Since the program began in 2019, some 252 women in the fields of skilled nursing, senior living and home care have been honored across multiple award categories.

Eligible for recognition are women working as direct care providers, managers, executives, corporate executives and owners in independent living, assisted living, memory care and life plan communities. That’s in addition to those working in those capacities in skilled nursing facilities and in home care, home health, hospice and palliative care. 

Women who serve the fields indirectly — for instance as association staff members, academicians or thought leaders — also are eligible for recognition. Individuals working for vendor companies serving the industry are not eligible.

The nomination categories:

• Hall of Honor: Candidates should be senior-level professionals in the C-suite or at a level equivalent to vice president or higher and should have made a significant impact on their organization or the industry.
• Veteran VIP: Candidates should have more than 15 years of experience making an impact in long-term care and should be at a level lower than vice president or its equivalent. Whether as a community/facility administrator or executive director; or as a director of nursing, health/wellness or activities; or through some other position, they must have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to the senior living and care industry through their accomplishments.
• Rising Star: Candidates must be 40 or younger or have fewer than 15 years of experience in the profession. Also, they must have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to the senior living and care industry. Those achievements/accomplishments may include, for example, managing a project, developing a campaign or contributing to the field via research or thought leadership.
• Spirit Award: This award recognizes inspiring caregiving and service provision efforts. Eligibility is open to women who have demonstrated acts of bravery, courage, perseverance, dedication, determination — or other noble gestures.

Nominators for the Rising Star, Veteran VIP and Hall of Honor categories should be prepared to share detailed qualitative and quantitative information about nominees’ work histories, exceptional achievements and contributions or service, and anything else the judging panel should consider.

Nominators for the Spirit Award should be prepared to detail the actions that qualify the potential honoree for the recognition. Nominations for the Spirit Award will be accepted at no charge.

A Lifetime Achievement Award winner also will be named.

Nominations for the Rising Star, Veteran VIP and Hall of Honor categories (described below) that are submitted by Jan. 5 will have an $89 entry fee. Nominations submitted between Jan. 6 and 12 will cost $20 more.

The program, now in its sixth year, is coordinated by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care.

All honorees will be celebrated at an in-person event on Tuesday, May 14, in Chicago that also will recognize inductees from previous years. Some information about the event, which also will include educational sessions, is available now at mcknightswomenofdistinction.com. Additional details will be announced at a later date.

For more information about the awards, or to submit a nomination for them, visit mcknightswomenofdistinction.com.

Questions should be directed to Amanda Hassler, director of events for Haymarket Media, the parent company of McKnight’s, at amanda.hassler@haymarketmedia.com.

Read about previous award winners here. See lists of previous classes of honorees here and here.

Sponsors of the 2024 awards program include Curana Health, DirecTV for Business, Healthcare Services Group, PharMerica and Priority Life Care.

Up to 1.6 million people were sickened with influenza from Oct 1. through Nov. 11, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.

The agency published preliminary estimates based on data collected through the Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network, or FluSurv-NET. The overall range of illnesses during the specified time period was estimated to be 780,000 to 1.6 million.

The flu also resulted in 360,000 to 770,000 medical visits, 8,000 to 17,000 hospitalizations and 490 to 1,500 deaths, the CDC said.

Residents of long-term care facilities, adults aged 65 or more years and adults with chronic conditions — such as diabetes, asthma, heart disease or stroke — are among the populations most at risk for complications stemming from the flu. “In recent years, for example, it’s estimated that between 70% and 85% of seasonal flu-related deaths have occurred in people 65 years and older, and between 50% and 70% of seasonal flu-related hospitalizations have occurred among people in this age group,” the agency said in a website post.

A flu vaccine is the best way to protect against flu and its potentially serious complications, the CDC said, noting that people aged 65 or more years and older should get one of three higher-dose or adjuvanted flu vaccines available — including Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent, Flublok Quadrivalent or Fluad Quadrivalent — because such vaccines are potentially more effective than standard dose unadjuvanted flu vaccines.

Health officials recommend vaccination for long-term workers as well.

All flu vaccines for the 2023-2024 season are quadrivalent vaccines (protecting against four different flu viruses), but in the future, flu vaccines will go back to being trivalent (protecting against three different flu viruses), according to the CDC.

“Regulatory agencies have recommended that B/Yamagata lineage vaccine viruses be removed from flu vaccines in the future because these viruses have not been detected and, as a result, no human infections with it have been identified since March 2020,” the agency said.

Since the program began in 2019, 252 outstanding women in the fields of skilled nursing, senior living and home care have been honored across multiple award categories.

