When you think of the word hospice, terms such as “engaging” and “energizing” likely are not some of the first to come to mind. But thanks to Desirae Toomey’s infectious spirit and commitment to her “why,” she has created an environment for her team at Sanford Home Health that is full of optimism, compassion and inspiration.

“I believe if I help create an exciting, innovative and engaging work environment that inspires and energizes people, they will take that enthusiasm and compassion out into the world,” Toomey says. She is the administrator of home- and community-based services for Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society (Sanford Home Health), Sioux Falls, SD.

Toomey holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of South Dakota, a bachelor’s degree in registered nursing from South Dakota State University and a master’s degree in nursing administration from Western Governors University. Before becoming a home health administrator, she served as a clinical applications analyst and principal trainer, as well as a nurse supervisor and manager. Toomey also previously worked as a registered nurse at the Wyoming Penitentiary. 

When she began her role as hospice administrator in 2021, Toomey faced the challenge of interacting with several very dissatisfied teams. Rather than deferring responsibility, she took time to listen to everyone’s concerns with the intent to understand, including employees in decision-making and organizing team-building events in an effort to create a better professional/personal life balance for her team. The importance she placed on repairing and rebuilding relationships first is a testament to Toomey’s desire to engage those around her in a positive way. 

She also eagerly collaborates across disciplines for the benefit of her patients, colleagues say. She recently initiated work with the system’s spiritual care department to ensure that the residential hospice program she oversees had the proper resources to provide inclusive spiritual care resources to patients and families representing various faith traditions. 

The results of Toomey’s relationship efforts were reflected in a recent employee survey that saw her team engagement improving almost 20% in just six months. Toomey’s optimistic approach to resolution continues to position her team for excellence in the future. 

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.

Faith and spirituality are vitally important for many older adults. As director of spirituality for HumanGood, Sharell Shippen brings a much-needed inclusive approach to promoting a person-centered care philosophy and helping to ensure that residents and family members of all denominations and faiths are provided with services and resources that meet their spirituality needs and allow them to live their best lives. 

Shippen holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from the Pennsylvania State University, a Master of Social Work degree from West Chester University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Divinity degree from Palmer Theological Seminary.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Shippen’s efforts around outreach and support for residents and employees represented an important part of HumanGood’s mission to inspire the best life for everyone served. She was one of the first graduates of the organization’s Good to Grow leadership development program, and her unique ability to unify people through her insights and support was critical to the health of the company’s culture, especially as teams faced unprecedented restrictions and lockdowns. 

Shippen consistently made her presence known throughout the organization during the pandemic, offering help to communities’ spiritual directors as they focused on how to best serve residents. She works closely with HumanGood President and CEO John Cochrane on the HumanGood Inclusion Council to drive company culture toward a more welcoming future. 

Outside of HumanGood, Shippen is a member of the Next Generation Leadership Initiative, a leadership development program funded by the United Church of Christ. It strives to equip, energize and empower younger UCC church pastors to build vibrant congregations that change lives. Before joining HumanGood, she was the director of missions for Presby’s Inspired Life. 

She is currently a volunteer for the Saturday Enrichment Program, which provides academic support and enrichment, social and emotional and life skill lessons for K-12 students.

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.

Christmas Day 2020 continues to be one of the most memorable days of Hannah Sizemore’s career. At the time, she was the director of nursing at Barbourville Health & Rehabilitation, and she knew she’d found her niche in healthcare as she spent the day watching residents and families navigate the holidays with window and Facetime visits. 

Sizemore holds bachelor’s degrees in registered nursing and information resources management from Eastern Kentucky University and a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Union College. She was one of the first licensed diabetes educators in the state of Kentucky.

In 2021, Sizemore took over as administrator of the facility, where she continues to lead by example with her staff, never veering from being resident-focused. She often can be seen pitching in where needed to bathe or feed residents and help out in the kitchen, and she even worked in the laundry department one night so that the housekeeping supervisor could take a break. Colleagues note that she brings gifts for residents’ birthdays and encourages them to smile, and she is compassionate and comforting to families. She even has driven staff members to and from work herself during snowstorms to ensure residents were properly cared for. 

Her staff members say that she also inspires others to follow her lead and has brought a spirit of teamwork within the facility by implementing transparency in communications. She enforces accountability among employees and has high standards for the care of the residents, but she also is fiercely dedicated to promoting professional/personal life balance with her staff. 

Sizemore’s two children volunteer often at the facility, making snow cones and popcorn, hosting games or playing movies for the residents.

“She is a servant and will work right alongside her fellow coworkers doing anything necessary to enhance the lives of the residents, their families and the employees,” says Shannon Glenn, Babourville’s activities director. “She is a huge asset to the facility and the community she serves.”

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.

For Destiny Sisk, leading and serving others are synonymous. Sisk was hired in 2018 as Touchmark on West Century’s life enrichment/wellness director, and she quickly worked her way up the corporate ladder, first being promoted to resident services director, then taking on the role of interim executive director and then executive director in 2022. Sisk holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND. 

