Continuing Life | Retirement Community Management

Our Team

Warren Spieker
Managing Partner

Warren Spieker joined Continuing Life in 2001 and provides general management oversight for the company's operations. Mr. Spieker led the successful pre-marketing and initial occupancy efforts at University Village and now advises the marketing programs at both stabilized and start-up Continuing Life® communities. Prior to joining CL, Mr. Spieker worked with the investment bank Alex. Brown and Sons.

Mr. Spieker received a Masters degree in Business Administration from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

David Gallagher
Director of Operations

David Gallagher joined Continuing Life in 2016. He provides operations support and other business services to all of the continuing care retirement communities and health centers.

Prior to joining the team, David spent fourteen years with Erickson Living, a national operation/developer of large, full-scale continuing care retirement communities. His responsibilities included the planning, start-up, and ongoing operations as Executive Director of two new communities; transition planning and implementation for acquisitions; and turnaround operations for an existing community. David also worked for a national provider of post-acute care services in both their skilled nursing center operations and as corporate legal counsel. In addition, he has worked as a law clerk for a federal judge and as an associate at a Washington, D.C., law firm. He received both a J.D. and a B.A. from the University of Virginia.

Erica Iwaskiewicz
Director of Finance

Erica Iwaskiewicz joined the Continuing Life team in 2018 as the Director of Financial Services. She is responsible for the financial and accounting operations of Continuing Life and leads the team that provides financial services to clients that specialize in operating senior housing communities.. Erica is a Certified Public Accountant with over 20 years of experience in both public accounting and private industry. Erica brings a diverse range of experience having started her financial career at Arthur Andersen, LLP in San Diego where she spent four years working with a variety of clients. She left to join a national facility support company client team where she spent the next four years as a Financial and Contract Compliance Analyst. Just prior to joining our team she spent 13 years at one of the largest privately held accounts receivable management companies as the Vice President of Accounting and Risk Management. In addition to a CPA, Mrs. Iwaszkiewicz holds an MBA from the University of Redlands and is a certified CCCO (Credit and Collection Compliance Officer).

Clint Marsh
Director of Marketing & Technology Innovation

Clint Marsh joined the Continuing Life team in 2016 and provides operational support to marketing and information technology teams. As the Director of Marketing & Technology Innovation he provides leadership, oversight, and project management on various initiatives. He supports the planning and development of residential living marketing efforts at multiple Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs). In addition, he is responsible for assessing the evolving technological needs of a business and then coordinates with management to implement strategies to meet those ever-changing needs.

Mr. Marsh graduated from the University of California in San Diego with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Cognitive Science. He studied International Politics at New College, Oxford (United Kingdom) and also spent time at ITESO - Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara studying the Spanish language and Latin American politics.

Kavin Ward
Director of Capital Projects

Kavin joined Continuing Life in 2018 as the Director of Capital Projects. He collaborates with local Plant Operation teams and supports the strategic planning and execution of new capital projects. In addition, he provides support on new systems and design with the development team on new construction. Kavin joined the La Costa Glen team in 2002 as the Plant Operations Director where he managed all community maintenance. He also supported Continuing Life in 2006 as Assistant Project Manager to support a multiphase the expansion of La Costa Glen. Prior to joining La Costa Glen, Kavin worked in the Retirement Industry around San Diego County for 10 years. Kavin has also served as an electrician in the US Navy for 10 years, his duty stations included - Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle, Nuclear Power Submarines, Company Commander Naval Training Center and construction of the USS Springfield at Electric Boat. He graduated from San Diego State with a degree in Telecommunication.

Susan Ten-Kate
Clinical Coach

Susan Ten-Kate joined Continuing Life in April of 2018 as the Clinical Coach for the Health and Wellness Centers. Susan has been a Registered Nurse since 1985, graduating from Pomeroy College of Nursing in Syracuse New York. She worked as a hospital nurse in varying capacities; Susan has worked in medical-surgical nursing, emergency room nursing and psychiatric nursing. She entered Long Term Care nursing in 2006 as a Unit Manager of a Transitional Care Unit in Vermont. She became an Assistant Director of Nursing and then in 2009 became a Director of Nursing first in New Hampshire and then in Virginia. Susan moved to California in August of 2017 as a Director of Nursing before transitioning to the Clinical Coach.

