Meet Whitehall's People Behind the Scenes and in the Community

LESLIE CURTIS
Director of Business Development

Leslie Curtis began her healthcare career as a nurse doing bedside nursing in hospitals. After some 12 years, she shifted her focus and worked for an insurance company, which allowed her to get familiar with case management — in her position, most often managing catastrophic cases that required rehabilitation. It was a natural transition to move to an acute rehabilitation hospital as a case manager. She explains that her passion for working in rehabilitation began then and hasn’t dimmed yet.

However, the realization that rehabilitation was shifting from acute rehab to the skilled nursing environment prompted Leslie’s move to Whitehall Boca Raton 17 years ago, initially as the facilities case manager and insurance contractor. As the industry continued to evolve and Whitehall Boca progressed from mostly long-term care to short-term rehabilitation, Leslie studied business administration at Barry University, and then became more involved at Whitehall with responsibility for admissions, customer service and business development.

The combination of three roles can make for hectic days, but the value of those positions is consistently demonstrated by patients, patients’ families, and colleagues from throughout the healthcare industry, all of whom seek her advice or input on a regular basis.

“I can’t imagine doing anything else,” Leslie says. “Rehabilitation is in my blood. It’s great to have a job I love, knowing that what I do makes a difference.”

Send e-mail to Leslie

BARBRA PEARLMAN
Chief Financial Officer

Barbra Pearlman, Whitehall Boca’s chief financial officer since 1996, is a certified public accountant and holds a degree in accounting from the University of Central Florida. Her professional experience is rooted in the healthcare industry, both in nursing facilities, adult living care facilities and hospitals.

In fact, Barbra’s link to Whitehall actually began in 1989 when she launched her career as an independent auditor with Moore Stephens Lovelace, certified public accountants who specialized in the healthcare field. With the firm, she gained extensive knowledge in the performance of healthcare-related audits and cost report preparation, and Whitehall became one of Barbra’s annual audit clients.

She also worked as an internal audit manager for Alamo Rent a Car from 1993 to 1996, where she honed her skills with performance and management of field operational audits, not to mention corporate departmental audits.

Now, she serves Whitehall in both a traditional financial capacity, as well as assisting with departmental self-audits and operational decisions.

When she isn’t working, Barbra plays competitive league tennis, spends time with her husband and two children and their various sports endeavors, and, she says, “is working on the next great American novel.”

Send e-mail to Barbra

GILDA OSBORN
Administrator

Gilda Osborn served as Whitehall's director of nursing for 20 years prior to becoming the administrator in 2008. It’s a position that calls for an incisive blend of both business acumen and people skills because she is ultimately responsible for a staff of nearly 500 employees and 170 patients or residents. To be effective she tries to remain as involved and informed as possible, interacting on a daily basis with those she serves.

The experience in healthcare that led Gilda to her current position began in Massachusetts more than 35 years ago when she was first employed as a nursing assistant. She continued her studies and after becoming a registered nurse, she worked in critical care and medical surgical nursing, and relocated to Boca Raton in 1980.

She received her degree in health care administration with an additional certificate specialist in aging from Lynn University. She is also a licensed nursing home administrator.

Gilda keeps a close eye on an industry that continues to evolve, and has been active in numerous associations, including as a founding board member of the Florida Association of Directors of Nursing. She currently serves as president of the District VII Florida Health Care Association.

When Gilda is not working she enjoys cruising with her husband Michael or spending time with her adult children, all of whom reside in Palm Beach County.

Send e-mail to Gilda

SHERRY THOMAS
Director of Nursing

Sherry Thomas joined Whitehall Boca as director of nursing in 2010 after previously holding several management positions in long-term care over the course of her 24-year career as a registered nurse.

She received her bachelor’s degree in public health education from Indiana University in 1978 and then pursued her lifelong dream to become a registered nurse, which she accomplished in 1986. Her career began as a staff nurse and over time included roles as unit manager, assistant director of nursing, director of nursing, case manager, director of risk management and staff educator.

She also holds certification in long-term care as a member of the National Association Directors of Nursing Administration and the Florida Association Directors of Nursing Administration.

