OPEN MINDS Consultants & Advisors

M. Colleen Elmer, M.S.W., M.B.A., LCSW
Executive Vice President and Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Ms. Elmer served in senior management positions within the long-term care industry including Administrator and Director of Assisted Living Services at Messiah Village, Inc. in Pennsylvania. During her tenure as Administrator, the facility was deficiency-free on all inspections and received JCAHO accreditation. Ms. Elmer also created specialties in assisted living, including two levels of dementia care, respite, and hospice and redesigned all nursing care units into home-like neighborhoods. Ms. Elmer is certified as a Retirement Housing Professional at the Fellow level. She also served on a PANPHA subcommittee that helped define Assisted Living in Pennsylvania and recommended changes to the state on Assisted Living regulations.

Ms. Elmer served on faculty of Eastern University in both the Masters of Health Care Administration and MBA programs. She was involved in the re-design of the Health Care Administration program, including writing the curricula for managed care, long-term care/aging, issues in management, and health care informatics courses. She has also been a guest lecturer at Messiah College, Temple University, and Shippensburg University. Ms. Elmer has been a featured speaker for the Pennsylvania Adult Day Care Association, the Pennsylvania Association for Non-Profit Homes for the Aged, the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aged, the National Council for Community Behavioral Health Care and the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers.

Her volunteer work includes serving on the board of directors of a local MR/DD group home, and the Cumberland County drug and alcohol commission. Ms. Elmer obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Messiah College, her Master’s degree in Social Work from Temple University, and her Master’s in Business Administration from Eastern University. She is also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.