WHO WE ARE
OUR STAFF
JOE FRANKEN
Executive Director
Joe brings with him a wide breadth of local experience in a variety of senior care settings. Oak Cottage will give him the opportunity to apply his skillsets to what we anticipate to be a very special home for residents challenged with cognitive decline and hospice needs.
Joe first came to California from the east coast in the 1970’s. He began his life’s work with the senior population at Casa Dorinda, a long-established life care community here in Santa Barbara. As Joe grew close to the people he worked with, he became increasingly aware of his passion to continue to engage with seniors as they entered the later stages of their lives. In his work, he helped to develop programming that allowed seniors to embrace their unique histories, explore new ways of interacting with their environment, and to focus on new life achievements within this environment.
In the 1980’s Joe was offered the opportunity to pursue his Nursing Home Administrator’s license. He successfully completed the program, passing the State exam in the top of his class.
After 21 years of employment at Casa Dorinda, Joe moved through a variety of executive positions in many of Santa Barbara’s most noted senior communities. Simultaneously, Joe held the position of the Los Padres Region’s secretary, an organization now known as Leading Age of California.
In 2002, Joe and his young family moved from Santa Barbara to the east coast, wanting to live closer to Joe’s parents and siblings. It was at this time that Joe’s employment led to an Administrative position at Burlington County’s Buttonwood Hospital, followed by the position of Associate Administrator at The Masonic Home of New Jersey. Each of these large communities maintains 200 to 400 beds, and 400 to 500 employees.
Most recently, Joe led Acacia Hospice (as its Administrator), to a Four-Star ranking in the National “We Honor Veterans” program, being credited as New Jersey’s first Non-Profit Hospice to do so.
The opportunity to be Executive Director at Oak Cottage of Santa Barbara sees Joe and his family returning to the Santa Barbara area. Joe’s wife Kimberlee, a Registered Nurse, looks forward to continuing her nursing career on the west coast. Joe’s son, Wes, is a senior in college, studying Landscape Contracting. Joe’s daughter, Riley, will be graduating with her AA degree in the fall. In Joe’s spare time, he has a passion for restoring vintage cars.
The need for personalized and family-based memory care services in Santa Barbara continues to grow. He and the rest of our management team will be available to work directly with families and their loved ones in developing care programs that introduce warmth, safety, retention of skills, and joy in the every day.
t: 805.456.7272
c: 805.319.5886
