Masonic Villages undergoing leadership change

The CEO of one of Pennsylvania’s largest senior living organizations is leaving in the coming months after 36 years of leadership.Joseph Murphy, CEO of Elizabethtownbased Masonic Villages, will be retiring this December. His replacement, William Kingsbury, has a long history with the organization as one of its attorneys and as chair of its investment board.
Murphy has been drawn to the culture of the Elizabethtown senior community ever since he was hired as an accountant for the organization in 1974. In that time, Masonic Villages has grown, adding locations in Luzerne, Montgomery, Allegheny and Bucks counties in the last 20 years.
Masonic Villages’ mission and culture have been constants, according to Murphy, and in the five-month search to find a new leader, finding someone who could uphold that mission was the first priority.
“This community has a reputation that it does quality service and takes care of people who can’t afford to pay,” he said. “Our people feel good about being part of this community because it cares for people. It isn’t all about the bottom line.”
Masonic Villages serves about 3,000 people between its five locations in Pennsylvania and employs more than 2,400 people. The organization is owned by The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, the governing body of Pennsylvania’s Masonic lodges.
Kingsbury has been a long-running member of the Grand Lodge and has worked as an attorney for both it and the Masonic Villages since he began practicing law 25 years ago. He was also the chair of the Trustees of the Grand Lodge Consolidated Fund and chair of the Administrators of the Grand Lodge Pension Plan. In those two roles, Kingsbury played a key part in ensuring that the organization’s funds were invested wisely, according to Murphy.
Murphy said the organization has found a new leader who believes in the nonprofit’s charitable mission and is prepared to take on the coming changes in the senior care industry.
“The world is changing with acute care mergers and acquisitions and that is occurring in post-acute care,” Murphy said. “That’s the fun that (Kingsbury) in his leadership role will help the team go through in the near future.”
Murphy added that having a CEO as well-versed in advising the nonprofit as an outside general counsel for both the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania and the Masonic Villages will be beneficial in any future mergers.
Kingsbury’s responsibilities include not just leadership of the Masonic Villages, but also the Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Masonic Youth Foundation in Elizabethtown, the Masonic Blood and Organ Donor Program and the Masonic Charities Fund.
Kingsbury also will be responsible for the day-to-day management of all the charitable activities and functions of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. Masonic Villages alone provided about $45 million in services last year, including services not covered by Medicare or Medicaid.
Pennsylvania’s regulatory environment has become more complicated in recent years and medical assistance funding rates have put more pressure on senior living organizations like Masonic Villages. Kingsbury plans to use a transitionary period with Murphy to listen to the concerns of the staff and residents as he plans for first years as the organization’s leader.
 

CREDIT: Ioannis Pashakis