Care Continuum 26: Embracing the Evolution of Assisted Living | January 28, 2026

Dr. Mary Bonnet is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Geriatrics at the University of Rochester.  She focuses her care on treating older adults in assisted and independent living facilities throughout the Western New York area.  She completed residency in Family Medicine at the University of Rochester and fellowship in Geriatrics at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Oregon in 2019.  Dr. Bonnet received the Geriatric Academic Career Award in 2023, a federally funded grant that allows her the opportunity to further her passion for geriatrics with a focus on interprofessional training and community education.  She also medical directs three local assisted living facilities.  She lives in Rochester, NY with her husband, two young children, 14 year old dachshund and most recently a golden retriever puppy!

Dr. Charissa Duffy is a doctorally prepared Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and the CCO of Vérité Health Collective, an advisory firm specializing in clinical and operational strategy across healthcare. She is a strategic healthcare executive and leader with extensive expertise in post-acute and behavioral healthcare. Charissa has driven clinical strategy, compliance, and program development initiative grounded in evidence and value-based care. Charissa is currently a member on PALTmed State Based Advocacy Committee and works with state based APRN groups to improve advocacy across all areas of healthcare. She is focused on improving access, outcomes, and responsibility through innovative, strategic program design and models of care.

Calvin Groeneweg joined NCPHS as Director of Risk Management in 2011. He is responsible for all risk management activities for 3 CCRCs and 4 affordable housing projects and their community services. He is liaison with insurance companies and management of call claims, he works with communities to reduce risk and increase the culture of safety for organization.

 Calvin Groeneweg joined Magnolia in 2007 and is the Director of Risk Management.  He is responsible for coordinating RM visits at prospective and current facilities of CCRRG, reviewing all RM reports and maintaining the overall quality of the RM program.  Mr. Groeneweg is an additional liaison between underwriting and Members, co-chairs the Claims Committee, and develops continuing education programs for CCRRG’s Members.

 Mr. Groeneweg is a Registered Nurse with over 30 years of experience.  In addition to being a Registered Nurse, Mr. Groeneweg also carries the designation of Certified Assisted Living Nurse (C-AL).  He worked at Summit Medical Center of Oakland in Nursing Administration, Staffing, and Admissions and for the past 21 years operated a 44 bed Residential Care Facility for the Elderly in Napa, CA that was dedicated to serving the needs of those with Dementia. 

 Mr. Groeneweg is very active in the Assisted Living industry.  He was a member of the Little Hoover Advisory Commission on Long Term Care and has consulted for various attorneys and organizations on issues facing Resident Care.  He is the President for the American Assisted Living Nurses Association (AALNA) and an founder member. AALNA is an organization for nurses working in assisted living and affiliate members concerned with senior issues in United States.  

Daniel Haimowitz, MD, FACP, CMD is an internist, geriatrician and multi-facility Medical Director in solo private practice outside Philadelphia.  A former PALTmed Board member and chair of many committees, he was the initial chair of the Assisted Living Committee, one of their representatives on the national Assisted Living Workgroup and was a member of the Quality in Assisted Living Collaborative Infection Prevention & Control Guidelines Workgroup. He is currently chair of the PALTmed State Advocacy Committee, on the Editorial Board of Caring for the Ages, facilitator for the CALTCM Assisted Living Delphi group and the PALTconnect Live! calls.  Dr. Haimowitz has been the recipient of multiple awards including the PALTmed Dodd and Pattee Awards, the PALTmed PA MacLean Founder’s Award and the American Geriatrics Society Clinician of the Year Award.

Sarah Howd, MD, CMD, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Geriatrics at the University of Rochester. Dr. Howd serves as the Associate Medical Director of Senior Living at UR Medicine Geriatrics Group. She cares for patients at several local independent and assisted living communities and serves as medical director of nine assisted livings. She is a 2022 Tideswell Scholar with the Emerging Leaders in Aging Program through UCSF and the American Geriatric Society.  She served on PALTMed's Subcommittee for Assisted Living for eight years, serving as Chair of the committee for the final three years.  Currently, Dr. Howd is a member of PALTMed's Public Policy Steering Committee.  

Alfred has worked for the Division of Quality Assurance since 2001.  Alfred has served the Division of Quality Assurance in a variety of roles, Surveyor, Regional Director, Director of the Bureau of Technology, Licensing and Education, Director of the Bureau of Assisted Living, Deputy Division Administrator and Division Administrator.

 While in DQA, Alfred has been instrumental in establishing collaborative statewide and nationwide working relationships with counties, care management organizations, regulators, advocates, re-search scientist, and industry representatives to help improve the quality of care in nursing homes, assisted-living, childcare and child welfare settings. 

 Alfred served as Board President of the National Association for Regulatory Administration from 2021-2023. Alfred also serves as Chairman of the National Quality Assisted Living Collaborative and Vice President for the Midwest Injury Prevention Alliance. Alfred enjoys coaching sports, spending time with family and close friends and living by the wise words “Be kind, compassionate and forgiving to each other.”

