Abe's Garden Names Andrew Sandler Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Abe's Garden announced the appointment of Andrew B. Sandler, Ph.D., as Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer.  Abe's Garden is a non-profit organization that seeks to establish a national model of residential living and daycare programs for those suffering with Alzheimer's disease.

Sandler was previously assisted living director for Weinberg Community for Senior Living, including its dementia unit and adult day program, in Deerfield, Ill.  He also served for eight years as administrator of Maison Hospitaliere, a skilled nursing facility in New Orleans, La.  As a medical reviewer for Paradym Professional Systems and Columbia Lakeview Hospital in Covington, La., he had administrative responsibility for Medicare billing and reimbursement of a geriatric partial hospitalization program. He has also managed The Westonian, an assisted living facility in Weston, Mass., and Glen Ridge Nursing Care Center, a 41-bed Alzheimer unit, in Malden Mass.

Sandler holds three graduate degrees, including a Master of Health Administration from Tulane University, a Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of New Orleans, and a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from Farleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, N.J. He received his undergraduate degree in Psychology from DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind.

Said Chairman of the Board Michael D. Shmerling, who founded the organization with a gift in memory of his late father, "From experience as director of an Alzheimer's program to an understanding of fiscal management and his practice as a therapist, Andrew embodies the skills needed to make Abe's Garden a national model of care for those affected by Alzheimer's and dementia throughout the country."

Sandler has written numerous journal articles for publications including Advances in Special Education, the Journal of Behavioral Education, The Urban Review and the American Journal of Occupational Therapy. His most recent work "American Tragedy: New Orleans Under Water," was published in Callaloo in 2007.

In addition to its mission of transforming the continuum of care for those it supports, the organization strives to be a site of research and training; and has established an onsite program with Vanderbilt University Medical Center to expand Alzheimer's research; assist with facility and program design; and disseminate innovative, evidence-based care models.

Abe's Garden is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, currently accepting contributions online at www.abesgarden.org.

Media contact: Paula Lovell 615-297-7766 or 615-972-2964.

SOURCE Abe’s Garden