In her position, she oversees all aspects of the full-service retirement community: cottage homes, the health and fitness club, independent and assisted living, memory care and two services bridging the latter two, designed for those who will benefit from a smaller neighborhood setting and a higher ratio of staff members to residents. She is responsible for 225 residents and 160 employees. 

She was one of only 18 people from BismarckMandan cities chosen by the Chamber of Commerce EDC as part of Leadership BismarckMandan. This selective group of emerging leaders engages in addressing business and community issues. 

In 2022, the Bismarck Tribune created an “Ask the Expert”series and selected Sisk to provide an article on the topic of senior living. 

Building relationships, serving individuals, enriching people’s lives and continually striving for excellence are all at the core of Sisk’s days. In a short time, she has surpassed expectations in this new role, parlaying her passion for helping others by developing creative activities and projects that benefitted 10 local nonprofits. 

As interim executive director, one of Sisk’s first accomplishments was restructuring Touchmark’s health services department, which had been struggling for a few years before the 2020 pandemic hit. During the time she has served as executive director, she has reduced staff turnover by 29% and increased overall occupancy by 16%, which includes increasing an independent living building by more than 30%. The fact that Touchmark has been chosen by the Bismarck Tribune’s as a “Best of the Best” Retirement Community for the past three years is a testament to her leadership.

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.

In a world where there were no previous rules or regulations around how to operate during a pandemic, Carly Loewus used her strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills to successfully navigate Clement Manor through COVID-19’s ever-changing procedures. 

As campus administrator, she spent countless hours making and changing policies to ensure that the facility’s residents were safe and remained healthy, and she was the last to leave work every evening for well over a year. She also was a leader in rolling out COVID-19 vaccination to the facility’s residents, ensuring that 100% of them received the vaccination the first day it was available. 

Today, Loewus is facing more challenges than ever when it comes to running the campus, and she is always examining ways to tackle the workforce shortage. 

Excellent at pivoting and agile with changes on a daily basis, she often is shifting the scheduling system to provide flexibility for caregivers and has implemented “Coffee with Carly,” creating her own open door policy for suggestions and feedback from staff. 

One of Loewus’ greatest accomplishments has been a staff training program for all new employees, teaching them to understand the world of dementia. She uses a very basic virtual reality experience, where employees have tunnel vision (with goggles); hearing impairments (with headphones); and dexterity problems using their hands for small tasks, such as buttoning and folding clothes (with big gloves), all while being instructed to do five tasks in a row. This training creates compassion and understanding for all of the staff members caring for those in memory care. 

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.

Jennifer George’s passion for working with older adults began during her college internship at a small nonprofit, Santa Anita Family Service, in Southern California. George provided respite relief for caregivers of dementia participants and learned that listening to people and understanding their struggles, life goals and what makes them happy were keys to making a difference in people’s lives. She also learned the complexities of caring for older adults and the lack of services and coordinated care many of them face. George holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a Master of Public Administration from the University of La Verne. 

 In 2019, George joined WelbeHealth to help launch the first PACE program in the San Gabriel Valley. As a quality improvement and compliance specialist, she developed and implemented WelbeHealth’s quality program. Her leadership abilities and dedication to WelbeHealth’s mission quickly launched her onto the leadership track, and she was promoted to her current role of executive director in 2022. 

Since that promotion, George has helped address key team health challenges, implementing new clinical initiatives to improve participant service delivery. She embodies what it means to be committed to caring for older adults, allowing them to live independently in their communities with access to high-quality social and medical services. Under her leadership, the Pasadena, CA, program has grown to almost 400 participants who are the recipients of high-touch, quality coordinated medical care. 

Her tireless devotion manifests in meaningful outcomes, whether it is ensuring a safe place to live, obtaining healthy food or accessing needed healthcare. She also pushes her team and colleagues to always believe that they can do better and then helps them turn that belief into action.

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.

A seasoned aging services professional with expertise in home health and hospice in both clinical and operational settings, Katie Gallenstein, RN, BSN, is Help at Home’s first market leader in the state of Ohio, overseeing all operations across 13 branch locations. 

Gallenstein holds an associate’s degree in registered nursing from Columbus State Community College and a bachelor’s degree in registered nursing from Ohio State University. She holds a COS-C from OASIS Answers and is a certified executive for healthcare at home through the Ohio Health Care Association. 

Gallenstein has ensured a seamless transition for the company’s two acquisitions over the past year and oversees care provided for more than 1,000 clients across the Buckeye State, which includes both a home health and a home care division. Over the past year, she has increased the number of clients served by more than 20% and increased the number of caregivers employed by almost 60%. 

As a leader, Gallenstein inspires caregivers across the organization to view their roles as meaningful careers and solidifies Help at Home as an employer of choice among those dedicated to caring for aging adults. She also is passionate about being a voice for older adults and removing the barriers they can experience in accessing care. 

