Category: Corporate Office

Senior Living Partners of Virginia, LLC (SLP) is pleased to announce that Robert Brigeman has been named the organization’s chief executive officer. In this role, he will oversee the day-to-day operations of Affirmation Home Health, the home health company operated by SLP. Brigeman joined the SLP Team on January 5, 2022.

Brigeman has more than 18 years of senior living experience with a focus on growing new markets, developing effective teams and generating additional streams of revenue in post-acute healthcare. He joins the SLP team from Functional Pathways where he served as senior regional vice president.

Brigeman received his bachelor’s in business administration with a concentration in finance from Ohio University. Brigeman and his wife Ashley have two sons, Roman and Lochlan, and he enjoys waterskiing, hiking and almost everything outdoors.

LifeSpire of Virginia and Pinnacle Living, both with corporate offices located in Glen Allen, announced the formation of SLP—a joint venture—to provide home health and other organizational support services, in June. SLP allows both organizations to formally collaborate and expand their mission-focused growth to serve residents in their retirement communities and those who currently do not reside inside the walls of a retirement community.

LifeSpire of Virginia is pleased to announce that Laura Wooton has been named the organization’s vice president of human resources. In this role, Wooton will be responsible for workforce development, human resources management and best practices, organizational effectiveness and performance measurement. Wooton will begin her role on January 31.

Wooton has more than 20 years of experience in talent management and previously served as LifeSpire of Virginia’s corporate human resources director from 2011–2015. She rejoins the team from Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen, a Richmond law firm, where she served as human resources director. She also worked as a human resources consultant for Fortis Leadership & HR Business Solutions and corporate human resources director for Ingenco.

Wooton received her bachelor’s in science from Virginia Tech and a master’s in business administration with a concentration in human resources from Virginia Commonwealth University. She holds certifications as a Senior Professional in Human Resources and SHRM Senior Certified Professional.

“Laura has always had a call to serve others so when this position opened it was a great fit. It is clear she has the depth of experience we need to support LifeSpire of Virginia communities. Not only does she understand team member relations, engagement and the legalities of talent management, but she also knows senior living and the day-to-day challenges we face. I am thrilled to welcome Laura to the team.”

LifeSpire of Virginia Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Cook

LifeSpire of Virginia is pleased to announce that Tracey Jennings has been selected as the organization’s new chief operating officer. In this role, Jennings will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the five LifeSpire of Virginia communities. Additionally, Jennings will have oversight of community operating budgets, policies and procedures and provide oversight of major vendor relationships. Jennings began her new role on December 1.

“Tracey brings a unique breadth and depth of experience including senior leadership roles in senior living and across the entire care continuum with Centra Health, licensed nursing homes, hospice and home health. I believe Tracey’s experience complements the LifeSpire of Virginia senior management’s team and she will bring valuable perspective as LifeSpire of Virginia continues to pursue future growth opportunities,” said President and CEO Jonathan Cook.

Jennings brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in the senior living and healthcare arena. Jennings held numerous positions at Centra Health including managing director of senior care where she oversaw long-term care communities; chief operating officer of Bedford Memorial Hospital and vice president of care coordination, where she led care coordination and case management processes and systems. Prior to joining Centra, Jennings worked as a nursing home administrator in the Lynchburg area.

Jennings holds a bachelor’s degree from Ferrum College and is a licensed nursing home administrator and preceptor in Virginia. Additionally, Jennings serves on Leading Age Virginia’s Board of Directors, the Governor’s Long-Term Care task force and Centra Specialty Hospital’s Board of Directors.

As the holiday season approaches, the LifeSpire leadership team is pleased to announce that our five communities will now allow indoor visitation and for all residents—including assisted living, memory support and healthcare. Communities will no longer limit the frequency or length of visits for residents, the number of visitors or require advance scheduling of visits.

This exciting news marks a significant shift in LifeSpire’s policies which have been driven largely by governmental regulatory agencies. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) determined that visitor restrictions/limitations are no longer necessary as they were during the earlier part of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have been anxiously awaiting this CMS guidance and are thrilled to no longer be required to restrict visitation at LifeSpire communities.

We hope that you and your loved ones will see this as a signal that conditions in life plan communities, like ours, continue to improve. As always, our priority is the health, safety, and well-being of LifeSpire residents, their loved ones and all LifeSpire team members. We appreciate your patience, diligence and flexibility as we navigate the pandemic. We are grateful for the cooperation from residents, team members and the extended LifeSpire family. Because of all your care and support, LifeSpire continues to fare better than many peers across the country despite the headwinds created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

While all signs show that things are continuing to return to normal, CMS may choose to change its recommendations in the future. We will continue to inform you of new changes to visitation policies. Community-specific guidelines regarding visitation are forthcoming and will be posted on each community’s blog which is accessible from the website. Please review the specific guidelines for visitation prior to your visit. If you have any questions about the visitation process, please do not hesitate to reach out to a member of the leadership team at your community.

On October 22, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new recommendations for expanding the booster COVID vaccine. The new guidance includes the ability to mix and match with a booster vaccine that is different from the primary series received. 

