Editor’s Note: McKnight’s Long-Term Care News and McKnight’s Senior Living are profiling the McKnight’s 2021 Women of Distinction honorees daily July 6 through Aug. 9. To see the 2021 McKnight’s 2021 Women of Distinction awards ceremony, register for free  here. For additional profiles of McKnight’s Women of Distinction, visit  this page.

Kendra King-Smith only began her career in the long-term care industry in 2014, but she has made a significant impact within each of her roles since that time.

Kendra King-Smith

After earning her administrator license, King-Smith worked her way up to the position of an administrator in the industry, joining the Duncanville Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Duncanville, TX, as executive director, a position she still holds today.

In the past six years, colleagues say, she has made sweeping, positive changes at the facility, working closely with an advisory committee to ensure that she understood the needs of residents and any improvements that could be made.

In 2017, she received the Texas Health Care Association’s Administrator of the Year award and in 2019 was named by the association the “Most Supportive Administrator of the Year.” 

King-Smith has spearheaded many programs for residents aimed at improving their quality of life and engagement. One such effort was “A Quarter to Remember,” a program where the facility invites the families of residents who have passed away in the past three months to participate in a memorial service.

“Kendra ensures we see the overall picture of what enrichment means to our residents,” says Starca Allen, business office manager at Duncanville. 

Devoted to her profession, King-Smith is pursuing a doctorate degree in healthcare administration to advance her knowledge of leadership. 
She also is a member of the Long-Term-Care Advisory Committee at Tarrant County College, where she helps prepare administrators-in-training, as well as new administrators, in their professional transitions to careers in long-term care.

The McKnight’s Women of Distinction program is jointly administered by McKnight’s Long Term Care News and McKnight’s Senior Living. The program’s Diamond sponsor is PointClickCare, and the Roundtable Sponsor is Paycor.