William Nelson

Having grown up in Los Angeles, I attended Hollywood High during the turbulent 60’s. My early upbringing was balanced by the positive influence of my wonderful parents. My father struggled during this time with two jobs to help establish their in-home business which became one of the first Residential Care Facilities in California. With my father’s guidance and support, my mother operated the business, achieved success and eventually grew the residential care business into multiple facilities, which I worked at during my teen years, serving individuals suffering from mental illness. I went on to graduate from USC with a degree in Psychology. After graduating, I worked at both Rancho Los Amigos Hospital in Downey and then at LA County Men’s Central Jail Forensic Mental Health Unit. I was later employed at a skilled nursing facility that my mother had purchased and from which, under her guidance, I learned to manage and operate. Watching her grow and flourish became a lifelong inspiration and one that served me well during my own business venture experiencing the tremendous ups and downs one goes through and that I witnessed growing up. With success, I’ve come to understand the significance of perseverance and tenacity.

After graduating with a master’s degree from a professional design college, the University of Colorado, I spent a short time working in the architecture field. I later furthered my knowledge in related areas designing, directing and building family housing communities. Eventually returning to skilled nursing and upon meeting my business partner, we put together and nurtured a team that became known as the RollinsNelson Group. With our mutual experiences and our good chemistry, we too flourished as my mother had and grew a network of nursing facilities that we own and operate, all of which are well-run and well-managed.

In keeping with the government’s effort to promote what is called continuity of care, we ventured into the general hospital sector acquiring general acute care hospitals, establishing a niche market for residents mainly in institutional care setting with both mental health and chronic illnesses that we treat at LA Downtown Medical Center. Given the tremendous homeless/unhoused population we were seeing, we established LADMC Foundation, a charitable arm of the hospital to assist in these efforts, and much more.