The booster recommendations for all three available COVID vaccines are as follows:

Pfizer Recipients

The following groups are eligible for a booster shot at six months or more after the initial series:

• 65 years and older
• Age 18+ who live in long-term care settings
• Age 18+ who have underlying medical conditions
• Age 18+ who work or live in high-risk settings

Moderna Recipients

The following groups are eligible for a booster shot at six months or more after the initial series:

• 65 years and older
• Age 18+ who live in long-term care settings
• Age 18+ who have underlying medical conditions
• Age 18+ who work or live in high-risk settings

Johnson & Johnson Recipients

Everyone 18 and over is eligible for a booster shot two months or more after the initial vaccine.

All recipients of any vaccine may choose which vaccine to receive as a booster dose. Some people may prefer the vaccine type originally received and others may prefer to get a different booster. The CDC offers no guidance on selecting between vaccines at this time.

On August 26, 2021, LifeSpire of Virginia announced to its team members that the organization will be instating a vaccine mandate across all LifeSpire of Virginia communities and the home office. This decision was carefully considered for several months by team members in the Home Office and from the communities. LifeSpire of Virginia is following guidance received from The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requiring all nursing home team members to become vaccinated. LifeSpire of Virginia’s mandate will mirror the timing dictated by CMS for the vaccination mandate. This means that all LifeSpire of Virginia team members will be required to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment in the near future.

With the CDC releasing a study on August 24, 2021, indicating that unvaccinated people are 29x more likely to be hospitalized and 5x more likely to be infected with COVID-19, LifeSpire of Virginia fully supports the belief that the vaccine is society’s best defense against the virus.

All LifeSpire of Virginia communities have already done a remarkable job in collectively achieving resident vaccination rates over 99%, meaning residents are and have been protected from the most serious illness related to COVID-19. In the last few weeks, our communities have worked hard to increase the rate of team member vaccination, and the vaccine mandate will help further achieve this.

LifeSpire of Virginia’s leadership team and community leadership remain committed to the health and safety of all those who live, work and visit our communities, and greatly appreciate the support as we jointly navigate the pandemic.

Regards,

Jonathan R. Cook

LifeSpire of Virginia President and CEO

On August 4^th and 5^th members of the leadership team from LifeSpire of Virginia travelled to The Summit to meet with The Summit’s team members. While there, the LifeSpire of Virginia team had the opportunity to take part in the 18^th anniversary celebration of The Summit and enjoy a fantastic display of fireworks. In attendance from the LifeSpire of Virginia team were Jonathan Cook, Chris Markwith, Peter Robinson, Jodi Leonard, Lisa Legeer, Hannah Feely, Christine Moran, Deb Ledbetter, Robert Wilbanks, and Derek Meyer.

During meetings with Summit team members a number of items were covered including a projected timeline of events, history of LifeSpire of Virginia, Core Values and Mission, expected closing date of the sale, how and when Summit team members will transition from Centra employment to LifeSpire of Virginia employment, what internal processes and systems will have to change after closing, and a preview of the open enrollment process with LifeSpire of Virginia.

 August 9^th and 10^th, individual 1-1 meetings with Summit team members and members of the LifeSpire of Virginia team occurred. During these meetings the LifeSpire of Virginia team (Jonathan, Lisa and Hannah) reviewed salary compensation specifics and answered questions unique to each team members’ unique circumstances. LifeSpire of Virginia’s goal is to retain as many of The Summit’s team member as possible while taking job history and tenure into consideration.

The next meeting between LifeSpire of Virginia and The Summit’s team members will occur on August 23rd at The Summit. During this meeting Hannah Feely and representatives from LifeSpire of Virginia’s benefits administrator, Scott Insurance, will be going over the LifeSpire of Virginia open enrollment process and help Summit team members begin the benefits enrollment process.

LifeSpire of Virginia’s leadership remains excited to be welcoming The Summit and its employees to the LifeSpire of Virginia family. The Summit’s unique culture and values make it a special community and that will not change after The Summit joins the LifeSpire of Virginia family.

July 26, 2021

Dear Summit Team Members,

On behalf of LifeSpire of Virginia’s Board of Trustees and our leadership team, I want to enthusiastically welcome you to the LifeSpire of Virginia family as we expand our mission of empowering individuals with choices in purposeful living. When we visited The Summit in April, we were very impressed with the compassion and caring that was exhibited by all team members we interacted with.

We’re looking forward to meeting you in person when our team visits The Summit on August 4th and 5th. We have quite a bit of information to share with you about what to expect in the days, weeks and months ahead, including a calendar of events for the process of officially welcoming you as a LifeSpire of Virginia team member.

We hope you’re excited for The Summit team to become a component of the LifeSpire of Virginia team. We take great pride in providing educational and career growth opportunities for team members and are eager to share more about our culture, our core values and what it means to be a member of our team. We know you take great pride in the work you do at The Summit and we are looking forward to learning about the unique culture and values that has made The Summit a success.

Over the next few months, we will be learning from you as we work closely together to ensure a successful integration for both team members and residents. 

Again, we’re thrilled to welcome you and The Summit into the LifeSpire of Virginia family and look forward to seeing you next week. If you have any questions regarding this exciting time in LifeSpire of Virginia’s and The Summit’s history, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Regards,

Jonathan R. Cook

LifeSpire of Virginia President and CEO