Seventeen women working in senior living, skilled nursing or home care are being announced today as the fourth class of Veteran VIPs in the annual McKnight’s Women of Distinction awards program. They will be celebrated along with other award winners May 13 in Chicago at the McKnight’s Women of Distinction and Forum.

The program is a joint effort of McKnight’s Senior Living and sister media brands McKnight’s Long-Term Care News and McKnight’s Home Care. 

The Veteran VIP category honors women who have more than 15 years of experience and have made an impact on the senior living, skilled nursing or home care fields, typically at a level below the office of vice president or its equivalent.

“Senior living, skilled nursing and home care organizations rely on the contributions of these seasoned professionals every day, and we are pleased to be able to give them the recognition they deserve now and in person in May,” McKnight’s Editorial Director, Vice President and Associate Publisher John O’Connor said.

The 17 Veteran VIPs in the McKnight’s Women of Distinction class of 2025:

, Administrator, A.G. Rhodes, Atlanta

National Director of Customer Relations, Brookdale Senior Living, Brentwood, TN

Executive Director, Benchmark at Billerica Crossings, Benchmark Senior Living, Waltham, MA

Director of Clinical Reimbursement, South Division, Ignite Medical Resorts, Park Ridge, IL

, Executive Director, Northeast Ohio Home Care, Olmsted Township, OH

, Chief Nursing Officer, Village Caregiving, Barboursville, WV

, Administrator, Sequoyah Pointe Skilled Nursing & Therapy, Tahlequah, OK

, Administrator, Loveland Village, The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society, Loveland, CO

, Executive Director, Touchmark at Fairway Village, Vancouver, WA

, Director of Clinical Reimbursement, Transitional Care Management, Lisle, IL

, Administrator, Cedar Ridge Health & Rehab Center, Lebanon, IL

, Administrator, Gillespie Health & Rehab Center, Gillespie, IL

, Director of Nursing, Villa Maria Health and Rehab, Hurley, WI

, Administrator, The Grove at the Lake, Zion, IL

, Research Assistant Professor, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Fran and Earl Ziegler College of Nursing, Oklahoma City

, Director of Operations, The Lilac Health Group, Lake Mary, FL

, Director of Market Research, LCS, Des Moines, IA

The McKnight’s Women of Distinction awards program is judged by a national, independent panel of judges.

Rising Stars in the class of 2025, women who are either 40 or younger or have fewer than 15 years of experience in their respective careers, were announced yesterday. Inductees into the Hall of Honor, women who are at a level equivalent to vice president or higher and who have had a significant effect on their organization or industry, will be announced tomorrow. Spirit Awards, recognizing inspiring women who provide care and services, will be announced Friday.

The 2025 program, as in years past, also will bestow a Lifetime Achievement Award; that recipient will be announced at a later date, as will the recipients of an award new to the program this year, the Commercial Excellence Award. That category recognizes women working at vendor companies that provide products or services to senior living, skilled nursing or home care providers.

All of this year’s honorees will be celebrated Tuesday, May 13, during an in-person cocktail reception, dinner and awards presentation at the JW Marriott in Chicago. The bestowing of awards will be preceded by the sixth 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, including Women of Distinction award winners, family members and friends of winners, and anyone else interested in attending.

For more information about the event, including how to obtain tickets, visit https://www.mcknightswomenofdistinction.com/. Those with questions can contact Anna Naumoski, associate director of events 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 Senior Living website. See a list of previously honored women by year and category on the McKnight’s Senior Living website or an alphabetical list by category at mcknightswomenofdistinction.com (click on “Past Honorees” at the top of the page).

Healthcare Services Group is the Platinum sponsor of this year’s event, and PharMerica is the Silver sponsor. Additional sponsors include Curana Health, DirecTV for Business, EasyShifts, Guardian Pharmacy Services, Priority Life Care and Sentrics.