Promotions-a-Plenty

Growth as an organization leads to promotions for top performing employees.

Our company has experienced tremendous growth in 2023 leading to many promotions within our team. We are proud to recognize the hard work and dedication of the following members of our team who have received promotions:

In 2021, Creative Solutions adjusted its existing Operations Areas to be grouped into East and West Divisions. Now Human Resources, Clinical Compliance, Quality, and Clinical Reimbursement have also been restructured into Eats & West Divisions. This presents the unique opportunity to level-up many facility & regional team members.

About each team member, by department.

Operations:
Area Director of Operations, Tiffany Kunz

We are thrilled to share that Tiffany Warner, LNFA has been promoted to Area Director of Operations for the newly created Area 11!

Tiffany has spent her entire career with Creative Solutions in Healthcare. After completing her Communications Studies degree from Howard Payne University, she began as the Administrator Assistant at Granbury Care Center. She then served as GCC’s marketing / admissions coordinator while she completed her Administrator in Training (AIT) program with Midland College. She became acting Administrator at Cherokee Rose in Glen Rose, TX where she received her license on 3/10/2015.

In 2017, Tiffany moved back to Granbury Care Center, Creative Solutions in Healthcare’s very first facility, and has been the administrator there for more than 5 years! During her tenure, she has achieved many outstanding accomplishments including: successfully hiring and helping develop 17 Creative Solutions employees (most of whom are now in corporate positions within the company), establishing the facility QIPP program, and consistently meeting quality metrics, reaching a record census level (146 in the midst of the pandemic), and has exceeded company financial goals expectations in net income for 3 consecutive years.

She has now successfully mentored 5 AITs, who are also top performers in our company!

Director of Physical Plant Operations, Ruben Barraza.

In this new role, Ruben will work with facility and area maintenance teams to ensure that buildings are compliant with all life safety codes, prepared for emergencies, and in stable condition. He will also direct major renovation projects and coordinate with outside vendors to ensure projects are completed on time and on budget.

Ruben has a variety of Life Safety certifications with the State of Texas and has completed several OSHA certifications. His impressive journey in long-term care began 6 years ago as a temporary worker assisting with medical records. He has since worked in a variety of roles including receptionist, housekeeping/laundry supervisor, central supply, and dual role: Maintenance/Housekeeping Supervisor.

In each new position, Ruben’s success was quickly promoted. His work ethic and eagerness to learn, combined with his efficient systems, cost reducing processes, and innovation led him to the area maintenance position. Here, he covered his own facility, St. Giles in El Paso, and assisted 26 other buildings.

He personally created an audit checklist, and several other tools, that ensured all aspects of maintenance departments are current and in compliance with state and federal guidelines. His effectiveness was proven through deficiency free Life Safety surveys in multiple buildings and areas. Consistent above average scores for White Glove, Environmental Rounds, and facility spot-check visits with Gary Blake.

When Ruben was asked how he felt about the promotion, he shared:

“I feel humbled and grateful for the Opportunity to showcase my skill set at a different level. I love making a difference at each facility; from helping a resident program a TV, fulfill a family member’s request or ensuring the environment is safe for our residents and staff. I am excited to be a resource for the facility maintenance directors and excited to establish new systems to create a positive, effective and safe environment at all our nursing homes”.

Clinical Compliance
Director of Clinical Services for East Division, Tim Brown.

Gary & Malisa Blake, Chuck Moody, and Auston Clanton are proud to announce the promotion of Tim Brown to the newly created position of East Divisional Director of Clinical Services.

Tim joined Creative Solutions two years ago as a regional Clinical Compliance Nurse . His career in nursing began in 2000, when he received his Associates Degree in nursing and a wound care certification after. Ten years ago, Tim felt called to Long-Term Care, saying he “realized this population needed quality care at this stage in their lives.”

Throughout his career, Tim’s passion for providing quality care helped him to grow into higher levels of leadership, becoming an ADON, then a DON, and eventually overseeing facilities at a regional level- which he has done for the last 5 years.