Says Sherry, “My passion for nursing has never waned. There aren’t many professions that allow us to touch the lives of so many people and for our lives to be touched so often.

“Yes, nursing is hard work and there are never enough hours in the day to do all that we hope to do for our patients. It is during those difficult moments when I realize that my worst day is never as bad as the days my patients have to endure during their illnesses. I’m grateful to be part of the Whitehall family, which is all about our family taking care of other people’s families.”

Send e-mail to Sherry

CAROLE SMITH
Director of Finance; Director of Government Affairs

Carole Smith began her career in healthcare at the age of 16, working part-time as a “soda jerk” at Whitehall’s original facility in Deerfield, Illinois. That was in 1975 and over time, Carole’s interest in the challenging environment of a skilled nursing facility expanded with training in virtually every department.

When Whitehall Boca Raton was under construction in 1982, she moved south and facilitated administrative details for its grand opening. She had grown so well-versed in operational matters that she was subsequently put in charge of the business office. She particularly excelled in the specialized nature of accounting, and was ultimately named director of finance. Along the way she also became certified as a licensed nursing home administrator.

Her duties expanded in June 2008 when she was named director of political affairs. Given that the skilled nursing industry is one of the most highly-regulated in the country, the need for a voice to educate legislators became an imperative.

“The public has an outdated perception of nursing homes, so I try to serve as a resource for legislators statewide and in Washington,” says Carol, who is also active on the Political Involvement Committee for the American Health Care Association.

“I try to educate them on what nursing homes are really all about these days, so they have accurate information when they talk to the public and craft laws that impact us.”

Send e-mail to Carole

TERESA MARKOWITZ
Director of Rehabilitation

Teresa Markowitz, a physical therapist for 15 years and employed at Whitehall Boca for more than seven years, has worked in skilled nursing facilities and in management since she was licensed.

She holds a bachelor of science degree in biology from Bridgewater College and a master’s degree in physical therapy from Shenandoah University. Before coming to Whitehall she supervised a single rehab facility, and served as corporate director of rehabilitation for a skilled nursing facility chain with 17 buildings.

As Teresa did in previous positions elsewhere, she was instrumental in helping Whitehall transition from a separate rehabilitation entity to a facility with a full, in-house therapy staff. She now oversees 37 full-time and part-time therapists, plus a per diem staff pool and eight rehabilitation techs. Her guidance helped Whitehall Boca earn recognition in 2011 as a national leader in rehabilitation programs by Dorland Health, a 50-year-old U.S. media and educational publisher in healthcare.

“Here at Whitehall ever day is different,” says Teresa. “Even though I am not directly involved in providing physical therapy treatment at this point, I enjoy assisting the therapists, patients and families, and allowing patients to maximize their rehab potential. Rehab is a very rewarding field. And our therapists will do whatever it takes to get patients back home.”

When she isn’t working, Teresa enjoys running, growing orchids and attending her children's sporting events with her husband.

Send e-mail to Teresa

STEVE MULDER
Executive Director

After launching his career with a three-year stint in advertising, Chicago-born Steve Mulder turned his attention to the healthcare field. The transition began when in 1972 he joined a skilled nursing facility the elder Mulder had built in Deerfield, Illinois.

Steve’s initiation into the nursing business allowed him to put to the test the educational skills he’d acquired from a bachelor’s degree in business administration at Tulane University, and shortly afterwards an MBA in business administration from Michigan State University.

The turn in his career underscored how wrong a track in advertising would have been, and how right a business career in the challenging environment of a nursing facility actually was.

“The business suited who I was as a person,” Steve says. “The one thing that makes it different than other businesses is that you actually are helping people.”

When Whitehall Boca Raton was built in 1982, Steve assumed leadership of it. He also continued his father’s commitment for operating an independent, family-owned business.

“It’s a lot easier for us to innovate than if we were part of a multi-facility chain,” Steve explains. “Multiple facilities are all about numbers. Here, we can be more responsive to patients and their families.”

Steve and his wife live in Deerfield Beach. He has three children in college and looks forward to watching their own careers grow into whatever matches their passion.

Send e-mail to Steve