“The Women of Distinction awards are a highlight of the year — not just for the honorees, but for all of us at McKnight’s,” said John O’Connor, vice president and editorial director over the three McKnight’s brands. “We enjoy sharing the accomplishments of the dedicated, passionate, hardworking women in long-term care and facilitating the wide appreciation they deserve. But to be considered for recognition, they first must be nominated, and now is the time to do that.”

Eligible for recognition in the sector’s prestigious competition are women working as direct care providers, managers, executives, corporate executives and owners in independent living, assisted living, memory care and life plan communities, as well as those working in those capacities in skilled nursing facilities and in home care, home health, hospice and palliative care. 

Women who serve the fields indirectly — for instance as association staff members, academicians or thought leaders — also are eligible for recognition. Individuals working for vendor companies serving the industry are not eligible.

The nomination categories are:

• Hall of Honor: Candidates should be senior-level professionals in the C-suite or at a level equivalent to vice president or higher and should have made a significant impact on their organization or the industry.
• Veteran VIP: Candidates should have more than 15 years of experience making an impact in long-term care and should be at a level lower than vice president or its equivalent. Whether as a community/facility administrator or executive director; or as a director of nursing, health/wellness or activities; or through some other position, they must have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to the senior living and care industry through their accomplishments.
• Rising Star: Candidates must be aged 40 or fewer years or have fewer than 15 years of experience in the profession. Also, they must have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to the senior living and care industry. Those achievements/accomplishments may include, for example, managing a project, developing a campaign or contributing to the field via research or thought leadership.
• Spirit Award: This award recognizes inspiring caregiving and service provision efforts. Eligibility is open to women who have demonstrated acts of bravery, courage, perseverance, dedication, determination — or other noble gestures.

Nominators for the Rising Star, Veteran VIP and Hall of Honor categories should be prepared to share detailed qualitative and quantitative information about nominees’ work histories, exceptional achievements and contributions or service, and anything else the judging panel should consider.

Nominations for the Rising Star, Veteran VIP and Hall of Honor categories that are submitted by Friday, Jan. 5, will have an $89 entry fee. Nominations submitted between Jan. 6 and Jan. 9 will carry a $119 entry fee.

Nominators for the Spirit Award should be prepared to detail the actions that qualify the potential honoree for recognition. Nominations for the Spirit Award will be accepted at no charge.

A Lifetime Achievement Award winner also will be named.

All honorees will be celebrated at an in-person event on Tuesday, May 14, in Chicago that also will recognize inductees from previous years. Some information about the event, which also will include educational sessions, is available now at mcknightswomenofdistinction.com. Additional details will be announced at a later date.

For more information about the awards, or to submit a nomination for them, visit mcknightswomenofdistinction.com.

Questions should be directed to Amanda Hassler, director of events for Haymarket Media, the parent company of McKnight’s, at amanda.hassler@haymarketmedia.com.

Read about previous award winners here. See lists of previous classes of honorees here.

The program, now in its second year, recognizes senior living, skilled nursing and home care industry veterans who are setting new standards, driving change, providing guidance and inspiring others in the industry. The awards are coordinated by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care.

Professionals with at least 20 years of experience who still are active in the senior living, skilled nursing or home care fields are eligible to be nominated by others. Self-nominations will not be accepted.

The Pinnacle program offers multiple awards across several tracks.

The tracks:

• Senior living (independent living, assisted living, memory care and/or continuing care retirement/life plan community) — for-profit 
• Senior living (independent living, assisted living, memory care and/or continuing care retirement/life plan community) — nonprofit 
• Skilled nursing — for-profit 
• Skilled nursing — nonprofit 
• Home care / home health / hospice — for-profit and nonprofit 

The awards categories:

• Setting the Standard Award
• Agent of Change Award
• Inspiration Award
• Thought Leader Award
• Unsung Hero Award

Pinnacle Awards also will given in these two categories, covering all tracks:

• Industry Ally (for elected officials, high-level government administrators, trade group members, analysts, influential academics or researchers, other thought leaders, etc.)
• Business Partner (for vendors/sponsors that have helped move the sector forward)

In addition, one Career Achievement Award will be bestowed, as determined by program organizers. 

The entry fee is $285.

Finalists will be announced Dec. 11. Winners will be recognized at an in-person event March 21 in Chicago.

Download the entry kit here. Learn more about the awards and nominate someone here. Read about the 2023 winners here. Read about 2023 Career Achievement Award winner Bob Kramer here.

The program, now in its second year, recognizes skilled nursing, senior living and home care industry veterans who are setting new standards, driving change, providing guidance and inspiring others in the industry. The awards are coordinated by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care.

