Editor’s note: McKnight’s Home Care, McKnight’s Long-Term Care News and McKnight’s Senior Living are profiling the McKnight’s 2022 Women of Distinction honorees daily July 5 through Aug. 10. For additional McKnight’s Women of Distinction content, visit this page.
As comfortable discussing clinical matters as she is discussing business development, Jennifer Kennedy, is a one-of-a-kind long-term care executive.
In Kennedy’s current role as vice president of system integration for the Gurwin Healthcare System, she oversees business development, relationships and strategies for Gurwin’s services. Those services include assisted living, skilled nursing, rehabilitation facilities, certified home health agencies, and both social and medical adult day programs.
Kennedy was chief integration officer and chief marketing officer before her vice president role. Prior to working at Gurwin, she held several director-level positions.
Her experience shaping long-term care bundled payment strategies enables her to create positive outcomes for the companies she serves. Additionally, Kennedy’s care experience as a registered nurse has given her first-hand knowledge of hospital expectations.
Early in the pandemic, she “shelved her day-to-day responsibilities during working hours, assisting on the units of the nursing and rehabilitation center as part of the frontline team,” said Dennine Cook, chief public relations officer at Gurwin.
This key understanding has allowed Kennedy to lead Gurwin to a “Preferred Provider Status” within an area that is home to several different hospitals.
Through her efforts, a successful team mentality has been fostered at the firm, Kennedy’s colleagues said. Top-notch talent has been recruited thanks to her efforts, rounding out the team and raising Gurwin’s stance as a leader in senior care, they added.
When an opportunity presented itself for the Gurwin Healthcare System to save a nearby not-for-profit nursing home, Kennedy was crucial in acquiring the facility, as well as facilitating the transition once the facility came under the Gurwin umbrella, colleagues said.
And Kennedy did not stop there. She has worked to bolster her nursing credentials, and she sits on a variety of boards, including the Case Management Society of America.
Kennedy believes that risk is inherent in change and welcomes the challenge, a personality trait also evident in her love of skydiving.
“She is strategic in her thinking and has the knowledge, enthusiasm and reputation to influence not only the breadth of Gurwin’s service offerings and business strategy but also the direction of the senior healthcare services market,” observed Cook.
The McKnight’s Women of Distinction program is jointly administered by McKnight’s Home Care, McKnight’s Long-Term Care News and McKnight’s Senior Living. The program’s Diamond sponsor is PointClickCare. Silver sponsors include OnShift and PharMerica, and the Bronze sponsor is Reliant Rehabilitation. Table sponsors included Dreamscape, Gojo/Purell and Sound Physicians.
