Staff

ANDREW P. ARONSON, President & CEO

As HCANJ’s President & CEO, Andy advocates on behalf of the organization’s skilled nursing, assisted living, comprehensive personal care, and residential health care members in the areas of legislative and regulatory issues, as well as overseeing a broad range of membership support services.

A member of the New Jersey Bar since 1992, Andy has practiced in healthcare law for over 20 years. He gained extensive experience in these areas during his tenure with the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS – now NJ Department of Health), where he served as a Legal Specialist in the Office of Regulatory Affairs and later as Director of Long-Term Care Licensing and Certification. During his time at DHSS, Andy was instrumental in the consolidation of all New Jersey senior services into one department and revising state licensing regulations for the State’s long term care and medical day care centers.

After leaving DHSS to enter private practice in 2000, Andy served on DHSS advisory panels, developing new certificate of need and licensing regulations for long term care. In his private practice, he has represented health care providers before federal, state, and county agencies and assisted clients in all aspects of health center operations, including financing, corporate structure, regulatory compliance, and Medicare and Medicaid payments.

Prior to joining HCANJ, he served as in-house counsel for a multi-state provider of skilled nursing and assisted living services, as well as director of Nursing Home Advocates of New Jersey, a coalition of the state’s largest nursing home providers, which he helped to establish in 2020.

Andy received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Rutgers College in 1988, and his Juris Doctor from Rutgers – Camden Law School in 1992.

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JOHN INDYK, Vice PresidentJohn

John assists the President in managing the Association and represents HCANJ members at public and official meetings in the President’s absence. His principal responsibilities include maintaining relationships with state legislators, tracking related legislation and lobbying efforts on behalf of HCANJ’s membership.

A former Director of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Administration of former New Jersey Governor Tom Kean, John has 30 years of experience in public policy, community outreach, political campaigns and advertising, crisis management and media relations. Before HCANJ, he served as Senior Vice President in a full-service public relations firm as the lead government affairs agent representing a broad range of client companies and trade organizations before the NJ Legislature and the executive branch.

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KATHY FIERY, Vice President, Assisted LivingNew Kathy color

Kathy is responsible for HCANJ’s assisted living and residential health care membership. In this capacity, she provides advocacy, licensing and regulatory assistance, educational programming, and professional development tools.  She is also responsible for the HCANJ Foundation’s Advanced Standing Program.

She is a presenter at local, state and national conferences on a variety of topics related to assisted living and is an instructor for Assisted Living Training Associates, which trains individuals interested in becoming Certified Assisted Living Administrators.

Prior to coming to the HCANJ Kathy worked in the long term care field in various capacities including Social Worker, Resident Services Coordinator and Administrator in continuing care retirement communities, nursing centers, and residential health care centers. She was responsible for the licensing of New Jersey’s first Assisted Living Program in affordable housing. She also served as an evaluator for the Continuing Care Accreditation Commission for many years. Kathy sits on the board of Argentum, as well as the Mercer County Workforce Development Board.

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PATTIE TUCKER, Director of Communications and Public Relations

Pattie is responsible for HCANJ’s public relations programs, media relations, member communications, grassroots legislative support efforts, the HCANJ website, and special programs and events, including the HCANJ Foundation Educational Grant Program, as well as the Annual HCANJ Awards Program. She is the editor of the daily e-newsletter, Healthcare Beacon Digest, and the digital HCANJ Annual Directory and Buyer’s Guide.

Pattie was previously employed by Chelsea Senior Living in a number of capacities including Director of Communications, Regional Marketing Director, and Community Affairs Director. She has also worked as the Public Information Officer for several New Jersey school districts, as well as having served as Community Relations Coordinator and Assistant Director of Community Relations for several major New Jersey medical centers. In addition, she has owned and operated a marketing, public relations and advertising consulting firm serving a broad range of clientele.

Pattie has spoken at local, state and national conferences on a variety of marketing and communication topics. She also served two terms as President of the national Society of Long Term Care Communicators. Additionally, she sits on the boards of two 501(c)(3) charitable organizations – Kick Cancer Overboard, and The Frances Foundation for Kids Fighting Cancer which awarded her their 2018 Volunteer of the Year Award.

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MICHELLE PALKO, Director, Education and Convention Services

Michelle is responsible for the development and implementation of HCANJ’s educational programming, annual conferences, annual business sponsorships and associate memberships. She is also responsible for obtaining continuing education credits for the Association’s education programs.

