March 31, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 31, 2025
Contact: Ellen Mullally
emullally@paltmed.org/410-992-3124
Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association (PALTmed) has elected its 2025-2026 Board of Directors. Sabine von Preyss-Friedman, MD, FACP, CMD, is president; Leslie Beth Eber, MD, CMD, is president-elect; and Diane Sanders-Cepeda, DO, CMD, is vice president.
Dr. von Preyss-Friedman trained in internal medicine and completed a geriatric medicine fellowship at the University of Washington. A leader in post-acute and long-term care, she has served as medical director for multiple Seattle-area SNFs and on UW’s Long-Term Care Service. Honored for her leadership, she was named AMDA’s Medical Director of the Year (2011) and received the John Gladstone and Choosing Wisely awards for her deprescribing work. As CMO of Avalon Healthcare, she led an award-winning flu immunization effort. In 2023, she received the King County Medical Society COVID-19 Leadership Award. She is CMO of Avalon Healthcare and Caldera Care, associate clinical professor emerita at UW, and now president of PALTMed, committed to empowering clinicians to deliver compassionate, high-quality, patient-centered care in PALTC.
Dr. Eber is board-certified in internal medicine and is a certified medical director. She has provided medical directorships for both long-term care facilities and hospice and is the medical director for multiple facilities as a part of Rocky Mountain Senior Care. She serves as the chief faculty for Abode Care Partners. Dr. Eber is a clinical advisor for PALTmed’s Moving Needles CDC grant: Improving Adult Immunization Rates for COVID-19, Influenza, and Routine Adult Vaccinations through Partnerships with the Long-Term Care Professional Society. Dr. Eber was awarded the AMDA Medical Director of the Year for 2021 and has provided expertise for several national initiatives, including the Colorado AHRQ ECHO National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network and presented for the ECHO COVID-19 Global Conversations: Vaccine Development, Distribution and Delivery. Dr. Eber is the immediate past president of CMDA: The Colorado Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
Dr. Sanders-Cepeda is a geriatrician and certified medical director who has focused her career on geriatric care across the post-acute and long-term care continuum. She is a senior medical director for UnitedHealthcare Retiree Solutions responsible for clinical strategy, quality improvement, clinical program development, and innovation. Dr. Sanders-Cepeda also hosts national podcasts for PALTmed and is a contributing writer for Caring for the Ages. She remains an active member of the Florida Medical Directors Association (FMDA) and serves as the immediate past president of the organization, as well as the chair of the Nomination Committee and FMDA’s Journal Club.
The 2025-2026 Board is rounded out by:
Treasurer: Walter Lin, MD, MBA, St. Louis, MO (New)
Secretary: Dallas Nelson, MD, FACP, CMD, Rochester, NY (Returning)
Chair, House of Delegates: Christian Bergman, MD, CMD, Richmond, VA (Returning)
Directors at Large: Monica Ott, MD, CMD, Lizton, IN (Returning); Michael Wasserman, MD, CMD, Newbury Park, CA (Returning); Elizabeth Galik, PhD, CRNP, Ellicott City, MD (Returning); Lea Watson, MD, MPH, Lafayette, CO (Returning); Jamehl Demons, MD, Winston Salem, NC (New); Fatima Sheikh, MD, MPH, CMD, AGSF, Highland, MD (New); and Teresa McCarthy MD, MS, CMD, Plymouth, MN (New)
Immediate Past-President: Rajeev Kumar, MD, FACP, CMD, La Grange, IL
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About Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association (PALTmed)
Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association (PALTmed), formerly AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care (PALTC) Medicine, is the only organization of its kind providing high-quality resources and education to the interdisciplinary team working in PALTC settings, including medical directors, attending physicians, nurse practitioners, physician associates, consultant pharmacists, and doctorly-prepared clinicians. PALTmed’s goal is to support its diverse membership, respond to its interests, establish practice standards, and encourage professional advancement for all. For more information, visit www.paltmed.org.
