Anthem Lakes Adds Core Staff Members
Anthem Lakes, Atlantic Beach’s newest full-service senior living community, has appointed key staff members as it makes progress to its opening in the spring. Diane Strella has been named health and wellness director, Chef Veronica Majors has been named chef and chief of culinary and nutrition and Melinda “Mindy” Long will serve as memory care specialist.
As part of the core leadership team at Anthem Lakes, Ms. Strella will work to create an innovative approach to care and lifestyle while creating a unique choice for seniors of all activity levels. She will provide guidance and structure to the creative and proactive health and wellness programs at Anthem Lakes to enhance our seniors’ lives.
Diane has more than 20 years of healthcare, nursing and senior living experience in Northeast Florida. She has worked as rehabilitation and staff nurse at various local healthcare centers including most recently as the director of health services at Beach House and previously the director of assisted living at Cypress Village. She has also worked in various positions with Avante of Jacksonville Beach and Northeast Florida Community Hospice. She is a registered nurse and registered respiratory therapist in the State of Florida and is licensed in assisted living administration. She is a graduate of Cambridge Medical Institute and Florida State College of Jacksonville. She earned a degree in respiratory therapy from Flagler College.
Chef Veronica Majors is responsible for designing our custom nutrition plans and menus for all levels of dining at the community. “Country Club” dining offers meal time options and seasonally-inspired menus.
Chef Veronica is one of the only certified executive chefs guiding the nutrition program of a senior living community in Northeast Florida. Most recently, Veronica served as executive chef at The University Club, a private social and dining organization owned by Club Corp. Prior to The University Club, she held various management and executive chef positions with Impact Church, the World Golf Village Renaissance Resort in St. Augustine as well as Callaway Gardens & Resort in Pine Mountain, Georgia. Veronica has been recognized with the American Culinary Federation’s President’s Medal of Professionalism.
Chef Veronica holds a food service management certificate from the American Culinary Federation and is a master food and nutrition educator, as certified by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Science. She earned a certificate of art from Johnson and Wales Culinary School in Garde Manger and has earned additional certifications for service, sanitation and culinary skill from various institutions across the nation. While at The University Club Chef Veronica was named one of the company’s Top 10 executive chefs nationwide.
As a licensed nurse, Mindy Long is responsible for providing innovative daily memory care and therapy to our Creekside Memory Care residents. Mindy has more than 25 years of experience in nursing and was most recently the director of memory care at the Alzheimer’s unit of Atria Senior Living in Jacksonville. She also has worked the past two years as a hospice nurse for Heartland Hospice. Prior to Atria, she held nursing and rehabilitation positions at Cypress Village and Avante. She has also worked as a home healthcare nurse in North Florida and her native Ohio. Mindy earned a BS in nursing at The Ohio State University.
Anthem Lakes in Atlantic Beach, part of the Jacksonville Florida metro area, is a full-service, multi-tier, active senior living community. Newly constructed and opened in Spring 2017, Anthem Lakes offers 91 senior retirement units for independent living and assisted living and 28 units for those with memory care needs. The community sits on 14 acres with a lake and campus for outdoor activities and enjoyment and is near Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park. Anthem Lakes is the first location of a local and national partnership that seeks to provide unique options for senior living and state-of- the-art memory care. For more information, call 904-583- 5399 or visit the on-site leasing office at 905 Assisi Lane, Atlantic Beach, Florida 32233.
