Twenty-one women working in home care, senior living or skilled nursing are being announced today as 2023 inductees into the Hall of Honor in the annual McKnight’s Women of Distinction awards program, a joint effort of McKnight’s Home Care and sister brands McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Long-Term Care News. They will be celebrated May 22 in Chicago at the McKnight’s Women of Distinction and Forum.

The Hall of Honor category honors women who are at a level equivalent to vice president or higher and who have had a significant effect on their organization or industry.

“The judges and those of us at McKnight’s continue to be impressed with the impacts made by Hall of Honor inductees on long-term care in general and on their colleagues, residents, patients and clients in particular. They and the other honorees this year exemplify the passion that makes long-term care special,” McKnight’s Editorial Director, Vice President and Associate Publisher John O’Connor said.

The Hall of Honor inductees for 2023:

LaShuan Bethea, Executive Director, National Center for Assisted Living, ​​Washington, DC

Gale Boice, Chief Financial Officer, Principle LTC, Raleigh, NC

Amy Bucher, Director of Operations, Marquis Companies, Milwaukie, OR

Andrea Devoti, Executive Vice President, National Association for Home Care & Hospice, Washington, DC

Shelley Esden, President and CEO, Sonata Senior Living, Orlando, FL

Genevieve Gipson, RN, MEd, Director and Founder, National Network of Career Nursing Assistants, Norton, OH

Kirsten Goulde, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Oakmont Management Group, Irvine, CA

Collette Gray, President & CEO, Integral Senior Living and Solstice Senior Living, Carlsbad, CA

Holly Harmon, Senior Vice President, Quality, Regulatory and Clinical Services, American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living, Washington, DC

Donna Kelsey, CEO, American Senior Communities, Indianapolis

Cindy Longfellow, Vice President, Business Development, Sales and Marketing, Juniper Communities, Bloomfield, NJ

Patricia Lutzky, Senior Vice President of Independent Living, Peconic Landing, Greenport, NY

Kelly MacNeill-Cooney, MA, CCC-SLP, CHC, President, National Association of Rehab Providers & Agencies, Washington, DC

Aimee Middleton, Vice President, Operations, Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, Sioux Falls, SD

Kimberly Nystrom, President of Skilled Home Health, Elara Caring, Dallas

April Payne, Chief Quality and Regulatory Affairs Officer, Virginia Health Care Association/Virginia Center for Assisted Living, and Executive Director, VCAL, Richmond, VA

Lori Porter, CEO and co-founder, National Association of Health Care Assistants, Carl Junction, MO

Tina Sandri, CEO, Forest Hills of DC, Washington, DC

Jill Sorenson, Senior Vice President/Senior Director of Operations, LCS, Des Moines, IA

Rayvelle Stallings, MD, DABFM, Senior Vice President, Physician Services and Corporate Medical Officer, PruittHealth, Norcross, GA

Shelly Sun, CEO, BrightStar Care, Gurnee, IL

More award announcements coming

The McKnight’s Women of Distinction awards program was judged by a national, independent panel of judges. Overall, 26 states are represented by the honorees across the three major awards categories that have been announced to date.

In addition to the Hall of Honor, the awards include a Rising Star category recognizing women who are aged fewer than 40 years or have fewer than 15 years in long-term care, as well as a Veteran VIP category that recognizes women who have more than 15 years of experience and have made an impact in their field at a level lower than vice president or its equivalent. Rising Stars were announced Wednesday, and Veteran VIP award recipients were announced yesterday.

The 2023 program, as in years past, also will bestow a Lifetime Achievement Award; the recipient of that award, as well as the recipients of the Spirit Award, introduced last year and recognizing inspiring women who provide care and services, will be announced later.

Awards dinner, educational event set for May 22

All of this year’s honorees will be celebrated Monday, May 22, during an in-person cocktail reception, dinner and awards presentation at the JW Marriott in Chicago. The presentation of awards will be preceded by the fourth annual McKnight’s Women of Distinction Forum, offering educational sessions featuring industry thought leaders discussing important topics. All events are open to the entire long-term care industry, family members and friends of winners, and anyone else interested in attending.

For more information and to register for either or both events, visit https://www.mcknightswomenofdistinction.com/. Those with questions about the events should contact Anna Naumoski, senior event manager at the parent company of the McKnight’s brands, Haymarket Media, at [email protected].

Keep up to date with McKnight’s Women of Distinction news on the McKnight’s Home Care website. See a list of previously honored women by year and category on the McKnight’s Home Care website or an alphabetical list at mcknightswomenofdistinction.com (scroll down).

PointClickCare is the Diamond sponsor of this year’s event. PharMerica is the Silver sponsor. Additional sponsors include Healthcare Services Group, Omnicare, Sentrics and ShiftKey.