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We'd like to introduce you to our chief executive officer and our chief operating officer.
ROBERT ABRAMS
Chief Executive Officer
MyZiva's founder, chief executive officer (CEO) and visionary, Bob Abrams, is a nationally recognized leader in the long-term care community. Bob was honored as a Pillar of Knowledge by the New York Chapter of the American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA) in March of 2004, in appreciation for his contribution to long-term care, for maintaining the highest level of professionalism for over three decades and for creating an educational foundation which will serve thousands in the years to come.
Bob has the distinction of being one of the only attorneys in the more than 125 year history of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) to serve as chair of two substantive Sections. He served as chair of the Elder Law Section earlier in his career and recently served as chair of the New York State Bar Health Law Section. As evidenced by this dual distinction, Bob has the unique experience of being respected and trusted by both healthcare consumers and providers for his scholarship, commitment and dedication.
In furtherance of Bob's understanding and sensitivity to the needs of the elderly as well as individuals with disabilities, Bob created and served as editor-in-chief of a 1,712 page treatise for Guardianship practitioners, judges and court evaluators entitled Guardianship Practice in New York State, which was published by NYSBA in 1995. He is also the creator and co-editor of the Legal Manual for Physicians, which was jointly published by NYSBA and the Medical Society of the State of New York. Additionally, Bob is a co-author of Boomer Basics, an informative reference guide addressing health, financial and personal issues affecting the baby boomer generation and their families, published in 2000 by McGraw-Hill.
In many ways, MyZiva.net is an extension of Bob's lifelong commitment to provide consumers with information and resources that can improve their quality of life. For example, in 1995, Bob founded Decision-Making Day, a nationally-acknowledged annual volunteer program sponsored by NYSBA and recognized by New York State Governor George Pataki. This program was specifically designed to advise New Yorkers of the importance and availability of advance directives, such as health care proxies, living wills, and powers of attorney. Over the past years, thousands of attorneys and tens of thousands of New Yorkers have participated in this program.
Former New York State Governor Mario Cuomo recognized Bob's commitment to public service when he selected Bob to serve as a New York State delegate to the White House Conference on Aging (WHCOA) in 1995. Bob recommended policy initiatives to his fellow conferees. The Conference report was subsequently presented to President Bill Clinton and the United States Congress.
An early example of Bob's early commitment to his community occurred when he was an undergraduate student at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York. Bob created an informational hotline for parents of developmentally disabled children and received the First Annual student volunteer award from the One-to-One Foundation for his efforts in the deinstitutionalization of patients from Willowbrook State Hospital.
An informative and entertaining speaker, Bob has presented educational programs for consumers, healthcare professionals, lawyers, accountants, judges and other groups throughout the country. In addition to the above-referenced program, Bob has written numerous articles for consumers and professionals.
Bob is also founding partner and currently Of Counsel, to the law firm of Abrams, Fensterman, Fensterman, Flowers, Greenberg & Eisman, LLP located in Lake Success, New York, which provides guardianship, elder law, health law, corporate and litigation services. In addition to his law degree, which he received as an evening division student at New York Law School, Bob earned a master's degree in Public Administration from New York University. He is also a New York State licensed Nursing Home Administrator.
CELIA STROW
Chief Operations Officer
Celia Strow, RN, MPS, CNHA, FACHCA, is a respected professional with more than 30 years of experience as a nurse, administrator, educator and mentor. Prior to joining MyZiva, Celia Strow had been the administrator of Grace Plaza Rehabilitation and Nursing Center for 24 years. During her tenure, she established the first JCAHO-accredited dementia unit on Long Island as well as a successful JCAHO-accredited subacute/rehabilitation unit (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations). Her earlier experiences were as director of nursing services, staff development educator and a variety of other supervisory positions in long-term care.
While at Grace Plaza, Celia guided the facility through the many changes mandated by law, as well as those dictated by demographic and sociologic changes. Grace Plaza has served as a training ground for many administrators through the Administrator-in-Training (AIT Program) for which Celia is a preceptor and by virtue of affiliation with many colleges, as a field placement and internship site for students of social work, dietetics, physical therapy and occupational therapy. A graduate of Mt. Sinai Hospital School of Nursing, Celia holds a bachelor of arts from Marymount Manhattan College and a MPS degree in Healthcare Administration from LIU.
Grace Plaza was one of the first facilities on Long Island to open a dedicated Alzheimer's Unit. That unit, "The Heritage," continues to be a model in the field. Grace Plaza was also among the first facilities to establish a sub-acute program, "Pathways," dedicated to the recovery and independence of patients in need of short-term rehabilitation. In addition to its long-term care program, both the sub-acute program and the dementia programs are accredited by JCAHO.
Celia a past president of InterCounty Health Facilities Association (IHFA). She also served on the Board of New York State Health Facilities Association (NYSHFA) as president of District 2, Nassau County. A certified fellow in the American College of Healthcare Administrators (ACHCA), Celia was honored by her peers in the New York Chapter by being named Administrator of the Year 1995, and in 2001 she was again honored as a "Pillar of the Industry." Celia is on the adjunct faculty of C.W. Post/LIU. where she taught in the graduate program of healthcare administration and was an instructor in C.W. Post's 100 hour program for Nursing Home Administrator's for 20 years. In 1982, Celia founded Long Island MADD, the first New York chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and served as its president for five years.