Lydia and Heather have lived and worked in the Santa Fe community for more than 20 years combined. They have a great depth of knowledge about resources and have worked along side the organizations and professionals who serve this community.
Bios
Heather Coss, MSW, LCSW, CMC, NCG Co-founder
Heather has been a licensed Social Worker since 2007. She received a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her educational focus and professional experience have been centered around health in the aging population. She has worked in community-based health for more than 20 years, working extensively with interdisciplinary medical teams. Since practicing in Santa Fe, New Mexico, she has specialized as an Aging Life Care Professional. She believes that there isn't a cookie-cutter approach to aging and follows a person-centered approach, supporting individuals and their families as they work towards self-defined goals. She has a special interest in mental health and medical advocacy. She is a Care Manager Certified and is an Advanced Professional member of the Aging Life Care Association. She is also a Nationally Certified Guardian and can serve as the health care decision-maker for those in need. Outside of her professional pursuits, she spends as much time outside as possible with her family and tinkers with art projects.
Lydia Sckalor, BS, RN, CMC co-founder
Lydia has been a practicing Registered Nurse since 1990 and has provided Care Management services in Santa Fe for 16 years. She received her Bachelor's degree in Education and Human Services from the University of Massachusetts and then went on to study at San Francisco State University in the Bachelor's to Master's Nursing program. Lydia is a Care Manager Certified and on the board of the Western Chapter of the Aging Life Care Association. As a home health nurse and geriatric care manager, Lydia has performed home based assessments of both acute and chronic medical and social conditions and then worked with interdisciplinary teams to create individual plans of care. She has provided professional recommendations, education, advocacy and follow-up consultation to clients and families.
Tara Piscitelli, lpn Nurse care manager
Tara is a licensed practical nurse with over 15 years of experience in New Mexico. She holds an associate’s degree from the Connecticut Center for Massage Therapy and completed pre-med and biology studies at the University of Delaware. After running a massage therapy and reflexology practice in Hartford, Connecticut for eight years, Tara earned an LPN from Lincoln Technical Institute in 2011.
Tara has served as assistant director of nursing at an assisted living community, worked as a home health nurse in northern New Mexico, and contributed to pre-anesthesia surgical screening at a hospital. She specializes in elder care, medication management, pathologies, and end-of-life care and has extensive resources for patients with cognitive decline and dementia. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling and hiking with her husband and two dogs. Tara also loves to cook and is a self-proclaimed “foodie.”
Elena grassia office administrator
Elena supports the team at Crossroads Aging Care Professionals as Office Administrator, bringing a wealth of experience in initiating new processes for organizational development.
Throughout her professional career, she has demonstrated exceptional dedication to efficiency and adaptability, enabling her to effectively manage a wide variety of office operations. Elena is committed to streamlining processes at Crossroads to help ensure that individuals and families who depend on their services receive the highest level of support and care from our health care professional staff. Beyond her work at Crossroads, Elena continues her over 40 years of film presentation by working annually for the Turner Classic Movies Film Festival. On location in Hollywood for 2 weeks, she manages media quality control, with a special focus on 35mm film preparation & presentation.
