Sharlene Knutson—Administrator of the Year

By Lisa Foss Olson  |  January 27, 2023  |  All members

Sharlene Knutson, administrator at McIntosh Senior Living, is the 2022 Administrator of the Year Award recipient because of her outstanding commitment to quality care. The following are excerpts from her nomination which illustrate why she was selected:

Sharlene treats residents as if they are her own family. This is evident during job interviews when candidates are asked if they could care for a resident as someone they love the most. It is important to know that Sharlene came to McIntosh Senior Living at a time when it was a special focus facility on the brink of closure. At that time, she was a licensed social worker and was quickly appointed as interim acting administrator. She furthered her education, obtaining her administrator license, as well as her NAR license. Over time, Sharlene lead McIntosh Senior Living to become a top-quality care facility with a reputation for excellence. 

Over the last 13 years of Sharlene’s tenure, she has built a culture where excellence prevails, shown in the accolades amassed, including:
  1. Five-star facility for the last several years
  2. AHCA/NCAL Bronze Award Recipient
  3. Ranked #1 in quality measures in 2021
  4. Successful resident satisfaction surveys and MN Department of Health surveys

Located in a small, rural community in Northern Minnesota, McIntosh Senior Living consists of a diverse workforce. Sharlene had the foresight to reach out to individuals that desired to come to the United States to work in healthcare. This includes helping current employees reunite with families abroad, providing an opportunity for education and employment. Sharlene went the extra mile by assisting with transportation, housing, furniture, and finding daycare—this helps them excel, McIntosh Senior Living excel, and our community excel. We have several nurses that started at MSL in dietary or housekeeping and others as nursing assistants. With encouragement and opportunities provided for pursuing their education, these individuals grew as competent and caring nursing assistants into TMAs and eventually LPNs and RNs. Sharlene’s leadership and belief in the importance of education directly influenced others to excellence.

Sharlene is closely involved in all departments, working on the floor, helping in the kitchen, and wherever needed when they are short-staffed or during illnesses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sharlene’s leadership was critical in keeping our facility running. Even when she wasn’t able to be there—due to illness and her mom’s passing—she continued to lead remotely, and kept our board apprised of events happening at the home. Sharlene and her leadership team were determined to protect the residents during this time and kept to the COVID-19 protocol even when challenged by some of the residents’ families and employees.

There is so much to say about Sharlene—please take a moment to watch what a few of her staff have to say about her by watching this short video here.

If you know an outstanding administrator like Sharlene, please nominate them for a Care Providers of Minnesota Administrator of the Year Award. Information on all our award categories will be available in early March. 


Lisa Foss Olson
Lisa Foss Olson  |  Director of Public Relations & Communications  |   lolson@careproviders.org  |  952-851-2483