This past year proved to be a busy time at New Samaritan Corporation as we worked with the Board of Directors and Committees, interviewing and hiring senior management staff to complete the restructured management team. We have created or upgraded the positions of Vice President of Finance/CFO; Vice President of Housing Development; Vice President of Housing Management; Vice President of Health Services; Vice President of Human Resources; and Director of Compliance, assembling a group of individuals who bring to the table much experience and talent to contribute to the growth of the corporation.
These individuals were chosen because of the high degree of expertise each one has relating to development, management, health care and/or finance regarding elderly and supportive housing, skilled nursing facilities, and in the management of our corporation. We conducted exhaustive searches to locate and hire individuals as excited as I am about taking our companies to even higher levels of excellence in non-profit housing development, management and health care.
Our focus this year has centered on staffing and management reorganization, governance, and in expanding our base of support. And we have been successful in increasing communication between the local boards of directors for the elderly sites we manage and our corporation, enabling our senior staff to identify ways we can improve the management of those sites.
The Board of Directors of New Samaritan Corporation and the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ adopted a revised covenant. This covenant provides New Samaritan the opportunity to seek support from Conference churches and to solicit financial resources as they are available to strengthen New Samaritan and its affiliates. It also confers recognition that will qualify us for participation in a variety of programs of the wider United Church of Christ.
Continuing education and training of staff is an integral part of keeping our employees on top of the latest changes in policy and procedures, and in ensuring that we remain in compliance with regulatory body requirements. New Samaritan Corporation sponsored a three-day training session for site Administrators and senior staff for a Certificate of Occupancy Specialist course. We have also sponsored a TRACS (HUD computer program) and Contract Administrator training. Tax Credit, Site-Based Budgeting, and Orientation programs also have been conducted.
We also focused on developing a marketing and communications plan, and have implemented a fundraising feasibility study to determine the capacity of what New Samaritan can raise in public support and to assess the purposes for which new support would be used. We have met with some Connecticut legislators and have hosted several legislative breakfasts around the state as a way to improve our visibility.
This is a very exciting time in New Samaritan Corporation’s history, as we grow in new directions, expanding on our founding principles and exploring new avenues in affordable housing opportunities. I am thrilled to be working with the superior group of individuals we have assembled and look forward to the challenges we will face together.
Alan E. Green
President / CEO, New Samaritan Corporation
