Washington, DC – The National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) announces its new Board of Directors for the 2008-2009 term. Officers were elected and sworn-in during the 59th Annual AHCA/NCAL Convention & Exposition held in Nashville, Tenn., Oct. 5 through Oct. 8, 2008. The newly elected officers are:

• NCAL Chair, Howie Groff, president of Tealwood Care Centers, Bloomington Minn.;
• NCAL Vice Chair, Nicolette Merino, regional director of operations, Avamere, Wilsonville, Ore.; and
• NCAL Secretary/Treasurer, Michael Shepard, chief executive officer of The Shepard Group, Pine Bluff, Ark.
  “NCAL is fortunate to have a Board of Directors that together have accumulated many decades of experience in serving seniors and individuals with disabilities, and represent different types of assisted living models from across the United States,” said David Kyllo, NCAL’s executive director. “These assisted living leaders will guide the organization’s development and establish programs that will lead the entire assisted living profession into the future.”

The newly elected at-large board members are:

• Deb Choma, nurse administrator, Shard Villa, Salisbury, Vt.;
• Vickie Cox, executive administrator, Heritage at Dover, Dover, Del.;
• Jeffrey Hyatt, owner of Hyatt Family Facilities, Yakima, Wash.;
• Christian Mason, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Vigilan Corp., Woodburn, Ore;
• Jan Thayer, owner and CEO of Riverside Lodge Retirement Community, Grand Island, Neb.; and
• Kristin West, vice president of operations, Kemper Company, Strongsville, Ohio.

The newly elected individuals join board members, whose terms will expire in October 2009. These board of directors are:

• Nancy Andrews, director of housing and assisted living for Valley Memorial Homes, Grand Forks, N.D.;
• Jim Birchem, president and CEO of ElderCare of Minnesota, Bemidji, Minn.;
• Edie Gerelli, vice president of operations for Chelsea Senior Living, Summit, N.J.;
• Patricia Giorgio, president and CEO of Evergreen Estates, Cedar Rapids, Iowa;
• Joe Perkin, regional director for Midwest Health Management, Topeka, Kan.;
• Dean Solden, president of Solden Development Company, Ann Arbor, Mich.; and
• Faun Spencer, owner of Twilight Care, Minnetonka, Minn.

The National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) represents more than 2,700 not-for-profit and proprietary assisted living and residential care communities dedicated to continuous improvement in the delivery of professional compassionate care and services for the elderly and disabled. NCAL is the assisted living voice of the American Health Care Association.