Ararat Nursing Facility in Mission Hills was named Newsweek’s best nursing home in California in 2023. What does it take to earn such a distinction? For Margarita Khachatryan, who serves as executive director, it’s all about creating a thriving environment.
Khachatryan has held this role for 11 years and loves her job. “Running a nursing home is like piecing together a puzzle,” she says. “When you do it well, you build something that impacts the lives of both residents and staff.”
Newsweek’s rating is a point of pride for Khachatryan. But it was particularly sweet coming after the most challenging years of her professional life.
From the pandemic to a Capital Emmy
The COVID-19 pandemic was tough on nursing homes. Many facilities had severe staff shortages. But that didn’t happen at Khachatryan’s facility. “Not a single employee called in sick unless they were actually ill, and the turnover rate for staff even dropped,” she says.
Khachatryan spoke publicly about the challenges nursing homes faced during the pandemic. So, when the American Health Care Association was looking for a nursing home to feature in a new documentary, they turned to her.
Closed Doors, Open Hearts: Nursing Homes and COVID-19 came out in November 2021. The documentary highlighted frontline staff and their commitment to caring for their residents. “We were honored to participate in the project and thrilled when it won a National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter (Capital) Emmy award,” Khachatryan says.
“You should be a nursing home administrator”
Khachatryan’s interest in elder care bloomed in high school when she participated in an occupational program at a nearby medical center. “I was in a post-operative unit, and I fell in love with the older patients,” she says.
That experience led Khachatryan to study gerontology as an undergraduate at USC. But she hadn’t yet connected the dots to nursing home administration. Her epiphany came from a casual conversation with a USC Leonard Davis School alum who told her, “You should be a nursing home administrator.”
With a clear direction, Khachatryan enrolled in the MASM program and didn’t look back. Through the program, she completed extensive training to become a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator (LNHA). And USC was by her side at every step.
“My advisors at USC found me a preceptor and helped me get my first job,” says Khachatryan. “I was fortunate because it’s often hard to get your foot in the door as a new graduate.”
Setting students up for success
The impact of Khachatryan’s MASM degree runs deeper than the connection she made. She uses what she learned every day.
For example, one of the first things she did as an assistant LNHA was to spend 24 hours as a resident. “Had I not studied gerontology, I never would have thought to experience a nursing home from a resident’s perspective,” she says.
Khachatryan also says her training at USC Leonard Davis School has given her more empathy for the aging process. “Long-term care is about more than business,” she explains. “It’s about taking care of people and doing the right things for the right reasons. Being people-centric sets an entire organization up for success.”
At USC Leonard Davis School, Khachatryan also found:
- Experienced professors: One of Khachatryan’s instructors was also the chief operating officer of a large senior living community. This instructor painted a realistic picture of the day-to-day life of a nursing home administrator.
- Hands-on classes: A class on death and dying was one of Khachatryan’s favorites. “First of all, the professor was 94, which was wonderful,” she says. “He made me see that death was not a taboo subject. He also brought in his personal experiences, including the death of his son.”
- Innovative solutions: Another class explored how different countries approach long-term care. For Khachatryan, it was fascinating to see other ways to care for older adults and make their lives better.
- Personal education: USC Leonard Davis School offers a family-like environment, says Khachatryan. Warm professors and small classes made it feel like home for her.
Stepping into leadership
In 2010, Khachatryan graduated from the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology with a Master’s in Aging Services Management. Right out of the gate, she secured a position as an assistant administrator of a nursing home.
It can be challenging to take on a leadership role at 25. “My degree gave me credibility and has helped me stand out as a leader in the industry,” she says.
Working her way up through various positions, Khachatryan landed her current job within a few years. That rapid rise wouldn’t have happened without USC.
Training the next generation of LNHAs
With rapid growth in the industry, Khachatryan sees a dire need for new LNHAs. To help close that gap, she returns to USC Leonard Davis School once a semester to teach a class. She also serves as a preceptor for students pursuing their nursing home administrator license.
“USC Leonard Davis School has built a strong network to ensure student success. When I see a fellow Trojan, I want to do whatever I can to pull them up,” Khachatryan says. “I love the culture so much my license plate is USCMASM.”
To learn more about the Master of Arts in Aging Services Management at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, call us at (213) 740-5156.
