About Our Bloggers

Rhonda Rotterman, B.S.N., R.N.C., LNHA
WNYAPCC Executive Director

Rhonda is executive director of Western New York Alliance for Person-Centered Care. She is the former administrator of Elderwood Health Care at Crestwood, Niagara Falls, and Harbour Health Multi-Care Center, Buffalo.  She has served as a long term care administrator, director of nursing and geriatrics professional since 1988. Board certified in gerontology, she also received a bachelor’s degree in nursing and an associate’s degree in psychology from Niagara University.

Robert R. Meiss
Beechwood Continuing Care President/CEO

Robert R. Meiss is President/CEO of Beechwood Continuing Care of Amherst, N.Y., one of Western New York’s largest not-for-profit senior care communities.  He has served on many long-term care association boards including the New York Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, Past Chairman; the WNY Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, Past Chairman; and the Network in Aging of Western New York, Past President.

Bob has served on numerous Western New York community boards including Legal Services for the Elderly, Disabled or Disadvantaged of Western New York, United Way’s Helping Seniors and Promoting Wellness Committee and the Millard Fillmore Ambulatory Surgery Center.  He is a licensed New York State Nursing Home Administrator and member of the American College of Health Care Administrators.

G. Allen Power, M.D.
Eden Mentor, St. John’s Home, Rochester, N.Y.
Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Rochester

G. Allen Power, M.D. is Eden Mentor at St. John’s Home in Rochester, N.Y., and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester. He is a board certified internist and geriatrician, and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians/American Society for Internal Medicine.

Dr. Power is one of about 60 Certified Eden Alternative Educators worldwide. He is a well-known speaker on dementia and elder care topics, has taught culture change principles to nursing home surveyors, and has been an expert consultant for IPRO, New York’s Quality Improvement Organization. Dr. Power has been a contributor to numerous broadcast and print media outlets including BBC Television and the Wall Street Journal and is an active guest author on several blogs. Dr. Power is also an author and his new book, Dementia Beyond Drugs: Changing the Culture of Care, will be released by Health Professions Press in February 2010.

Patricia Weeks O’Connor
Executive Director, OLV Senior Neighborhood/MNF, Lackawanna, NY

Pat is executive director of Our Lady of Victory Neighborhood/Mercy Nursing Facility, Lackawanna, NY. At OLV, she oversees facility operations for a campus consisting of 74 low-income senior apartments, an 84-bed skilled nursing facility and a PACE (All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) program.  She is past president of the Western New York Association of Homes and Services for the Aging and is the 2010 recipient of the organization’s highest honor, the Meritorious Service Award.

Pat began her career as a CNA and has devoted her entire 25+ years in healthcare to the field of long term care. She served as assistant administrator and administrator at a number of senior care providers in Erie and Niagara counties before joining the Catholic Health System at OLV/Mercy.  She has led the transition of Mercy from a hospital-based facility to an all private room, renovated facility in the former OLV Hospital. A champion of the person-centered care movement in Western New York, she is guiding OLV through the culture change journey.

Susan Berta
R.N, LNHA, Eden Educator and Culture Change Guide

Susan is an Eden Alternative Educator who provides consulting and training to long-term care facilities in the Western New York area. She is a licensednursing home administrator, has served as director of nursing for facilities in upstate New York and was an Eden Alternative Regional Coordinator. She attended Columbia University School of Public Health and is currently working toward a Bachelor of Science degree in business management and economics with a focus in health care administration from Empire State College.

Carmen Bowman 
Owner, Edu-Catering: Catering Education for Compliance and Culture Change

Carmen Bowman is the owner of the consulting, training and public speaking business Edu-Catering: Catering Education for Compliance and Culture Change, turning her former role of regulator to educator.  She is a nationally-recognized expert in culture change, and is a frequently invited speaker at national and state long term care and culture change conferences including the Pioneer Network.

Carmen was a Colorado state surveyor for nine years and is a former policy analyst with CMS Central Office where she also taught the national CMS Basic Surveyor Training Course.

Carmen now serves as a contractor to CMS on culture change projects.  She was a facilitator for the CMS and Pioneer Network co-sponsored national Creating Home symposiums on culture change.  For CMS, she also co-developed the Artifacts of Culture Change measurement tool with Karen Schoeneman.

Carmen was the first certified activity professional to become a state surveyor and served on the four year CMS panel rewriting the interpretive guidance for Tag 248 Activities and Tag 249 Qualified Activity Director. She is a Certified Validation Worker, Certified Validation Group Practitioner, Certified Eden Associate and Eden Mentor.  She also co-founded the Colorado Culture Change Coalition and she has authored seven culture change workbooks for Action Pact, Inc.