Darolyn Jorgensen-Kares
Chief Operating Officer

Darolyn Jorgensen-Kares started working with the Continuing Life team in 2001 as the start-up Executive Director for La Costa Glen Carlsbad. Ms. Jorgensen-Kares provides operations support to all CCRCs and health centers.

Prior to joining the team, Ms. Jorgensen-Kares spent over 10 years with Life Care Services, one of the largest managers of retirement communities in the United States where she served roles of Administrator, Executive Director, and regional manager. Prior to her work with Life Care Services, she served as Director of Operations for Johns Hopkins Geriatrics Center. Her broad health care industry exposure includes work with organizations such as the National Committee for Preserving Social Security and Medicare, the Committee on Labor and Human Resources-Health Policy Office, the Healthcare Financial Management Association, and the Setting Priorities for Retirement Foundation. She is currently a member of the Scripps Community Advisory Board.

Ms. Jorgensen-Kares received a Masters degree in Health Services Administration from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, San Diego. She is a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator and has her Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFE) license from the State of California.

Lori Elfus
Director of Human Resources

Lori Elfus joined Continuing Life in 2015 as the Director of Human Resources. She is responsible for the Human Resources and Talent Acquisition function for Continuing Life and leads the team that provides HR services and programs to our clients.

Lori has over 25 years of Human Resources experience. She started her Human Resources career with Arthur Andersen and also held HR and Talent Acquisition leadership roles with professional services firms including Cambridge Technology Partners and Altran. Lori holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from American University, Washington, D.C.

Eduardo Gonzalez
Director of Performance Improvement

Eduardo joined Continuing Life in 2015 as the Director of Performance Improvement. He has 20+ years in long term care, having worked as a Nursing Home Administrator, Assisted Living Administrator, Regional VP, CEO, Owner/Operator, and consultant. This extensive experience allows him to provide direct, hands-on support to the community management teams in areas ranging from nursing home administration to home care. Mr. Gonzalez holds licenses as a Preceptor, Residential Care Facility and Nursing Home Administrator in the State of California.

He offers webinars and seminars about current issues in long term care operations and has authored three operational manuals on corporate compliance for skilled nursing facilities, corporate compliance for residential care facilities, and HIPAA. He has also been published as a guest columnist in both Long Term Care Living Magazine and McKnight's Magazine.

Jeff Chambers
Director of IT

Jeff Chambers joined Continuing Life in 2016 as the Director of Information Technology. He is responsible for all aspects of IT infrastructure and services provided to the Continuing Life communities. Mr. Chambers leads a service oriented team that delivers the right technology solutions to meet the needs of our communities and clients.

Mr. Chambers brings expertise in infrastructure design, corporate applications and services, networking technologies, and process improvement from organizations that vary from startup to Fortune 500. He has worked with nationally recognized companies in the hospitality sector, medical device manufacturing industry, and ecommerce space. Mr. Chambers' career highlights his passion for integrating people and technology while creating an approachable, service driven department.

Glenn Thomas
Director of Safety and Risk Management

Glenn Thomas joined the Continuing Life team in 2018 as the Director of Safety and Risk Management. His role provides operations support to Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) and Health Centers focusing in the areas of Risk Management, Workers Compensation, Fire & Life Safety Compliance, OSHA Compliance, Physical Safety/Security and Life Safety Systems.

Prior to joining the team, Glenn spent over 10 years in public service with multiple municipal fire departments and private ambulance companies. He held roles ranging from Emergency Medical Technician to Firefighter. During his tenure in the public sector, he worked with various special projects focusing on Public Access Defibrillation, Disaster Management and Pre-Hospital Emergency Response. Glenn also served as Regional Faculty for the Western States of the American Heart Association.

Glenn graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Safety. Glenn also holds the designation of Associate In Risk Management (ARM).

