The Oregon Health Care Association (OHCA) Board of Directors has selected Philip Bentley, JD, as chief executive officer (CEO), effective Jan. 1, 2021. Bentley currently serves as OHCA’s senior vice president of government relations, a position he has held since 2014.
“I am honored by the board’s decision to appoint me as the next CEO of OHCA,” said Bentley. “I look forward to continuing to work alongside long term care leaders and innovators on behalf of the dedicated caregivers who make a difference in the lives of our residents and patients every day.”
James Carlson, who has served as CEO of OHCA since 1997, will be stepping down from this position at the end of 2020. He will continue to be engaged with OHCA as a strategic advisor.
“He is widely respected by policymakers on both sides of the aisle in Salem and by long term care and health policy leaders throughout the state,” said Carlson.
Prior to joining OHCA, Bentley served as legislative director and chief of staff for Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney and practiced law in Portland.
The National Association of Activity Professionals (NAAP) has named Amy Laughlin, CFCFA, ADC, AAP-BC, CDP, president, and Alisa Tagg, BA, ACC/EDU, CADDCT, CDP, association director.
Laughlin has served on the Board of Directors as the professional development director for the past three years. She has been a NAAP member since 2009 and is a seasoned activity professional with 15 years of experience working in the continuing care retirement community setting.
Laughlin currently works at Westminster Towers in Rock Hill, S.C., as the director of resident services/administrator of assisted living.
Laughlin said, “I believe firmly in a strong activity/life enrichment program and will always be an advocate for educated, empowered activity professionals.”
Tagg has more than 30 years of experience working in the field of activities, mainly in skilled nursing facilities. For the past five years, she has served on the NAAP Board of Directors as president.
Tagg’s primary functions will be to foster and maintain professional relationships with organizations and individuals for support and furthering of the activity profession and to promote and increase efficiency of the organization through streamlining of tasks and executive coordination of NAAP services. She will also be responsible for membership relations and advocating the activity professional in all levels of senior living.
Tagg said, “I am honored to be a part of an amazing organization and look forward to the future of the activity profession.”
The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine (AMDA) has elected its 2020-2021 Board of Directors. David Nace, MD, MPH, CMD, is president; Karl Steinberg, MD, HMCD, CMD, is president-elect; and Suzanne Gillespie, MD, RD, CMD, is vice president.
Nace is an assistant professor of medicine in the division of geriatric medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (UPMC). He serves as the director of long term care and flu programs for the school and as chief of medical affairs for UPMC Senior Communities. Nace leads and collaborates on a variety of studies on adverse drug events, safety culture, antibiotic resistance, vaccine effectiveness, and quality assessment and improvement.
Steinberg has been a nursing facility and hospice medical director since 1995. He is currently chief medical officer for Mariner Health Central, a 20-facility California corporation, and is medical director at Life Care Center of Vista, Carlsbad by the Sea Care Center, and Hospice by the Sea. He also makes home visits on behalf of Scripps Healthcare. He chaired AMDA’s Public Policy Committee for many years, has been editor in chief of Caring for the Ages since 2009, and is an associate editor of JAMDA.
Steinberg is passionate about advance care planning and palliative care initiatives, including education and public policy on a statewide and national level, and has made visits to representatives in Sacramento and on Capitol Hill advocating for AMDA on many occasions.
Gillespie is associate professor of medicine in the division of geriatrics/aging and associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. She also is associate chief of staff for geriatrics extended care and rehabilitation and serves as medical director of the Community Living Center of the Canandaigua VA Medical Center in the VA Finger Lakes Healthcare System. She has served AMDA in a variety of capacities—chair of the House of Delegates, chair of the Annual Meeting Program Planning Committee, vice chair of the Public Policy Committee, and chair of the Workgroup on Telemedicine.