“The awards are a great opportunity for industry professionals to nominate colleagues for much-deserved recognition,” McKnight’s Editorial Director John O’Connor said.

Professionals with at least 20 years of experience who still are active in the skilled nursing, senior living or home care fields are eligible to be nominated by others. Self-nominations will not be accepted.

The program offers multiple awards across several tracks.

The tracks:

• Skilled nursing — for-profit 
• Skilled nursing — nonprofit 
• Senior living (independent living, assisted living, memory care and/or continuing care retirement/life plan community) — for-profit 
• Senior living (independent living, assisted living, memory care and/or continuing care retirement/life plan community) — nonprofit 
• Home care / home health / hospice — for-profit and nonprofit 

The awards categories:

• Setting the Standard Award
• Agent of Change Award
• Inspiration Award
• Thought Leader Award
• Unsung Hero Award

Awards also will given in an additional two categories, covering all tracks:

• Industry Ally (for elected officials, high-level government administrators, trade group members, analysts, influential academics or researchers, other thought leaders, etc.)
• Business Partner (for vendors/sponsors that have helped move the sector forward)

In addition, one Career Achievement Award will be bestowed, as determined by program organizers. 

Entries received by the Oct. 20 standard deadline carry an entry fee of $225. Nominations also will be accepted until an extended deadline of Nov. 5, for an entry fee of $285.

Finalists will be announced Dec. 11. Winners will be recognized at an in-person event March 21 in Chicago.

Download the entry kit here. Learn more about the awards and nominate someone here.

Read about the 2023 winners here. Read about 2023 Career Achievement Award winner Bob Kramer here.

During Session 1, beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET, attendees will learn “How emerging technologies and AI are transforming senior care.” This session will be moderated by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News Executive Editor James M. Berklan.

In Session 2, at noon ET, attendees will learn about “Staffing in the automation era: Right and wrong ways to use AI.” This session will be moderated by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News Senior Editor Kim Marselas.

Session 3, at 1:30 p.m. ET, offers attendees lessons in “Creating senior living communities that flourish.”  This session will be moderated by McKnight’s Senior Living Editor Lois A. Bowers.

Attendees will have the opportunity to earn up to two continuing education credits by attending sessions 2 and 3.

The virtual presentation of 2023 McKnight’s Excellence in Technology Awards will begin at 3 p.m. ET, with Berklan, Bowers and McKnight’s Home Care Editor Liza Berger co-hosting the ceremony with Haymarket Media Senior Producer Bill Fitzpatrick. See the list of Skilled Nursing track finalists here, Senior Living track finalists here and Home Care track finalists here.

For more information or to register for the virtual McKnight’s Tech Awards + Summit, visit this page.

Additionally, award winners also will be celebrated in person at a cocktail reception from 6 – 9 p.m. MT Oct. 2 in Denver. Those planning to attend can RSVP here.

Anyone with questions about the events should contact Events Manager Jackie Testa at jackie.testa@haymarketmedia.com. Sponsors of the 2023 McKnight’s Tech Awards + Summit include iN2L + LifeLoop, IntelyCare, MatrixCare and PointClickCare.

The awards are coordinated by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care.

“We’re excited to once again honor deserving individuals who not only have reached the top of the profession but have managed to remain there for years,” McKnight’s Publisher Craig Roth said. “Last year’s program was a phenomenal success, and we look forward to building on such a well-received program to recognize individuals who inspire everyone in the industry.”

Professionals with at least 20 years of experience who still are active in the skilled nursing, senior living or home care fields are eligible to be nominated by others. Self-nominations are not accepted.

The program offers multiple awards across several tracks.

The tracks:

• Skilled nursing — for-profit 
• Skilled nursing — nonprofit 
• Senior living (independent living, assisted living, memory care and/or continuing care retirement/life plan community) — for-profit 
• Senior living (independent living, assisted living, memory care and/or continuing care retirement/life plan community) — nonprofit 
• Home care / home health / hospice — for-profit and nonprofit 

The awards categories:

• Setting the Standard Award
• Agent of Change Award
• Inspiration Award
• Thought Leader Award
• Unsung Hero Award

Pinnacle Awards also will given in these two categories, covering all tracks:

• Industry Ally (for elected officials, high-level government administrators, trade group members, analysts, influential academics or researchers, other thought leaders, etc.)
• Business Partner (for vendors/sponsors that have helped move the sector forward)

In addition, one Career Achievement Award will be bestowed, as determined by program organizers. 

The standard deadline for nominations is Oct. 20, with an entry fee of $225. Nominations also will be accepted until an extended deadline of Nov. 5, for an entry fee of $285.

Finalists will be announced Dec. 11. Winners will be recognized at an in-person event March 21 in Chicago.

