Editor’s Note: McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care are profiling the McKnight’s 2023 Women of Distinction honorees daily from July 5 to Aug. 15. For additional McKnight’s Women of Distinction content, visit this page.

Starting her career in a small southern Kansas long-term care facility, Rebecca Murray probably never saw herself in her current role. Murray has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work, as well as a master’s degree in business law. She now is working toward a doctorate in organizational leadership.

Her skills, values and work ethic have helped her to advance her healthcare career, moving from social services director to administrator, first in small towns and then larger urban areas in Oklahoma. As an administrator at Bridges Health (The Ambassador Skilled Nursing and Therapy), Murray now runs a facility that services approximately 90 residents and more than 100 employees on an average day, with about 350 residents having passed through the facility already this year. Murray has helped The Ambassador transition to a 100% employee-owned organization and works to foster a strong ownership culture. 

She inspires those around her to be the best versions of themselves, and her vision has helped transform the facilities she heads. During her career, Murray has enhanced facilities with programs such hand-painted murals, facility-based grocery stores for residents, and even an on-site restaurant that is so popular that it’s frequented by people in the community. 

Under Murray’s leadership, there also have been quality improvements in addition to those lifestyle enhancements. In Kansas, her facilities were the first to earn zero-deficiencies on QIS (quality improvement strategy) and LSV (long-term service value) surveys, and she has shared her knowledge by training new administrators and even teaching courses at a local college. 

The McKnight’s Women of Distinction program is jointly administered by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care. PointClickCare is the Diamond sponsor of this year’s program. PharMerica is the Silver sponsor. Additional sponsors include American HealthTech, Healthcare Services Group, Omnicare, Sentrics and ShiftKey.

Visit this web page to see lists of honorees from 2023 and previous years.