Gallenstein’s strong commitment to educating older adults and those in need about the resources available to them, as well as providing opportunities for her teams to increase their skills and encourage more nurses and caregivers to understand the field of home care, make her a game-changer. She strives to continue to expand the field of in-home personal care in Ohio so the thousands of older adults in need can receive the care they deserve. She is committed to being an advocate for seniors to remain in their homes with dignity and comfort for the duration of their lives. For the past three years, Gallenstein has been a board member for the Ohio Council for Home Care & Hospice. 

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.

Fellow staff members often refer to Katie Davis as the epitome of servant leadership. 

“There is not a job in our facility that she is not willing to do, be it cleaning rooms, mopping floors or service meal trays to residents,” says Kelly Honstad, director of nursing. As an administrator for the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, Davis focuses on excellence and drives members of her team to do the same. She works with the team to set goals to keep the facility moving forward, no matter what obstacle may present itself. Her energy radiates throughout the facility, colleagues say, and her passion and drive to provide excellent care to her residents is second to none. 

Davis has a bachelor’s degree in business and psychology, a graduate certificate in long-term care and a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from the University of South Dakota. She has been active with several national and local organizations in the industry. 

Davis joined Good Samaritan in 2009 and first served as administrator-in-training in Luverne, MN. She soon moved to the administrator role in Austin, MN, and then to administrator in Albert Lea, MN, where she continues to serve. “I think one of the main things I strive for as an administrator is simply creating a thriving environment and culture both for residents and employees,” she says.

Quantitative and qualitative data show that she is undeniably successful in those efforts. Based on data from the Good Samaritan employee experience survey platform, Davis has one of the most highly engaged leadership teams in the organization. Her facility has had a 5-star quality rating since 2020, and she has eliminated the use of agency staff. Her center also has had four deficiency-free infection control state surveys while experiencing one of the largest COVID-19 outbreaks in all of Good Samaritan. 

Outside of work, Davis has served as a board member of the Children’s Center Daycare/ Preschool and is actively involved in her church. 

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.

Dubbed a “culture ambassador,” Izabella “Izzy” Wells is passionate about showing respect for residents. Her philosophy is simple and straightforward: “Seniors have lived and paid their dues.” 

Wells wants them and their families to be able to know that by coming to her place of work, they will be taken care of. “I don’t want anyone regretting that they brought their loved one here,” she says.

Wells began her caregiving career early, working as a nursing home activity assistant during high school. She served as a CNA while working toward her nursing degree at Olney Central College.

While working her way up the skilled nursing ladder to her current position as director of nursing, Wells learned that “patience is everything,” and she tries to instill that message to every member of her 20-person team of certified nursing assistants and registered nurses.

Amid the staffing challenges in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wells worked at sister facility Ridgeview Health and Rehab Center and ensured that the facility had proper RN coverage every day. Another one of her initiatives was to bring in a nurse to fill the Minimum Data Set position, performing federally mandated assessments of each resident’s functional capabilities and health needs.

Wells also reminds her staff often that they do not work in a “minimum care” facility and sets the expectation that the staff go above and beyond in their efforts to provide for those in their care. To help her team better understand residents’ needs, she also spends time teaching staff about clinical issues, so that they know what to look out for.

The result of all of these efforts at Ridgeview was that staff turnover dropped 12% while Wells was director of nursing there. 

She plans to pursue additional training to become a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, with a focus on geriatric mental health.

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.

Fifteen years ago, as a high school student, Darlene Corporan accepted an invitation to participate in a brand-new internship at The New Jewish Home. It was a decision that would shape the trajectory of her professional career. Corporan graduated from the three-year program and became a certified nursing assistant. As a first-generation immigrant, she was able to support herself by working as a CNA while she earned her degree, becoming the first in her family to graduate from college. She is working towards an RN degree and also plans to pursue a master’s degree in education.

Since then, she has continued to climb the healthcare career ladder at The New Jewish Home, studying to become a licensed practical nurse and being promoted to clinical care manager. Since 2019, Corporan has played an integral role at the facility, managing its quality improvement efforts, including wandering and elopement prevention and nonpharmacologic approaches to behavior management. She also has become skilled at collecting validated data and educating staff on new processes. Corporan successfully oversaw the presence of the National Guard when they were deployed to The New Jewish Home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to all of those extra projects, Corporan still finds time to develop trusting relationships with families and residents. She regularly volunteers to fill in on other units when needed, and families and residents throughout the facility ask for her by name after experiencing her superb communication skills, dedication and warmth.

Colleagues say that Corporan also helps boost staff morale with her optimism, can-do attitude and thoughtfulness. She remembers her team members’ birthdays and coordinates celebrations to help them feel special. She personifies each of The New Jewish Home values, including extending welcome, embodying compassion, respecting one another, increasing knowledge and affirming dignity.

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.