Meet Our President
Joy L. Ward, RN, BSN, LNHA, RAC-CT, MBA
President/CEO, Founder
Joy Ward is a challenge driven professional…a business and life strategist, with a proven successful work history in Healthcare Administration, Operations / Management, Consulting, Business Development and Marketing. Diverse administration and nursing background spans over 25 years in acute and skilled care settings-progressed through a series of increasingly responsible positions based on exceptional performance in operations management, process improvement and team leadership. She found her passion in long term care serving the elderly and has held almost every position..and promoted to positions such as Regional Nurse Consultant, Regional Director of Clinical Services for Pathway Health Services for Midwest region, Corporate/Regional Director of Operations, to Sr. Homes Administrator for the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs-Division Head overseeing the veterans homes, independent living and homeless program for the State of Illinois…”the hardest job, she’ll always love.”
Formerly a state and national trainer on topics Restorative/Rehabilitation Nursing, MDS, Medicare and Medicaid Reimbursement, Regulatory and Survey compliance, Survey Preparation, Operations Management, Leadership Training, Quality Assurance and compliance. Recognized published author/creator of “cutting edge” Restorative /Rehab. Certification Course for the State of Illinois and state and national speaker on Long Term Care. She has excellent business acumen and understanding of the business environment, operations, regulatory environment, and proven innovative marketing strategies to promote transformational change management, competitive positioning, “preferred provider status” and financial viability/profitability to preserve her clients’ mission.
She is well known as a “health care turnaround specialist” and subject matter expert (SME) for long term care, skilled nursing facilities, senior care and has served on three Boards for the State of Illinois:
- Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH)-Abuse Prevention Review Team
Appointed Member/Chairman – 2010 to 2015 - Illinois Department of Financial and Profession Regulation (IDFPR)-Nursing Home Administrator’s Licensing and Disciplinary Board
Governor Executive Appointed Member – 2012 to 2017 - Illinois Elder Abuse Fatality Review Team Board (Adult at Risk)
DuPage Co. State’s Attorney office and State of Illinois
Appointed Member – 2011 to 2017
She has been a trusted strategic business strategist and advisor to healthcare industry chief executive officers, owners, executive management, boards of directors, and government agency leaders providing ethical, integrity-driven vision, mission, strategy, quality outcomes and economic viability. Joy uses an art of management style and leadership that values faith in “team” with focus on what matters most-people, systems and equipment-supports implementation of operating systems that enable companies to adapt, evolve and thrive in volatile markets and the ever-changing healthcare environment.
Her mission is to assist/serve client companies to improve quality care outcomes for the elderly, especially our country’s elderly veterans and equip and train as many leaders as possible for success. She promotes workplace culture as a company’s #1 strategy/foundation for organizational success!
Causes Joy cares about:
- Veterans Assistance
- Alzheimer’s Research and Cure
- No More Hunger
Board Memberships/Affiliations:
- Illinois Healthcare Association
- Illinois Nursing Home Administrator’s Association
- American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordinators
- American Healthcare Association
- LeadingAge Illinois