Doctor and senior woman wearing facemasks during coronavirus and flu outbreak. Virus protection. COVID-2019..

Leaders of the American Health Care Association were looking to engage a fence mender and a renovator when they officially named Bruce Yarwood their new president and CEO in late November.

Yarwood has taken the helm of the nation’s largest nursing home association at a critical junction in its history.
Beyond having to deal with the usual regulatory and governmental pressures, Yarwood also finds himself having to smooth ruffled relations between the association and some of its largest members. Shortly before he was named interim president and CEO late last year, it was feared up to 15 of them were announcing their secession.
A familiar figure on Capitol Hill, Yarwood also has already been plying his relationship building skills in order to link with other healthcare players.
“I want to reach out and forge partnerships with doctors, hospitals and consumers,” he said. “We have many potential partners, whether it be AARP, SEIU, AAHSA or CMS. I want to make sure organized labor’s goals and ours are the same. When I sit down with [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator] Mark McClellan, we’ll have a constructive dialogue.”
For more, see Yarwood Profile in this issue.