Learn more and nominate a deserving candidate here. You can also read up on the 2022 inaugural class and the first Pinnacle Awards celebration at mcknights.com.

Jurutka started as vice president of senior housing for the Denver-based IMA Financial Group about a month ago. He is charged with increasing the skilled nursing and senior housing business for the insurance brokerage firm, which specializes in risk management, insurance, wholesale brokerage and wealth management.

This comes after more than seven years as president of NIC, with two of those also including the title of CEO. He departed NIC last fall.

Jurutka told McKnight’s that he was attracted to the position by IMA’s status as an employee-owned organization “full of good people” as well as the chance to “do something that’s meaningful.”

“That’s certainly something at NIC that I felt every single day. If we did a good job, old Americans benefit,” he said. “And I really, truly believe that same opportunity exists at IMA as well. From a culture perspective, there’s a big component of IMA that is also giving back to the community that you live in.”

Jurutka said that data is the “the thread throughout everything” he’s done over the course of his career. Before joining NIC, he served in the Navy as a nuclear submarine officer; at comScore Inc., a digital analytics company where he was senior vice president of the wireless operator analytics division; and Capital One Direct Banking, where he managed the company’s first deposit product partnership and oversaw strategic partnerships.

“I am kind of a data guy,” Jurutka said. Now, he plans to use data to benefit the long-term care industry.

“Part of what I am hoping to accomplish in the longer term would be having the opportunity to use data to help tell a story around the seniors housing space and ideally look for those solutions that help lower risk for residents, which in turn should lower risk for operators, which should give insurers the opportunity to say, ‘Hey, yeah, let’s get engaged, involved in seniors housing,” Jurutka said. “And that is a very similar mission, from that perspective, to what NIC does, just from a different lens.”

‘Be part of that solution’

While at NIC, he said, he often heard those in the industry speak of the current “tough” insurance market.

“What I mean by that is, all the increases in insurance premiums that have occurred and, quite frankly, instances where deals were falling through because insurance premiums have increased two times, three times, over a very short time period,” Jurutka said. Now, he says, he feels “like there was an opportunity to be part of that solution, to work with a team to ultimately try to craft solutions that are going to benefit operators and owners.”

IMA, he said, has more than 2,000 associates and affiliates across the country. They can cover everything from property and casualty to workers’ comp to benefits, he noted.

“There are world-class skill sets across the entire range of commercial insurance, and so this is an opportunity to pull together the appropriate team to provide solutions in the seniors housing and skilled nursing space, everything from property and casualty to workers’ comp to benefits,” he said. “I have the opportunity of essentially drawing on those resources to put together solutions that are going to help operators. And I’d love to also find solutions that ultimately are also going to lower the risk for residents.”

Some of those solutions, he said, could come in areas related to COVID-19, staffing, inflation and the unpredictability of supply lines.

“One of the big pieces right now, particularly in the insurance world, has been around replacement value associated with properties,” he said. “In the seniors housing space, market values have actually been coming down, on average, but the replacement value — if a community is lost in a flood or it burns down — those prices have been going up because of inflation, because of lack of labor and because of uncertainty associated with supply lines turning a six-month project into nine months. That all has an impact from an overall insurance perspective, because those costs are rising as well.”

Longer-term issues across all congregate care settings for older adults, he said, involve the increasing health needs of residents as well as natural disasters.

“Insurers to some extent [are] pulling back on the amount of risk they’re willing to take,” Jurutka said. For operators, that translates into “instead of just going to one insurer to get a $25 million rights liability insurance, or whatever that might be, or umbrella, you may have to go to three or four different insurers to get that limit, which just takes time, energy and efforts.”

The senior care and living industry also is seeing an increase in what the insurance industry calls “nuclear verdicts,” which are “settlements where in some instances the verdict itself may be seemingly disproportionate and that make headlines relative to the claim,” he said.

Such verdicts often may relate to resident falls or, especially in the case of skilled nursing, pressure injuries, Jurutka said.

For operators, he said, “it means that’s the opportunity to document a lot of that, but it also means if you have a lot of turnover associated with your staff, that’s a challenge in some instances, so you have to look for programs, systems, processes that will allow you to go ahead and minimize some of those risks in a higher-acuity setting relative to others.”

Another hot topic related to insurance, Jurutka said, involves insuring properly against property values. 

Much to be proud of

Looking back at his time leading NIC, Jurutka said he was proud that the organization earned Great Place to Work status.

