About Us

Professional Expertise Combined with Personal Warmth

The term Satori is a Japanese Buddhist term for “enlightened.”

Satori Pathway’s mission is: To empower seniors to live in their home of choice, and, to receive services that maintain their personal dignity and enhance their quality of life.

The Satori Pathway program was originally developed in 2007 to help guide and educate families after hospitalization due to dementia.

Meet our team!

These Satori Pathway experts offer a combined five decades of hands-on nursing and financial management expertise in the field of behavioral health and long-term care:

Stuart Gaines, CPA/MBA, CFO

“Life changes can be overwhelming for individuals, families or organizations. Our greatest reward is offering hope and reassurance to the people we work with, whether through personal care assistance that enriches one life, or through development of management practices that positively affect many more.”

Stuart is the immediate past board chair of Eldersource, Inc. the Area Agency on Aging for Northeast Florida, and the former board chair of both the Alzheimer’s Association of Florida and Alzheimer’s Association of Illinois.

Stuart has shaped the direction of long-term care in Illinois, Wisconsin and Florida, as evidenced by the Illinois Governor appointing Stuart to chair the commission that wrote the State’s dementia care standards. Prior to this, Stuart co-founded Wisconsin-based Elder Haus Concepts, Ltd. and grew the business to become one of the largest providers of dementia services in the nation.

Stuart’s expertise involves working with long-term care facilities, service organizations, and governmental agencies to develop innovative programs that better serve seniors; most recently, this includes assisting cities throughout northern Illinois involved in the World Health Organization’s Age-Friendly Livable Communities initiative.

Bernice (Bernie) Marinelli, RN/BSN, Director

“It just seemed natural for me to focus on senior mental health services. It’s a field where I discovered many unmet needs. I find using a holistic approach can be very calming for people.”

Bernie Marinelli brings 30 years of dementia and behavioral nursing experience as an educator, clinician and administrator. Bernie is the founder of Anam Care, Inc., a residential care organization specializing in behavioral programming and late-stage dementia care. As a licensed nursing home administrator, she is proficient at providing interim management services when a program turnaround may be required, and consulting on a wide range of residential care issues.

Bernie’s career includes staff positions at Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Center in Illinois, where she acquired an in-depth knowledge of psychotropic medications and their application in dementia care. Bernie has refined a variety of holistic approaches to effectively deal with difficult behaviors.

Carol Hoover, Care Coordinator

“Every person is a unique individual with a heart, a soul and a mind. They all deserve respect and understanding, regardless of their unique place on life’s path, yesterday, today, or tomorrow.”

Carol Hoover has more than 15 years of direct dementia care experience, holding such positions as Activity Director, House Manager and Training Coordinator. She is gifted in her ability to assess situations that are complex, and to provide compassion and practical solutions to avert a potential crisis. Carol works closely with staff and families to implement new programming approaches.

Judith A. Weiher, RN, Geriatric Behavioral Specialist

“It is very satisfying for me to see people reach the maximum of their potential. To help them heal emotionally and be the most they can be is extremely rewarding to me personally.”

Judy Weiher has more than 30 years of clinical experience in behavioral and psychiatric nursing. After earning her nursing degree, she worked at the Singer Mental Health Facility in Rockford, Illinois, on the developmentally disabled and adult psychiatry units. Following her tenure at Singer, Judy was involved for many years in hospice nursing with Northern Illinois Hospice.