Meet the Administrators at Sugarmill Manor and The Gardens
In this article
Two people run the day to day life of our communities. Lauren Filion is the administrator at Sugarmill Manor in Homosassa. Ali Madgey is the administrator at The Gardens in Crystal River. In Florida that title is not decorative. An administrator is the licensed person the state holds responsible for how a community is run, and the one whose phone should ring when a family has a real question.
Who you actually reach
Most calls to a senior living community land somewhere central, get logged, and come back later as a callback from someone who has never walked the building. That is not how either of our communities works, because both are small and family owned.
Call Sugarmill Manor at (352) 382-2531 and you are calling the building in Homosassa. Call The Gardens at (352) 794-7601 and you are calling the building in Crystal River. Lauren walks the tours at Sugarmill Manor herself. Ali sets the daily rhythm at The Gardens and keeps families updated when something changes. You can read more about how the two communities are run on our about page.
The two buildings sit about fifteen minutes apart on the Nature Coast, which is why families often meet both administrators before choosing.
What Florida requires of an administrator
Chapter 429 of the Florida Statutes is the law that governs assisted living, and it defines an administrator as an individual at least 21 years of age who is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the community. Everything else follows from that word responsible.
The requirements are specific and checkable.
| What the state requires | The detail |
|---|---|
| Age and responsibility | At least 21, and accountable for the operation of the community under chapter 429 |
| Background screening | A level 2 screening under Florida's chapter 435 screening standards |
| Core training | 26 hours of state assisted living core training, plus a competency test |
| Deadline to finish it | Within three months of becoming the administrator |
| Continuing education | 12 hours every two years on assisted living topics |
| Change of administrator | The owner tells the state within 10 days, and no community may run more than 120 consecutive days without an administrator who has finished core training |
The training itself is not a formality. Florida's staff training rule sets the hours and the test, and the state publishes the core training curriculum that every administrator works through: resident rights, medication rules, admission and continued residency standards, nutrition, emergency procedures, and how to document all of it. The rule on notifying the state about an administrator change is what keeps a community from quietly running without one.
Ask for the name before you visit
When you call any community for the first time, ask two questions: who is your administrator, and can I meet them on my tour? A community where the answer comes instantly, and where that person shows up, is telling you something about how it is run. A vague answer is also an answer.
Why a named person changes what you get
The practical difference shows up on ordinary days, not dramatic ones.
When a parent stops coming to lunch, someone has to notice and call you. When medication changes after a hospital visit, someone has to make sure the change reaches the person handing out the pills that evening. When you want to know how last week actually went, you want the answer from a person who was there, not a summary that has passed through three hands.
An administrator who knows every resident by name is the shortest path between something happening and you hearing about it. That is the argument for a small community, and it is the reason we put both names and both phone numbers on the site instead of a single central number.
Hospital case managers and discharge planners work the same way. They call the administrator directly when a patient is ready to leave, which is why our page for healthcare professionals lists the same direct lines rather than a referral form.
See it for yourself
How to check any community for yourself
You do not have to take a community's word for any of this, ours included. Florida publishes licensing information for every assisted living community in the state at FloridaHealthFinder, the Agency for Health Care Administration's public site. Search a community by name or by county, and you can see its license status, license type, and inspection history.
Two things are worth doing before you choose:
- Look up every community on your list, not only the ones you are unsure about
- Read the most recent inspection findings, then ask the administrator about anything you see. A straight answer to an uncomfortable question is the most useful thing you will get out of a tour
Our guide to comparing assisted living in Citrus County lists the licensed communities in the county side by side, including ours, using the state roster as the source.
What to ask an administrator on a tour
Once you have the name, use the visit. These are the questions that get you a real picture, and they are the ones an administrator can answer without checking with anyone.
- How long have your care staff been here, and who has been here longest
- What happens when my parent's needs change, and would that mean moving again
- How do medications get handled from the pharmacy to the person taking them
- Who calls me when something happens at 2am, and how fast
- What did last Tuesday actually look like here
Our post on what to watch for when you visit a community goes further into what to notice before anyone says a word. If your parent may need a secured setting, the post on when memory care is the safer choice covers what changes.
Meeting Lauren and Ali
Both administrators do tours themselves, and both prefer that you come with the blunt questions rather than the polite ones. Come during a meal if you can, because a dining room at noon tells you more than an empty one at three.
Call Sugarmill Manor at (352) 382-2531 to reach Lauren, or The Gardens at (352) 794-7601 to reach Ali. You can also schedule a tour with either community and the administrator will call you back directly.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the administrator at Sugarmill Manor?
Lauren Filion is the administrator at Sugarmill Manor in Homosassa. She answers the community line at (352) 382-2531 and walks tours herself.
Who is the administrator at The Gardens in Crystal River?
Ali Madgey is the administrator at The Gardens. The community line is (352) 794-7601.
What does an assisted living administrator do in Florida?
Under chapter 429 of the Florida Statutes, the administrator is the person responsible for operating and maintaining the community. That includes staffing, resident care standards, medication handling, and answering to the state.
What training does a Florida assisted living administrator need?
A level 2 background screening, 26 hours of state core training with a competency test finished within three months of taking the role, and 12 hours of continuing education every two years.
How can I check a community license myself?
Search the community by name or county on FloridaHealthFinder, the state Agency for Health Care Administration public site. You can see license status, license type, and inspection history for every licensed community in Florida.
Sources
- Florida Statutes chapter 429, part I, assisted living facilities
- Florida Statutes 429.176, notification of change of administrator
- Florida Administrative Code rule 59A-36.011, staffing standards and training
- AHCA assisted living minimum core training curriculum
- FloridaHealthFinder, AHCA facility licensing lookup
Written by
Community Relations Director
Cameron Hernando Clark is the Community Relations Director for The Manors of Citrus. He writes this family guide to help Citrus County families make sense of assisted living and memory care, drawing on the day to day of running two family owned communities on Florida's Nature Coast.
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Come see if it feels right for your parent
We answer in person during the day and call within an hour to confirm a tour.