Humbly, Tim shared some career highlights saying they include, “being a part of great clinical outcomes on a facility level and as a Regional. This includes being a part of four deficiency free surveys and helping my facility as a DON improve to a 5-star.”

Tim continued saying, “what makes me most proud is teaching and mentoring facility staff on every level and seeing our residents benefit from the great quality of care they provide,”

Currently, Tim oversees clinical compliance across 7 facilities. With this promotion, Tim will cover the entire eastern division, 85 communities and growing.

Chuck Moody, our Senior Vice President of Clinical Services explained what made Tim a perfect fit for the new role saying, “his years of experience and the success of his facilities since coming to Creative Solutions.

Not only does he identify a problem, he has a solution. He is willing to assist whenever needed. level headed, calm, collective. He has the respect of the facility staff, peers, and others of the corporate office.”

Tim said he is, “really excited about this opportunity to learn, grow, and help Creative Solutions continue to do great things.”

Outside of work, Tim enjoys spending time with family, working out at the gym, and watching sports. His favorite quote is: “There is no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs.”

Quality:
Quality Improvement Coordinator- Ann Goodall

Gary Blake, and Lisa Ridley are delighted to share the promotion of Ann Goodall to Quality Improvement Coordinator. In her new role as Quality Improvement Coordinator, Ann will work with Lisa Ridley, VP of Quality, and Eureka Hoppe, Director of Quality, to assist with initiatives to improve facility quality measures.

Ann started with Creative Solutions in 2013 as an ADON at Devine Health and Rehab, after years of hard work and dedication was promoted to DON of the facility.

In early 2020, Ann was asked to assist with nursing training. After much success, she transitioned to become an interim DON. Throughout this time, she traveled to facilities with open DON positions- stepping in as a leader to their nursing teams. During that same time period traveled to facilities experiencing COVID outbreaks to provide infection prevention training and support. Ann’s commitment to excellence earned her another promotion and led her to become a regional Clinical Compliance Nurse

Ann shared:

“I have learned so much during my time as a Compliance Nurse and am so grateful to have been led by such an amazing team. I have had the great pleasure of bringing on many of the newly acquired facilities and showing them what an amazing company we work for and that our systems truly do work if implemented. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family, traveling, cooking, canning and gardening”.

Human Resources:
Gary Blake and Jennifer Soccio are thrilled to announce the promotions of Rosemary Truett and Savannah Hayes as the new Divisional Directors of Human Resources.

In these new roles, Rosemary & Savannah will lead the HR specialists team, providing direction and resources to improve employee satisfaction and effectiveness.

Jennifer Soccio, VP of Human Resources & Risk Management, shared her congratulations, “I cannot express how proud I am of both of these ladies, their dedication to always do the right thing for the best outcomes has always impressed me. I cannot imagine better leadership for Human Resources, and look forward to watching their strength of character grow and flourish as they reach past their goals to be the Gold Standard of People Management.”

Divisional Director of Human Resources for East, Rosemary Truett

Rosemary began her career in Human Resources 25 years ago in the manufacturing industry. In 2007, she brought her talents to Creative Solutions and has been an excellent employee ever since.

When asked what she’s most proud of, Rosemary shared: “I am proud of my continued growth with Creative Solutions in Healthcare. I began in the office 13 years ago as an HR Clerk, quickly moving to a Regional HR Specialist within the first year and within 2 years was given the Lead HR Specialist.”

Rosemary is a proud volunteer in her church’s outreach program, and most enjoys blessing families in need.

As lead HR Specialist, Rosemary oversees both facility coordinators and other specialists. In this new role, she will cover all of the East division, 81 buildings and growing.

Divisional Director of Human Resources for West Divisions, Savannah Hayes

Savannah’s inspiring journey began when she started as a dietary aide at Mountain View Health & Rehab in 2008. Soon after, her people skills advanced her to receptionist and then to HR coordinator. Creative Solutions acquired Mountain View and after six years as a coordinator, Savannah was promoted to HR Specialist.

She shared some of her impressive outcomes: “the area that I have covered for the last three years has passed annual surveys in HR with no deficiencies. Our employees and driven team members make it all worth it.”

