Editor’s Note: McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care are profiling the McKnight’s 2022 Women of Distinction honorees daily July 5 through Aug. 10. For additional McKnight’s Women of Distinction content, visit this page.
Jamie Merrill has consistently proven her professional skills through various roles and responsibilities, exhibiting passion and strong strategic leadership, colleagues say.
The regional vice president of operations at Brookdale Senior Living in Florida when she was nominated and selected as a McKnight’s Women of Distinction Rising Star honoree, Merrill recently assumed the role of chief operating officer at Orlando, FL-based Sonata Senior Living.
With more than 15 years of experience in senior living, she has taken on roles ranging from operations to business development. Starting as an assistant director of an independent living community in 2006, she then moved on to become a skilled nursing administrator and then regional marketing manager, improving occupancy and executing on growth-focused plans and initiatives.
Merrill joined Brookdale in 2010 as a regional director and then rose to an executive director role of a continuing care retirement community that served more than 600 residents.
In January 2015, she was promoted one last time before taking on the regional vice president role, where she led Brookdale’s operations for the entire state of Florida, with 72 community teams under her leadership.
During her time as regional vice president, Merrill improved district leader retention by developing onboarding and succession plans focused on sustainable objectives and growth opportunities for leaders. This system was hailed and rolled out as a company-wide best practice.
She also reduced operating costs by 5%, showing improvement to bottom-line results while increasing move-in rates. Those plans also were recognized as a best practice and adapted into a company-wide training.
Merrill was a key force in driving team support as the hurricane and crisis coordinator, leading through preparations, storm management and recovery efforts.
She also has served on several boards, including for the Florida Senior Living Association, the University of Central Florida and the UF Health Leesburg Hospital.
By using the operational, financial and development expertise she has acquired over the years, Merrill has been able to drive high-volume revenues while consistently being able to turn customer, employee and market opportunities into actionable objectives.
Brookdale colleagues said that her drive and dedication greatly improved the company’s market share through sustainable growth across the organization.
The McKnight’s Women of Distinction program is jointly administered by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care. The program’s Diamond sponsor is PointClickCare. Silver sponsors include OnShift and PharMerica, and the Bronze sponsor is Reliant Rehabilitation. Table sponsors included Dreamscape, Gojo/Purell and Sound Physicians.
