Editor’s note: McKnight’s Home Care, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Long-Term Care News 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.
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 Home Care, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Long-Term Care News. 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.
