Jacob Berelowitz serves as the Program Director of the Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health in Nursing Facilities (COE-NF). Mr. Berelowitz has 15 years of clinical and administrative leadership experience as a nursing home administrator, director of social work, and social worker.  He has served at nursing homes ranging in size from 700+ beds to 50 beds and has designed and implemented specialized nursing home units and programs to serve behavioral health needs of residents. Dually licensed as a nursing home administrator and master social worker, Mr. Berelowitz holds a master’s degree in social work from New York University and is also a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality and a Certified Case Manager.  

Robin A. Bleier RN, HCRM, LNC, has 40 years of health care experience, 30 of which in long term care. Robin's passion is teaching and training with a focus on risk management as a means to help improve quality and resident outcomes while increasing long term care professional's work satisfaction. Robin worked as a nursing assistant, LPN, RN, DON, regional nurse, CCO, and COO. She now owns and operates RB Health Partners, Inc. (RBHPs) a long term care consultancy firm for the past 20 years. RBHPs employs an interdisciplinary team of subject matter experts and consultants to support long term care providers meet their quality improvement goals. 

Terri Cantrell is Florida's Long Term Care Ombudsman, a role in which she was appointed in May 2022 by Gov. Ron DeSantis. She is originally from Cleveland, OH, where she earned her bachelor’s degree from Cleveland State University. She majored in History and Gerontology and spent the early part of her career working with seniors. She spent ten years working for the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce until moving to Atlanta where she worked for the GA Chamber and American Heart Association. Most recently Terri was with the Alzheimer’s Association where she worked closely with families whose loved ones suffered from the disease.  

Argentina Charles is the Health Care-Associated Infection (HAI) Prevention Program Manager, with the Infectious Disease Prevention and Investigation Section, within the Florida Department of Health. Argentina leads the HAI Prevention Program, working towards reaching programmatic goals of reducing HAI/AR within Florida. Argentina is a subject matter expert in infection control assessment and response efforts, multidrug-resistant organism and HAI-related outbreak and prevention efforts, state-level surveillance, and technical expertise. Argentina completed her Master’s in Public Health in Epidemiology and Health Management at Florida State University. Before FDOH, she served as a health administrator, lead epidemiologist, and performed global health work.

Alina Corral is the Health Care-Associated Infection Prevention Program Coordinator, with the Bureau of Epidemiology within the Florida Department of Health. Alina has worked with the Florida Department of Health for four years focusing on epidemiology, state-level surveillance and infection prevention and control. She completed a master’s degree in public health from Florida State University and has a strong interest in multidrug-resistant organism investigations and educating healthcare workers. 

Sherri Creel serves as the Region 4 Behavioral Specialist for the Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health in Nursing Facilities. She is a licensed mental health counselor with more than 25 years of clinical experience in residential treatment, outpatient settings, and private practice with children and adults.  Previously, she developed and implemented treatment programs for the Florida United Methodist Children’s Home, as well as lead the team on an inpatient unit at University Behavioral Center, providing therapy for teenage girls and their families who have been victims of sexual abuse. She has a B.A. in Sociology and Psychology from the University of Florida, and a M.S. in Mental Health Counseling from Nova Southeastern University and is a certified CPI Verbal Intervention trainer. 

Renee DelMonico is a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator who has worked 30 years in LTC and 22 years as an Administrator in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Florida. With a passion for Reiki and making a difference in the lives of residents, she incorporated a Reiki program which decreased pain in residents, sun downing, as well as assisted COPD residents with energy conservation. Currently she is the Florida State Quality Manager with Alliant Health Solutions, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization where she collaborates with nursing facilities, hospitals, and community coalitions to improve the outcomes of Medicare Beneficiaries.

Taylor Haddock is the Assistant Deputy Secretary of Data Integrity and Applicant Oversight for the Division of Health Care Policy and Oversight with the Agency for Health Care Administration (Agency). She directly oversees the Bureaus of Central Services and Health Facility Regulation. Taylor has been with the Agency for20 years and most recently was responsible for the design and implementation of the national award-winning Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse database used by multiple other state agencies. She has worked with national and state government agencies on background screening initiatives and serves as Chairperson for the National Forum for Background Checks.

