Q: What will be your role at the American Health Care Association?

A: Doing everything I can to create resources and support members to drive measureable quality improvement. It all has to fit within the context of person-centered care.

Q: What do you mean?

A: I believe that's how we achieve the goals we have in this country: meeting the needs of the person, helping them advance so they can meet their goals and creating an environment where they can lead rich and fulfilling lives. That gets us to everything else.

Q: What does person-centered care involve?

A: Putting caregiver-resident relationships first because everything else flows from that. If someone doesn't know who I am, they can't personalize my care. When we rotate [caregivers] around and don't give them the chance to create close relationships, that really hampers things.

Q: Why the personal touch?

A: Individualized care makes all the difference to people. If I were living in a nursing home, even for a short stay, it would make a difference to me. It would be a key to my making progress, improving my health and improving my independence.