When asked how she felt about this promotion Savannah said, “I am excited for this new opportunity and grateful. With the growth of Creative I am proud to be part of it and eager to work with everyone to help serve our residents and appreciate our wonderful employees who make it all possible. With the guidance of Jennifer and Rosemary I know we will do great things in the year to come”.

Currently, Savannah covers 11 buildings ranging from El Paso to Fort Worth. With this promotion, she will lead human resources for the entire West Division.

Clinical Reimbursement:
Gary Blake, Kelly Roberts, and Holly Cook are proud to announce the promotions of Randal Hunziker and Christy Ladd as the new Assistant Directors of Clinical Reimbursement for the East and West Division

Randal and Christy will be instrumental in ensuring the Department’s mission to provide Accurate Clinical Revenue, MDS Compliance/Accuracy and transparent communication. They are both knowledgeable of the 5 Star QM and QIPP programs and consistently helped improve the standings in both programs.

Kelly Roberts, VP of Clinical Reimbursement & Ancillary Services, shared her congratulations:

“It’s my honor to work with Randal and Christy over these years. The word “INTEGRITY” comes to mind as I reflect on their years of service in the Clinical Reimbursement MDS field. With analytical minds, they will be able to take us into the next Phase of our industry as the amount of SNF Data can be overwhelming. They are both capable of taking a large amount of information and compress into small bites so it’s easy to understand. I’m so excited to expand their roles for Creative MDS Department to continue being successful while continuing to grow”.

Holly Cook, Director of Clinical Reimbursement, shared her congratulations:

“I am so proud of both Randal and Christy. They have both worked very hard in their regional roles, always going above and beyond to do whatever is necessary to ensure the best care and services are provided for our residents while also providing any support needed for the facility staff. Through challenging times their resilience, positive attitude and leadership abilities grew, making this promotion well deserved and no surprise to me. I am blessed to work with these two amazing people and can’t wait to see the great things they accomplish.”

Assistant Director of Clinical Reimbursement for East, Randal Hunziker

Randal has been with Creative Solutions since 2014 and left his mark on the MDS department from day one. He’s an extremely hard worker with incredible results, not only for his facilities, but also his teammates that reach out to him quite often for help. He left briefly to pursue a Corporate Position to further his career while waiting for an open position with Creative. Our growth opened an opportunity and Holly Cook quickly called him back to where he belongs, with Creative Solutions in Healthcare. It’s our pleasure to work with Randal.

The East Division can expect prompt, accurate, and thoughtful approaches as he works with the Regional Teams to ensure the MDS Department follows the Recipe and continues to have amazing outcomes.  He has a strong base of knowledge for Quality Measures and will assist with improving the CMS 5 Star Rating and Texas QIPP program.

A message from Randal: “I am honored and excited for this opportunity to grow and continue my journey with this amazing company.  I am eager to utilize this new role to work with our amazing teams for the best outcomes possible for our residents, facilities, and Creative Solutions.”

Assistant Director of Clinical Reimbursement for West, Christy Ladd

Christy Ladd has successfully been with Creative Solutions since 2010. She has shown true leadership skills and the ability to make things happen while always doing the right thing. She was promoted to the MDS Case Manager position, to Senior MDS Case Manager and finally to the Regional Reimbursement Nurse. She is always willing to help in any way possible and is truly an asset to Creative. The West Division can expect a partner in Christy to actively work on plans to attain MDS Compliance and Reimbursement Integrity Compliance as the facility captures the appropriate care and services for Clinical Reimbursement.  The 5 Star QM Rating will show improvements under her leadership as well as meeting the Goal of meeting 4 QIPP Quality Measures consistently.

A message from Christy: “I am excited and honored to have the privilege of furthering my knowledge in our world of LTC. 13 years ago, when I started at Georgia Manor, I never dreamt I would have the opportunity to be where I am today. I love the Team and Residents like family! I can’t wait to see what the future holds for our amazing company, and completely stoked to build and support our department under the best leader, Kelly Roberts!”