STATE OF WASHINGTON
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
Aging and Long-Term Support Administration
PO Box 45600, Olympia, Washington 98504-5600

October 12, 2022

It is with great enthusiasm that I share with all of you that Amy Abbott has been selected to serve as the Residential Care Services (RCS) director.

Amy is currently the Office Chief for Policy, Training, Quality Improvement, and Informal Dispute Resolution in RCS where her primary focus is state and federal policy related to long-term care programs in Washington state. Her knowledge and expertise was critical throughout the pandemic allowing her to closely work with providers, associations, the Governor’s Office and our federal partners to ensure policy and training needs were identified, developed and implemented. 

She has worked for many years with the RCS training unit, educating both providers and regulators for a multitude of long-term care settings including Assisted Living Facilities, Adult Family Homes, Nursing Homes and Intermediate Care Facilities. Amy has also spent several years working with the policy unit overseeing the rules and laws pertaining to long-term care settings in Washington.

Prior to her work with RCS, Amy spent ten years as a Psychiatric Social Worker and Program Manager at Western State Hospital, and eight years as a social worker in nursing homes. Additionally, she spent several years as a preceptor for social work students with the University of Washington.

The recruitment and interview process were highly competitive with qualified applicants participating in two interview panels (one internal and one with stakeholders). After all rounds of interviews were completed, both panels identified Amy as being the top candidate and strongly recommended her to fill the RCS Director position.

I am excited to have Amy in this position, bringing with her not only years of knowledge and experience but a real passion for the work. Under her guidance I know RCS and ALTSA will continue to be leaders in the world of long-term care, creating solutions that address the growing and varying needs of Washingtonians.

Amy will begin serving as the RSC Director on October 16 and we will be opening Amy’s current position for recruitment as quickly as possible.

Please join me in welcoming Amy to this crucial role.

                                                                   Sincerely,

Bea Rector

Assistant Secretary
Aging and Long-Term Support Administration

DSHS: Transforming Lives