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.

Taylor Zelnio grew up watching her mother, a member of the “sandwich generation,” raise three children while also looking after her grandparents. Seeing her mom gracefully navigate those two important roles led Zelnio to decide at a young age that she wanted to work in healthcare, and specifically long-term care.

She spent at least 10 years visiting her grandparents in skilled nursing facilities. “It’s what we knew,” she says, recalling trips in a nursing home van to see Christmas lights. “It’s part of who I was.”

As a licensed social worker overseeing the activity and social service departments for 13 SNFs in Illinois, Zelnio brings her appreciation for the value of each individual, her personal commitment to serve the elderly and her willingness to embrace new ideas and follow her vision into what she does everyday at Crest.

Zelnio earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology and political science from Augustana College and her Master’s of Social Work at Illinois State University. She is a national certified Alzheimer’s disease and dementia care practitioner and certified trainer. Before joining Crest, Zelnio was a long-term care consultant with Social Work Consultation Group in Chicago.

Her strong advocacy includes Crest’s participation in the ConnectCareHero program, which connects older adults with one another and their families through technology. Post-COVID, Zelnio has helped use the program’s 165-inch televisions to bring older adults in the facilities dance videos and international tours and to connect with residents in other facilities, replacing feelings of isolation with feelings of joy and camaraderie.

“I think about my grandpa every day,” she says, explaining that she is driven by the idea that if he were here now, she could give him a better experience than the one he had in long-term care. She asks herself, “If I were serving him, what would I want his experience to look like?”

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.