region. Whitworth is based in Denver and will have principal responsibility for the operations of Cadence’s growing portfolio in Colorado and Utah.
Whitworth has more than 25 years of experience in operations, sales and marketing in the senior living industry. Most recently, she was a regional vice president of operations for Milestone Communities. She held a similar role with MorningStar Senior Living as well as sales and marketing roles with MorningStar and Bethesda Senior Living.
SRI Management adds three to corporate team, promotes tenured employee
Senior living management company SRI Management has added three seasoned leaders to its corporate team and promoted a tenured employee, Todd Filippone, to executive vice president.
Recent additions to the corporate team:
Daniel Almendares is a new senior vice president of operations, applying nearly a decade of past industry experience. He expanded a small assisted living facility owner/operator group from fewer than 100 beds to close to 1,000. He worked his way through the company ranks from administrative trainee to a vice president of operations while also obtaining his MBA form the University of Florida.
Dave Cone joins the team as vice president of marketing and communications, bringing 18 years of experience in communications, technology, data strategy and team management to his new role. He previously was the Florida Department of Management Services data analytics officer and director of marketing for the Florida Institute of CPAs.
Cone will oversee all SRI senior housing communications, branding, messaging and marketing. He has an undergraduate degree in journalism and a master’s degree in mass communication from the University of Florida.
Elizabeth Lehman joins the team as social media and visual content specialist, heading up social media for SRI corporate, as well as guiding social media content and engagement with each of the SRI Management communities. She also brings her photography and video skills to lead all visual development needs and shoots.
Retirement Unlimited names Emily Erickson regional director of clinical services
Emily Erickson has been named regional director of clinical services for Retirement Unlimited Inc., a Virginia family-owned and operated senior living community management company.
Erickson graduated with honors from King College in Tennessee in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She then moved to Charlottesville, VA, where she worked at UVA Health System as a clinical care coordinator, providing a continuum of care in nursing as part of an interdisciplinary team. She has 11 years of experience in not only senior living but pediatrics, neurosurgery, and in the intensive care unit.
Erickson has been with Retirement Unlimited since 2016 and prior to her promotion worked as the director of wellness for RUI’s Bay Lake Community in Virginia Beach, VA.
“She has proven to be a team player by taking on additional roles such as Interim-Executive Director at Bay Lake Community during a transition period,” said RUI President Doris-Ellie Sullivan. “As well, she has led the team in procuring personal protective equipment (PPE) including gowns, masks, KN95, face shields and gloves to ensure the safety of both our residents and staff during this pandemic.”
In her new position, Erickson will travel to all RUI communities, providing clinical oversight and direction to ensure regulatory compliance and meeting the needs and standards of the residents.
Legend Senior Living names Melissa Briscoe regional healthcare director for Kansas, Colorado
Melissa Briscoe has been named Kansas / Colorado regional healthcare director for Legend Senior Living.
Briscoe has spent the largest part of her nursing career in nursing administration. Before joining Legend, she worked as director of nursing at the Catholic Care Center and was director of quality and infection control for Ascension. She has more than 18 years in leadership, administration and customer service experience and specializes in quality improvement, infection prevention and employee retention.
At Legend, she is responsible for providing clinical oversight and leadership to eight communities in Kansas and two in Colorado. She will assess outcome metrics to improve processes to align with Legend Senior Living standards.
A registered nurse, Briscoe earned her bachelor’s degree and a degree in business management from the University of Kansas Medical Center.
Waltonwood Cotswold names Tammy Mullins executive director
Tammy Mullins has been appointed executive director at Waltonwood Cotswold. Mullins brings more than 20 years of senior living experience to her new role.
Mullins has held multiple positions in senior living communities across the country, including business office manager, assistant executive director, executive director and regional director. She is a certified director of assisted living and a certified dementia practitioner.
As executive director at the Charlotte, NC, assisted living and memory care community, Mullins oversees the daily operations of the community and provides support to each department.
Singh Senior Living, a family-owned company headquartered in West Bloomfield, MI, runs the Waltonwood senior living communities.
Orchards Health Center names Kelly Conk administrator
Kelly Conk has been named administrator for the new Orchards Health Center in Rancho Mission Viejo, CA.