She holds a Master’s degree in Healthcare Systems with an emphasis in eldercare from Denver University. Her Bachelor’s degree is in Social Work and German from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Carmen hosts a monthly web talk show for Action Pact called Conversations with Carmen where a guest who is an expert on a relevant culture change topic is interviewed along with “Culture Change in the News” and “Words to Consider” features.

Nancy Fox
Chief Life Enhancement Officer, Piñon Management

Nancy Fox, BAAS, LNFA is the Chief Life Enhancement Officer for Piñon Management in Lakewood, Colorado.  In her role at Piñon, Nancy oversees the organization’s culture change efforts and develops and provides education and consulting in person-directed care, the Eden Alternative, leadership, conflict management, and team building.  Prior to her current position at Piñon, Nancy served as the Executive Director of the Eden Alternative, Inc, a not-for-profit culture change organization.  In this role, she brought the organization to national and international prominence, enlarged the Eden network of Educators and Mentors, and expanded the influence of the Eden philosophy to impact Elders living at home, and those requiring life-long supportive living environments.

Nancy is a well-known speaker and educator and has presented at many major conferences. She is the author of a book, The Journey of a Lifetime: Leadership Pathways to Culture Change in Long-Term Care, published in March, 2007.  Her greatest achievement and most important role, however, is grandmother to Nicolas, age four.

Wendy Vaughn
BS Ed., BA, AAS, Eden Alternative® Educator and Mentor, Eden Guide for Quality Life Services

As Eden Guide for Quality Life Services, Wendy serves as the company-wide leader of transformation and growth as required by eight eldercare campuses in Western Pennsylvania. She facilitates, educates, supports and challenges all aspects of transformation that are being brought to life.

Wendy has acquired experience in many areas of eldercare over the past eleven years, while continuing her education as a non-traditional student. Recently, Wendy completed the educational requirements as set forth by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators for Nursing Home Administrator licensure.

Wendy became a Certified Eden Associate and presenter for the Eden Speakers’ Bureau in 2004.  May 2006 brought an appointment of Eden Alternative Mentor and in August 2006, Wendy was chosen to become a member of the National Eden Educator Team. She facilitates 3-day Certified Eden Associate trainings nationally and has also served on the Eden Mentor Review Team. In 2009, she was the Community Builder for the Eden Alternative Home Office. In addition, she has authored articles and papers and as a NAB-approved speaker, she has presented at local, state, national and international events. Reforming the world of eldercare is Wendy’s passion and mission.

Richard Taylor, Ph.D.
Former psychologist, author, “Alzheimer’s From the Inside Out” 

Richard Taylor, Ph.D., a former psychologist has lived in Houston, Texas, with the diagnosis of dementia (probably of the Alzheimer’s type) for the past seven years. Four years ago he discovered that thinking, speaking and writing about what it’s like for him to live with this condition had become the new purpose for his life.

He speaks of Alzheimer’s from the inside out in order to create a supportive community where others affected by the challenges of dementia can speak up, share their thoughts and take life-affirming actions to improve dignity, quality of life and sense of purpose for all of us who are aging.

He believes by sharing his experience and ideas and encouraging others to do the same that jointly they can demystify and disarm the Alzheimer’s disease. Thus creating a joint sense of purpose that can change the way individuals, countries, and the world view, understand and respond to all forms of dementia.

Susan Misiorski
BSN, National Director of Training and Organizational Development at PHI

Susan Misiorski, BSN, is the National Director of Training and Organizational Development at PHI. In her role, Susan leads a team of trainers and consultants who coach long-term care providers in their efforts to implement person-directed culture change. Susan has been a leader in the Pioneer Network, a national organization whose sole purpose is to serve the culture change movement, since its inception in 1997. She served as president of the network from 2000–2003, and was re-elected to the board in 2010.

Prior to PHI, Susan served as director of nursing for Genesis Health Care and then as vice president of nursing for Apple Health Care, Inc., where she spearheaded a corporate-wide culture change initiative. Susan has published several articles in addition to Getting Started: A Pioneering Approach to Long-Term Care Culture Change. The handbook is a resource to nursing home providers who are looking for information and tools on how to create a high-involvement process for transforming institutions into homes. Susan is a national speaker on topics related to long term care culture change, and participated in the CMS satellite broadcast titled “Innovations in Quality of Life.”