Donah Heiberg, MSW, works within the Division of Health Care Policy and Oversight at the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA). Donah has worked with AHCA since 1995. She has held positions within the Agency working with both training, course development, and quality improvement. Donah has served as AHCA's State Training Administrator, Informal Dispute Resolution Coordinator, Complaint Unit Manager and has held management positions in both the Miami and Tallahassee field offices. Donah is a subject matter expert in several survey areas, including nursing homes, intermediate care facilities for the intellectually disabled, end stage renal dialysis, residential treatment centers for children/adolescents and psychiatric residential treatment facilities. 

Melinda Jones is a Registered Nurse who has worked in the healthcare industry for 47 years. She has worked in multiple settings including acute care, home health, quality improvement, long term care and healthcare informatics.  Currently, she is the Florida Quality Advisor with Alliant Health Solutions, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization, where she collaborates with nursing facilities to improve patient safety and improve clinical quality. 

Saher Khan is the Health-Care Associated Infection (HAI) Regional Epidemiologist for Region 1 & 2, with the Infectious Disease Prevention and Investigation Section, within the Florida Department of Health. Saher provides support, guidance, and education to 23 counties across the panhandle, spanning from Escambia to Columbia County. Saher conducts on-site infection control assessments, outbreak investigations and stays updated with current policies and guidelines to maintain her resourcefulness. Saher was a practicing dentist in Middle East and arrived in the United States in 2021 to complete her Masters in Public Health at the Florida State University. She is currently pursuing a second Master’s in Data Science from the University of Cumberland’s as she is passionate about working with data. She is a Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) subject matter expert. In her previous roles she has supported with surveillance and case investigation of sexually transmitted disease, COVID-19 and individuals with mental health and substance use disorders.

Jen Lawrence has devoted an almost thirty-year career to serving our geriatric population from her beginnings as a high school volunteer, then as a Certified Nursing Assistant, then as a Licensed Practical Nurse, to a Master, prepared Registered Nurse, and also as a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator. Jen holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing as well as a dual Master’s Degree in Business Administration and in Nursing. Jen’s experience spans all the geriatric continuums of care with positions including Risk Manager, Director of Nursing, Regional Nurse, Nursing Home Administrator, Assisted Living Administrator, Regional Director of Operations, VP of Clinical Services, and Chief Nursing Officer. She has extensive experience in Florida as well as multiple other states. She is focused on positive patient experiences and outcomes citing a strong compassionate team as the foundation for success. Jen is an active member/presenter with the Florida Health Care Association serving as the Vice-Chair for the Senior Clinician’s Committee as well as an item writer for the NAB exams.

Karen Lerner is an RN, wound care, long term care & rehab specialist with > 40 years’ experience. She has extensive experience as a public speaker, educating clinicians & the post-acute community on a variety of topics. She began her career as a Critical Care Clinical Specialist in major teaching hospitals from Florida to NJ.  And since 2013, Karen has worked as the Clinical VP for Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare.

Mary Maloney is a Registered and Florida Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist who works for the Agency for Health Care Administration, Division of Health Care Policy and Oversight as a Government Analyst II. She has been employed with the Agency for over 35 years. Mary is based out of the Clearwater office, but travels the state of Florida, conducting surveyor training, quality improvement activities, and health facility surveys. Her expertise is nursing home regulation, as well as hospitals, assisted living facilities, and intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Mary has been a long term care surveyor trainer for CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) nationally and is a Florida long term care survey process trainer. Mary has been involved in state nursing home rule revisions.  She has held numerous leadership and board positions with district and state nutrition and dietetic associations. She has also given many presentations to a variety of professional organizations and co-authored professional journal articles and textbooks.

Kim Smoak has been with the Agency for Health Care Administration since August 1995. She is the Deputy Secretary of the Division of Health Quality Assurance. The Division licenses and/or certifies and regulates 40 different providers, including, hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and home health agencies. Ms. Smoak is also the State Survey Agency Director for the State of Florida. She holds a Master of Science in Health with the program emphasis in Aging Studies and is also a Qualified Intellectual Disability Professional (QIDP). In 2009 and 2017, she received Survey & Certification Achievement Awards, presented by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for her work in Survey and Certification.

Anne Sosiak has worked at the Agency for Health Care Administration for 13 years, starting as a nurse surveyor based in the Delray Beach office. She has survey experience in Assisted Living and Long-Term Care facilities as well as Ambulatory Surgery Centers and Transplant Hospitals. Currently, Anne is a Registered Nurse Consultant with the Survey and Certification Support Branch, Bureau of Field Operations and her responsibilities include quality assurance, surveyor training and surveying for unlicensed Assisted Living activity.