The assisted living and memory care community, which will offer 58 assisted living apartments and a separate 20-room memory care neighborhood called The Gardens, is scheduled to open in October. A 71-bed skilled nursing facility is expected to open in early 2021. As administrator, Conk will be responsible for the day-to-day operations, including resident and family satisfaction, regulatory compliance, financial management and employee engagement.
Conk is a licensed nursing home administrator and a certified residential care for the elderly administrator in California. Before joining The Orchards, she was vice president of operations for a healthcare management company and the administrator of a 5-Star skilled nursing facility in Long Beach, CA.
Conk also was the owner and president of Post-Acute Care Management, where she developed and implemented transitional care programs between skilled nursing facilities and acute-care hospitals.
Conk graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree. She later completed the California Association of Health Facilities’ Long-term Care Leadership Academy and the California Department of Public Health nursing home administrator preceptor program.
Watercrest appoints MaryAnn Howell as executive director of Watercrest Winter Park
MaryAnn Howell has been appointed as executive director of the 107-unit Watercrest Winter Park, an assisted living and memory care community in Winter Park, FL.
Howell brings more than 10 years of senior living experience to the role.
Ventas appoints Marguerite M. Nader to board of directors
Marguerite M. Nader, president and CEO of Equity LifeStyle Properties, has been appointed as an independent member of the Ventas board of directors.
Nader is a seasoned real estate investment trust executive. Equity LifeStyle Properties owns and operates more than 400 communities across the United States and British Columbia. Since joining Equity, Nader has served in a wide variety of departments, including asset management, sales and marketing, finance and acquisitions over the past 20 years.
Nader is a member of Equity’s board of directors and its management committee. She previously served on the board of directors of Liberty Property Trust before its acquisition this year, and she is a member of the executive board at National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts.
Nader’s appointment supports the REIT’s goal of ensuring that its directors possess the skills, experience and perspectives needed to guide the company and help it deliver value to all stakeholders, Ventas said. The Ventas board will expand to 11 directors, four of whom are female. Independent directors comprise 91% of the board.
MEDNAX announces Mark Ordan as CEO, Guy Sansone as board chair
Mark S. Ordan has been appointed CEO of MEDNAX, a provider of maternal-fetal, newborn and pediatric subspecialty care, and Guy P. Sansone has been appointed chairman of the board.
Ordan succeeds Roger J. Medel, M.D., the company’s founder, who will remain a member of the board until the 2021 annual meeting of shareholders. Ordan was CEO at Sunrise Senior Living from 2008 to 2013. He led the turnaround and restructuring of Sunrise and oversaw the sale of the company in 2013 to Health are REIT and KKR, MEDNAX said.
Ordan also was CEO of The Mills Corp., a publicly traded developer, owner and manager of regional shopping malls and retail entertainment centers, from 2006 to 2007. He oversaw Mills’ operations and complete restructuring and led the company’s sale process to Simon Property Group and Farallon Capital Management in 2017.
Ordan is on the board of directors of BEREIT and Federal Realty Investment Trust.
Sansone, who is non-executive chairman of Brookdale Senior Living’s board, succeeds Cesar L. Alvarez as chairman of the MEDNAX board.
Sansone was the co-founder, chairman and CEO of H2Health, a regional provider of physical rehabilitation services and clinician staffing solutions since February 2020. Before that, he was managing director at Alvarez & Marshal in New York, a financial advisory and consulting firm notable for its work in turnaround management and performance improvement of a number of large, high-profile businesses across the globe. He was chairman of the firm’s healthcare industry group, which he founded in 2004.
Additionally, he serves on the boards of directors of Magellan Health, a healthcare company focused on special populations, complete pharmacy benefits and other specialty areas of healthcare, and Carisk Partners, a risk transfer care coordinator company.
Sansone has served on the board of advisers for Pager, a mobile healthcare technology company. Previously, he served on the boards of director of Civitas Solutions Inc., a leading national provider of home- and community-based health and human services, and HealthPRO Heritage, a leading national provider of therapy management and consulting services.
Sansone earned a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany.
