Leticia Fermoso Higares

I've been blessed to work in senior living for 13 years, both as a nurse and an operator in the field, which gives me a well-rounded view of this industry. I actually landed in senior living through happenstance when a friend from nursing school wanted me to help her in the community. I had no idea what senior living was - I thought only skilled nursing existed. I was so surprised at how amazing senior living is for our seniors. They were having happy hours, their meals looked amazing, they were going on outings to casinos and wineries and restaurants, and I was like, wow, this is great, I didn't even know this existed. As a nurse, it gave me an opportunity to not only have these really great interactions with residents and their families, but also to help oversee and coordinate their care with their physicians and families. Now, as Regional Vice President of Operations, I oversee the Northern California region with multiple communities. I visit different communities during the week, spending a day or two there to help support, problem solve, and figure out what we can do to enhance the experiences we currently have in place. It's not just about financials and sales - it's about what we're offering our seniors. How do we keep up with technology? How do we incorporate AI? How do we meet the needs of our seniors as the next generation is aging in place? We now have women coming in who influenced a lot and made a lot of impacts in the workplace, versus 10 years ago when we had more homemakers whose focus was their families. So I'm trying to incorporate a little bit of everything when I'm in the community - sharing their stories, supporting staff, supporting leadership teams.