New Baptist Senior Family CEO looks toward addressing future of care
The top man at Baptist Senior Family likes to joke that he started his career at the very bottom.
“I used to clean grease pits in a nursing home when I was a young teenager,” Timothy Myers recalled. “When I did that, I got to chat with the residents and figured out that they know a whole lot more about life than I do.”
Pretty much since then, he has worked with senior citizens, culminating in his position as president and chief executive officer for the nonprofit that until recently was called Baptist Senior Services. Myers took over Jan. 1, succeeding Alvin Allison Jr. following his retirement.
Baptist Senior Family, which has new administrative offices in Collier Township, operates Baptist Homes and Baptist Manor in Mt. Lebanon, Providence Point in Scott Township, and services related to management and home care.
Myers joins the organization from another nonprofit provider of senior services, Rockville, Md.-based Ingleside, for which he worked as chief financial officer and chief operating officer.
“I’ve worked almost exclusively for not-for-profits, for 35 years now,” he said, starting shortly after he graduated from Lycoming College with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He later earned his law degree from Rutgers.
Of course, the landscape of providing for seniors has shifted considerably in three-and-a-half decades.
“There’s still the need to provide a quality environment and quality care. That hasn’t changed,” Myers said. “The expectations have, and tremendously. And as our generation begins to move, they’re going to change yet again.
“Part of the challenge is going to be that people want to stay home, and they want services brought to them as opposed to going to the services,” he added. “That’s nothing new, but you’re going to see it accelerate, for sure.”
A major concern is the financial aspect of aging.
“Most of us aren’t going to have the durable incomes in the future,” Myers said. “So how do you and I access those services? That’s really the question. It’s really moving toward a position where more and more people will be able to access great care.”
Another issue has to do with demographics. As more Americans reach their 70s and beyond, he said, the number of comparatively young people available to care for them decreases.
In the meantime, Baptist Senior Family continues to build on its 112-year tradition of providing for older adults, beginning as a cooperative effort of 90 American Baptist churches throughout Western Pennsylvania.
“Both Providence Point and Baptist Homes sit in communities. And so it’s, how can we be a good civic partner? How can we be part of the community?” Myers said.
“That’s a continuing need, because our residents are from here, and we want to be part of the fabric of where we are.”
For more information, visit www.baptisthomes.org.