Warren Spieker
Managing Partner

Darolyn Jorgensen-Kares
Chief Operating Officer

David Gallagher
Director of Operations

Lori Elfus
Director of Human Resources

Erica Iwaskiewicz
Director of Finance

Eduardo Gonzalez
Director of Performance Improvement

Clint Marsh
Director of Marketing & Technology Innovation

Jeff Chambers
Director of IT

Kavin Ward
Director of Capital Projects

Glenn Thomas
Director of Safety and Risk Management

Susan Ten-Kate
Clinical Coach

Services

Continuing Life (CL) provides business services and support to only the finest, financially solid retirement communities. From marketing a start-up community to operating a stabilized community, we can help. As experts who have managed communities ourselves, we understand the challenges and regulatory hurdles of running a large, operating business. Our expertise can assist you in making sound decisions to meet the needs of your residents.

For stand-alone communities, Continuing Life may also help you streamline your current operations by offering centralized processing services at a more affordable cost than staffing and providing those services on your own.

General Operations Oversight

Opening a new retirement community and managing it successfully is a challenging and complex business that requires the right balance of skills and experience. Continuing Life has both. We provide oversight and support to the community Operation's teams on behalf of ownership, while ensuring that the owners' strategies and initiatives are aligned with and incorporated into the day to day operations of each Community.

Achieving the desired operational outcomes requires diligence and experience to navigate the ever changing regulatory environment. Continuing Life will provide the support to Operations Management teams to achieve high resident satisfaction with a strong focus on risk management, regulatory compliance and financial performance.

Marketing Consultation

Continuing Life provides supervision and direction of Marketing and Sales teams. With years of experience in both up and down cycles, Continuing Life provides expertise and guidance to get and keep communities at high occupancy.

A successful marketing operation will result in high occupancy and a solid waitlist, which benefits everyone. High occupancy means monthly fees are lower for residents and generates a higher return for the owners. It is the ultimate "win-win."

Good marketing requires more than just money. It requires experience, strategy, scale, and scope. Continuing Life has extensive experience executing well-defined marketing plans including direct mail, advertising, digital media (including social media), PR, and sales. Our extensive reporting and focus on data-driven results will help you leverage your marketing dollars for effective results and high occupancy.

By combining decades of experience with a proven strategy, Continuing Life can provide the guidance to help your marketing team meet your goals.

Home Care Management

Continuing Life can help you introduce a new Home Care program or improve the one you have. We will help guide your team to provide great Non-Medical Home Care by utilizing the best methods of providing care, current technology, and care management. Key areas of focus include:

Role modeling service; Providing ongoing staff training; Striving for excellence with the resident as priority
Utilizing technology for Assessments, Care Plans, scheduling, monitoring of employees, and communicating with families, physicians and other providers
Partnering with the internal and external community and families to facilitate the care needs of the residents and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the services we provide
Promoting safety and injury prevention and participating in activities to educate our residents
Continuous quality improvement in the services we deliver

System Services/IT

Continuing Life's IT team and included services address a wide range of technology based issues and projects such as network security, disaster recovery planning (DRP), business continuity planning (BCP), technology compliance issues, technology recommendations, communications and carrier services, video conferencing and phone systems.

What We Do

Manage and monitor desktops, servers and networks
Install, manage, and update virus, spam and spyware/malware protection software
Install and manage software updates and patches
Install and manage firewalls
Maintain phone system (ShoreTel and Mitel)
Install and manage Microsoft Exchange Server, your email, and provide access to email almost anywhere from almost any device
Email archiving and encryption
Back up servers and disaster recovery
Keep mission critical applications running reliably and smoothly
Decrease exposure to HIPAA violations
Provide secure BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) solutions though wire/wireless technologies
Maintain network design documentation
Manage IT policy and procedure

Accounting/Processing Services

Continuing Life's Accounting and Processing team provides a wide range of technical accounting and financial services. Our goal is to offer our clients services at a quality and timeliness that meet their needs and at the same time is cost efficient. We follow GAAP accounting rules that will meet audit scrutiny and we adhere to strict internal controls for processing all financial transactions to support Operations.

Services that we offer:

Weekly or bi-weekly payroll processing
Ancillary payroll related services such as retro-pay, wage verification, garnishments, etc.
Weekly accounts payable processing
401K administration for our payroll clients
Oversight of financial audit and tax return preparation
Training on technical accounting issues
Procurement of insurances services (health, workers' comp., general/ property liability)
Management and budget reporting capabilities
Independent and Assisted Living resident monthly billing
Cash and treasury management services