Michelle has over three decades of experience in the long term care field, beginning her career at Hospicomm Inc, Philadelphia, PA, where she served in a variety of roles. She started as a data entry specialist focusing on reconciliations for billing before moving on to become the Billing Manager for a central billing office, processing and submitting billing for their portfolio of clients. Michelle then moved on to become Training Specialist and concluded her time there as the Southern Regional Business Office Manager with a focus on collections.

During her tenure at Hospicomm, Michelle served on the HCANJ Convention Committee and Education Committee. In 2009, she was appointed chairperson of the Convention Committee. She currently participates in the AHCA/NCAL Long Term Care Meeting Planners and other educational planning committees.

Michelle earned her BA from Western Maryland College (now known as McDaniel College).

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J. DAVID WEIDNER, Director, Emergency ManagementDave color

Dave is responsible for all-hazards emergency preparedness, exercise design, emergency management planning, emergency communications and response in support of HCANJ’s membership. During emergencies, he serves as the liaison with local, county, and state emergency management agencies, the New Jersey Department of Health, and the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness

Before joining HCANJ, Dave was the Vice President of Food Safety and Environmental Health at a private public health consulting firm.  He was responsible for corporate sales, consultation, inspection & education for Fortune 100 clients nationwide, as well as conducting epidemiological investigations of environmentally associated and infectious disease outbreaks.

He holds a BS in Public Health Administration and an MPH in Environmental Health. He is a Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS), a graduate of FEMA’s Master Exercise Practitioner Program (MEP), and a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM).

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CHARLES LAROBIS, Director of  Quality, Clinical & Regulatory Services

Charles’ responsibilities include assisting members with their quality, clinical and regulatory operations.

Prior to joining the staff at HCANJ, Charles served as Director of Clinical Services Specialists with Brookdale Senior Living, East Division. He also previously worked at Chelsea Senior Living as Clinical Liaison and Director of Health Services for several years.

The foundation of Charles’ nursing career is rooted in acute care settings – mainly critical care nursing as Clinical Coordinator in the Emergency Department. Charles is an Instructor for the Certified Medication Aide (CMA) Program and is a Certified Dementia Instructor and Practitioner.

Charles received the Servant Leadership Award from Brookdale Senior Living. In 2015, he was the recipient of HCANJ’s Nurse of the Year award and was a part of a panel of speakers that presented on “Changing the Culture of Dementia Care” during the HCANJ annual convention.

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DEB MUMOLA, Office Manager

Deb’s responsibilities include, among other things, supervision of administrative staff, serving as executive assistant to the President, accounts payable and receivable, member dues, and customer service.

Deb has a long history of customer service, bookkeeping, and various other business and supervisory functions. Prior to joining HCANJ, Deb served in a number of roles including having owned her own business along with her husband where she developed a loyal customer base. She ran all inside operations including supervision of staff, inventory control, accounts payable and receivable, and payroll. Upon the sale of that business, Deb remained as the Office/Store Manager before moving on to become the Executive Assistant to the COO and Financial Reporting Manager for an insurance company.

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ROSETTA MUCCIE, Office Assistant

Rosetta’s responsibilities include, among other things, support for department staff members, receptionist and clerical duties, and customer service.

Roe has had a long career as an administrative analyst, having worked for Pepper Hamilton in Princeton, NJ, and the State of New Jersey, Division of Investment. During that time she was responsible for the input of trades for multiple funds, receipt and verification of broker confirmations, and retrieving stock transactions. She has also been responsible for external communication, scheduling, receptionist duties and meeting management.

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MACKENZIE BLOCK, Project Specialist

Mackenzie is responsible for the administration of a grant received from the New Jersey Department of Health to provide education to healthcare professionals about infection prevention and control. She is responsible for working with association staff to develop programs and to schedule trainings in the long term care centers that would like to have the educational programs brought to them for staff development.

Before joining HCANJ, Mackenzie was a member of the Emergency Preparedness department at the Ocean County Health Department. She managed COVID-19 testing sites and vaccine clinics in response to the pandemic and also served as a Field Representative in the communicable disease department. During her undergraduate studies, Mackenzie worked as a research assistant for two community-based chronic disease intervention programs targeting both children and adults.

Mackenzie holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from the University of South Carolina as well as an MPH from George Washington University.