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. 6. 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.

Melissa Powell, chief operating officer of the Allure Group, has impressed many with the way she runs New York City’s largest for-profit nursing home chain, which has six facilities and approximately 1,400 residents.

Melissa Powell

In her time at Allure, Powell has completely transformed multiple nonprofit skilled nursing centers into fully functioning for-profit Allure systems. During the switches, Powell oversaw the day-to-day operations of each facility and ensured that everything ran smoothly. 

In 2018, she was named one of Brooklyn, NY’s “Power Women” by Schneps Media. That same year, Allure centers Harlem, Hamilton Park and Crown Heights also won Eli Pick Facility Leadership Awards from the American College of Health Care Administrators for their high-quality care and dedication to the improvement of long-term care.

As a result of Powell’s efforts, drive and passion for excellence in long-term care services, The Allure Group has seen its quality measures grade out to 4.8, on a 5 point scale.

Even before the pandemic started, she reorganized systems to ensure that each of the facilities was meeting safety standards. She also made significant technology changes at the facilities, which dramatically improved resident quality of life, according to colleagues. One move brought in contact-free sensors so that staff members had the ability to track the vital signs and movements of residents. She also advocated bringing in digital tablets to the bedside of around 1,400 residents which enabled them to keep in touch with family and loved ones.

Colleagues also say that Powell visits each facility regularly and is very interested in the lives of residents and the everyday concerns of staff members. Sensitive to the fact that the facilities are home to a diverse population, she has advocated employing bilingual staff and providing culturally specific services and cuisines to meet residents’ varying needs.

Outside of Allure, Powell likes to write about various long-term care topics for professional publications.

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.