Barbara Speedling
Quality of Life Specialist, Director of Quality of Life Services for Healthcare Compliance Group, LLC

Barbara Speedling, Quality of Life Specialist, is the Director of Quality of Life Services for Healthcare Compliance Group, LLC, a consulting firm servicing acute and long-term healthcare facilities, adult residential communities, and other community based healthcare service providers. Her areas of specialization are regulatory compliance and program development in all aspects of quality of life and behavior management.

Barbara is well known as an educator on meeting the psychosocial and behavioral challenges of varied populations, including individuals with dementia, brain injury, and mental illness. Over time, she has applied her understanding of human behavior to education and training programs designed to support leadership and organizational development, cultural intelligence, and empathetic approaches to care and treatment.

In conjunction with her clinical work, Barbara assists clients in achieving and maintaining regulatory compliance in all areas relative to quality of life.  This involves the development of policy and procedure, the provision of staff education and training, and quality monitoring. Guidance and assistance is also provided in responding to regulatory citations, including development and implementation of survey plans of correction and quality monitoring to sustain compliance.

Barbara began her career in long-term care in recreation therapy, later specializing in the development of environments and programs for people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, mental illness, and those with complex psychosocial needs.   She has worked in various capacities in residential and long-term care environments.  Her experience spans admissions, marketing and public relations, patient advocacy, quality management and community outreach. She has helped many facilities develop specialized programs and environments designed to overcome a broad range of psychosocial challenges.

Leslie Pedtke
BA, LNHA, Administrator at Aviston Countryside Manor

Leslie Pedtke, BA, LNHA, has been the Administrator at Aviston Countryside Manor since 1994. She is a member of the Illinois Nursing Home Administrators Association, Illinois Health Care Association, the Southwestern Illinois Pioneer Coalition Leadership Team and the Vice President of the Illinois Pioneer Coalition. Leslie has been the Illinois Pioneer Coalition Summit Coordinator since 2010. She completed the Certificate for Non-Physicians in Geriatrics in 2007.  In 2005, Leslie was part of the planning committee for the Metro-East Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk.  She has participated in the “Person-Centered Care Dementia Certificate Program” taught by the Alzheimer’s Association, St. Louis Chapter.

Leslie has been instrumental in incorporating culture change in the Aviston Countryside Manor community.  She was featured  in the Spring, 2011 LTC Today publication, “Consistent Assignments”, the April 2010 issue of McKnight’s Long-Term Care News in the article, “Empathy
Crash Course” and the April 9^th HCCI Members Only newsletter for her Intergenerational program, “Bringing Resident’s Stories to Life.”  She was named one of the Health Care Council of Illinois’ 2010 Heroes in Long Term Care.

Leslie graduated in 1994, from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication.

Bonnie Kantor-Burman
Sc.D., Director of the Ohio Department of Aging

Bonnie Kantor-Burman, Sc.D., was appointed director of the Ohio Department of Aging by Governor John R. Kasich in January, 2011. As director, she is helping to lead the state’s effort to transform health care and long-term care for its citizens. Director Kantor-Burman Before has advocated for new approaches that emphasize quality, person-centered care while realizing cost savings. Her goals are to reform and enhance the quality and efficiency of our health care system, and to strengthen long-term care options that give elders more choices about their care. She believes in the concept of preventive gerontology, a wellness and behavioral driven model of life and care across the lifespan.

Coming to the department, Director Kantor-Burman was the executive director of the Pioneer Network, a national center for the development of person-centered long-term care delivery systems. She drove consistent and creative public policy change at the highest levels of state and federal government. Prior to joining the Pioneer Network in 2007, Director Kantor-Burman was the director of the Office of Geriatrics and Gerontology at The Ohio State University.

Dr. Kantor-Burman earned her doctorate in health policy and management from The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She currently resides in Gahanna, with her husband, Robert Burman.

Kathy McCollett
Organizational Culture Change Specialist


As part of the Training and Organizational Development team at PHI, Kathy provides technical assistance and consulting services to nursing homes, home care agencies, and other providers who are seeking to grow a workplace culture that ensures quality of life, quality of care, and quality jobs for everyone working or living there. She is particularly skilled at working with her clients to define specific desired outcomes in any training or consulting engagement, and then assisting them in taking the steps necessary to achieve them.

Kathy has facilitated national and regional trainings related to the PHI Coaching ApproachSM to supervision, communication, peer mentoring, relationship-centered care, and other topics related to culture change. She has worked with the Pioneer Network and the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) on evaluating and improving the “dining experience” for elders in nursing homes across America.

Before coming to PHI, Kathy worked in the eldercare and disability services industry for 11 years as a social worker and manager, keeping an active LNA/CNA license during those years.She received her BS in Behavioral Science from Granite State College in New Hampshire.