Dr. Walter Lin is the Founder and CEO of Generation Clinical Partners (GCP). The founding vision of GCP is to help senior living organizations successfully transition into the rapidly developing era of value-based care. Dr. Lin has first-hand experience with numerous value-based programs, including ACOs, iSNPs, home-based medical care for the seriously ill, Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI), and PACE, and was nominated by AMDA to serve on a HHS physician payment model advisory committee (PTAC). Dr. Lin completed his internal medicine training at Yale University and earned his Doctor of Medicine from the University of California, San Francisco. He also holds a Master of Health and Medical Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences from Stanford University.

Michael Nash, MD, CMD, is a board-certified family medicine practicing primarily in the post-acute and long-term care setting since 2011. He has served as medical director at many skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, mostly in the St. Louis, Missouri area, and has served as a physician leader for post-acute provider groups. Dr. Nash has been the president of the Missouri Association of Long-Term Care Physicians (now PALTMed Midwest) since 2022, and is an active member of the Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association since 2017. He has served on the PALTMed Assisted Living Subcomittee, the Clinical Practice Committee, and given presentations at two PALTMed national meetings. Dr. Nash has given numerous lectures on medical direction in nursing homes and clinical practice in post-acute and long-term care throughout the midwest.

Dallas Nelson, MD CMD FACP is a Professor of Medicine at the University of the Rochester in the Division Geriatrics and Aging. She is medical director of the UR Medicine Geriatrics Group, a group that serves about 3000 patients across the spectrum of long term care in the Rochester, New York. Dr. Nelson serves as the PALTmed secretary to the Board of Directors. Dr. Nelson was the president of the New York Medical Directors Association and the American Board of Post Acute and Long Term Care. She is currently serving as the PALTmed liaison to the AMA RUC committee. She has a passion for improving the care of the geriatric community and education of the long term care interdisciplinary team.

Flora Petillo, MSN, GNP-BC, CWS, serves as the  ActingPresident and Chief Operating Officer of AlignMed Partners, where she directsoperations and clinical initiatives. Ms. Petillo is a board-certifiedGerontological Nurse Practitioner with clinical experience in post-acute care,primary care, and pain management. She holds the designation of Certified WoundSpecialist and maintains membership in the American Academy of Wound Managementand the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. Furthermore, Ms. Petillo is aboard member of PAWSIC, a non-profit, inter-professional collaborationdedicated to advancing evidence-based wound prevention and care managementpractices within the post-acute healthcare sector. Before rejoining AlignMed in2010, Ms. Petillo co-founded On-Site Specialty Care, a successful nursepractitioner consultation service. She earned both her Bachelor's and Master'sof Science in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania.

Cassandra Skul, MSN, MS, PMHNP-BC, is the Executive Director of Nurse Practitioners for ViaQuest Psychiatric & Behavioral Solutions and a board-certified psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner with extensive experience in behavioral health care for patients in long-term care and for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She earned a Master of Science in Nursing from The Ohio State University and also holds a Master of Science in Genetic Counseling from Brandeis University. In her leadership role, Cassandra is committed to advancing evidence-based practice, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and mentoring the next generation of nurse practitioners. She is passionate about developing sustainable, high-quality clinical programs that improve outcomes for vulnerable populations. Cassandra lives in Northeast Ohio with her husband and daughter and is a dedicated supporter of all things Cleveland sports.

Dr. Verdoorn is Assistant Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Consultant in the Division of Community Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care. He is a dedicated educator who serves as the Program Director of the Geriatric Medicine fellowship at Mayo Clinic and has directed multiple continuing medical education courses. He serves on the ABIM Geriatric Medicine Item-Writing Task Force and the Clinical Practice Steering Committee and Assisted Living Workgroup for PALTMed.  His clinical practice consists of home-based primary and palliative care, in assisted living facilities, memory care, and private homes, as well as skilled nursing facility care. He is a Certified Medical Director (CMD) by the American Board of Post-Acute and Long-term Care Medicine, serving as medical director at a nursing home and a continuous care retirement community.

Dr. Tana Whitt is a doctorally prepared Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC) and the Co-Founder and CEO of Vérité Health Collective, an advisory firm specializing in clinical and operational strategy across healthcare. She began her executive career scaling a multi-state post-acute behavioral health organization and later served as COO of a national behavioral health organization, overseeing operations across the care continuum in 800+facilities nationwide.

A former Vice Chair of PALTmed’s Behavioral Health Subcommittee, and a current member of PALTmed’s Clinical Practice Committee and Certification Council, Dr. Whitt advises healthcare innovators on care delivery design,workforce strategy, and system performance. With more than a decade of leadership experience, she is passionate about building team-based models that improve access, accountability, and outcomes. She speaks nationally on behavioral health integration, workforce strategy, and care model innovation.

Bio coming soon

Bio coming soon

Bio coming soon

Bio coming soon