Editor’s Note: McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care are profiling the McKnight’s 2023 Women of Distinction honorees daily from July 5 to Aug. 15. For additional McKnight’s Women of Distinction content, visit this page.

In a world where there were no previous rules or regulations around how to operate during a pandemic, Carly Loewus used her strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills to successfully navigate Clement Manor through COVID-19’s ever-changing procedures. 

As campus administrator, she spent countless hours making and changing policies to ensure that the facility’s residents were safe and remained healthy, and she was the last to leave work every evening for well over a year. She also was a leader in rolling out COVID-19 vaccination to the facility’s residents, ensuring that 100% of them received the vaccination the first day it was available. 

Today, Loewus is facing more challenges than ever when it comes to running the campus, and she is always examining ways to tackle the workforce shortage. 

Excellent at pivoting and agile with changes on a daily basis, she often is shifting the scheduling system to provide flexibility for caregivers and has implemented “Coffee with Carly,” creating her own open door policy for suggestions and feedback from staff. 

One of Loewus’ greatest accomplishments has been a staff training program for all new employees, teaching them to understand the world of dementia. She uses a very basic virtual reality experience, where employees have tunnel vision (with goggles); hearing impairments (with headphones); and dexterity problems using their hands for small tasks, such as buttoning and folding clothes (with big gloves), all while being instructed to do five tasks in a row. This training creates compassion and understanding for all of the staff members caring for those in memory care. 

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. PointClickCare is the Diamond sponsor of this year’s program. PharMerica is the Silver sponsor. Additional sponsors include American HealthTech, Healthcare Services Group, Omnicare, Sentrics and ShiftKey.

Visit this web page to see lists of honorees from 2023 and previous years.