Our Vision and Leadership
A husband and wife, 1 house, and a standard we are not willing to move.
The Standard We Are Building To
Elder care in New Mexico runs on minimums. Minimum staffing. Minimum square footage. Minimum training hours. Facilities meet the number and call it compliance.
We think a minimum is a floor, not a goal.
Every choice in this house costs more than the rule requires. 16 residents instead of 60. A private bathroom for every person. 2 caregivers awake all night in a home where the state allows 1. You cannot buy good care at the regulatory minimum, and everyone in this industry knows it.
Nicole Dicken, Co-Founder
Nicole is a licensed Physical Therapist Assistant with 10 years working with geriatric and disabled patients, and a former Director of Rehabilitation.
She has worked inside these buildings. She has been the person a resident asked for help when no one else was coming. She has watched good caregivers burn out under impossible ratios and leave the field entirely.
When Nicole talks about what Bosque Haven will not do, she is not describing a philosophy. She is describing things she has seen.
Nicole leads resident care, clinical standards, and caregiver development.
Doug Dicken, Co-Founder
Doug served 10 years as a USAF Pararescueman.
Pararescue trains people to hold a standard when conditions are bad, information is incomplete, and there is nobody to hand the problem to. That is useful background for running a house where someone has to be awake and responsible at 3 in the morning.
He now manages a defense program portfolio, and he brings that discipline to how this home is built and operated. Schedules, budgets, vendor accountability, and the systems that make good care repeatable instead of occasional.
Doug leads development, operations, and business management.
Who We Learned From
We hold a consulting agreement with Brett and Laura Chotkevys, who developed the residential memory care model this home is based on and have operated it since 2019.
We are also active members of The RAL Room community, where operators work on filling the assisted living gap in their own states.
We did not invent this from nothing. We learned it from people who have actually done it, and then we built our own version. There is a way to run this business where 2 ambitious people figure it out as they go, using somebody’s mother as the learning curve. We were not willing to do that.
What We Will Tell You Honestly
We are not a medical facility. We do not provide continuous licensed nursing care.
Some needs eventually exceed what any assisted living residence can safely provide. When that point comes, we will say so directly rather than letting a family find out during a crisis.
We bring specialists to the house instead of sending residents out. Physicians, dentists, X-ray, and hospice partners visit here.
And we are still under construction. Bosque Haven opens in early 2028 and is in pre-licensure with the New Mexico Health Care Authority. Everything on this site describes the home we are building and the way we intend to run it.
Talk With Us Directly
Not a call center. Not a sales team. If you write to us, one of us answers.