He also said that he was “incredibly proud” of the weekly calls that he and other leaders of organizations serving the long-term care industry held during the height of the pandemic. Those taking part included American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living President and CEO Mark Parkinson, American Seniors Housing Association President and CEO David Schless; Argentum President and CEO James Balda and LeadingAge President; and CEO Katie Smith Sloan.

The senior living and care industry, he noted, “was the epicenter of COVID, and it was rewarding, the small part that NIC played in that, and the significant part that many of the lobbying associations played, to help ensure that seniors housing and skilled nursing was getting recognized.”

Jurutka said he’s looking forward to reconnecting in person at the NIC Fall Conference. He has been serving as an adviser to NIC since he left as president and CEO. Raymond Braun succeeded Jurutka at the helm.

“Any way I can help Ray, and any way I can help NIC succeed, I’m willing to do that. It’s a fantastic organization,” Jurutka said, adding that he is excited about NIC’s strategic plan and upcoming first-ever Data & Analytics Conference.

“I’m super-humbled to have been on the front line of seeing a lot of that growth and seeing how a lot of that has come together from a planning perspective, and I’m very optimistic and very excited for the future,” Jurutka said.

The announcement followed reporting of the news on Monday by the Wall Street Journal, which cited an internal memo to employees.

Wednesday on the company’s second-quarter earnings call, CVS Health President and CEO Karen Lynch said the company was announcing a restructuring charge of almost $500 million in association with the layoffs as well as “the impairment of noncore assets.”

“These efforts are expected to generate over $600 million of run rate savings beginning in 2024,” she said.

Lynch said the company “took a very thoughtful and careful approach to this restructuring,” being “very deliberate in making sure that we had non-customer-facing roles and that we weren’t taking any action that would risk the execution of our long-term strategy.”

That long-term strategy, she announced in November 2022, includes plans to sell Omnicare, which serves skilled nursing facilities, assisted living communities and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly..

“We continue to evaluate our portfolio strategically and are making decisions around assets that don’t fit into our portfolio strategically. Omnicare is a good example of that,” Lynch said on the company’s third-quarter 2022 earnings call.

In the first quarter of this year, CVS Health recorded a $349 million loss on assets held for sale associated with its long-term care pharmacy business.

Rumors of a possible Omnicare sale had circulated in August 2020, when a CVS spokeswoman told McKnight’s Senior Living that it would be consolidating positions within the long-term care business. Some put the number of positions at stake at more than 700, although CVS did not confirm a specific amount.

Tuesday, in response to a query from McKnight’s Senior Living, a CVS Health spokesman did not identify whether any of the new layoffs would affect Omnicare.

“Our industry is evolving to adapt to new consumer health needs and expectations. As part of an enterprise initiative to reprioritize our investments around care delivery and technology, we must take difficult steps to reduce expenses,” the spokesmen said. “This unfortunately includes the need to eliminate a number of non-customer facing positions across the company. We do not expect there to be any impact to our customer-facing colleagues in our stores, pharmacies, clinics, or customer services centers.”

All affected employees will receive severance pay and benefits, including access to outplacement services, he said.

CVS does not expect clients and customers to be affected, the spokesman added. “The difficult decision we are making will set the company up for long-term success.”

On the Wednesday earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Shawn Guertin said that as part of the restructuring effort, the company has shut down projects and would not hire people to fill some open positions.

The news comes as the company increasingly makes investments related to home care.

Wednesday, Lynch said that in addition to the elimination of about 5,000 jobs, the company’s “optimization efforts” also have focused on using technology to become more efficient.

“For example, we’ve been selectively using artificial intelligence for some time and are increasingly finding opportunities to improve the efficiency of our operations, enhance our customer experience and increase our competitiveness,” she said.

Through June 30, Lynch said, CVS Health generated more than $13 billion of operating cash flow and returned more than $3.5 billion to shareholders. “We expect to continue to return cash to our shareholders and deploy capital to enhance shareholder value,” she added.

In the company’s Pharmacy and Consumer Wellness segment, which includes Omnicare as well as retail pharmacy operations, related pharmacy services and CVS’ retail front store operations, revenue increased almost 8% to $28.8 billion compared with 2022. 

“We generated $1.4 billion of adjusted operating income in the quarter, a decrease of 17% from the prior year, largely due to lower COVID-related volumes,” Lynch said.

Overall, CVS’ second-quarter revenues of almost $90 billion increased by more than 10% year over year. Adjusted operating income was almost $4.5 billion, a decrease of about 10% versus 2022, “primarily due to declines in our Healthcare Benefits and Pharmacy and Consumer Wellness segments, partially offset by strong execution in our Pharmacy Services operations,” Guertin said.

“Our ability to generate cash remains outstanding, with year-to-date cash flow from operations of $13.3 billion,” he added.