News about enriching the retirement years

Recently Retired President and CEO of Presbyterian SeniorCare Network to be Honored at LeadingAge Annual Meeting + Expo in October

Sept. 22, 2021 | Washington, DC – Paul M. Winkler, who recently retired as President and CEO of Presbyterian SeniorCare Network, will be celebrated next month for his innovation, leadership, and advocacy successes as the winner of the 2021 LeadingAge Award of Honor.

The Award of Honor is the highest award bestowed by LeadingAge, a national organization that represents more than 5,000 nonprofit aging services providers. The Award is presented to an individual who, through his or her body of work to the present day, has provided nationally significant, transformative leadership in aging services.

Prior to his retirement on Sept. 1, Paul had served for 34 years in various roles at Presbyterian Senior Care Network, which is western Pennsylvania’s largest aging services provider. In 1987, Paul began as Executive Vice President and later became Chief Operating Officer, and in 1999, he became President and CEO. Read more about Paul in this article written by LeadingAge.

“I am honored, humbled, and overwhelmed to receive this award, especially in this time when so many others have acted so heroically,” Paul said. “It is a credit to our organization’s team members and leaders, both past and present, who have all had a passion to make a positive difference for seniors.”

Jim Pieffer, who began Sept. 1 as President and CEO of Presbyterian SeniorCare Network, has worked alongside Paul for more than three decades at the Network. He said Paul is highly deserving of the Award of Honor.

“We have been deeply blessed by Paul’s servant leadership, integrity, and unfailing commitment to the people we serve,” Jim said. “Thanks to his vision and the solid foundation of executive leadership that he has built, the organization has evolved and is well positioned to meet the needs of future generations of older adults.”

LeadingAge has given the Award of Honor annually since 1963. Paul’s predecessor as CEO at Presbyterian SeniorCare Network, Charles W. Pruitt, Jr., also received the Award of Honor in 1997. Paul and Charles Pruitt worked together for 13 years before Paul became CEO.

Paul will be presented with the Award of Honor at the LeadingAge Annual Meeting & EXPO at the Georgia World Congress Center on October 25th.

“Paul has forged a unique path and had a positive and powerful impact on his staff and communities. As an innovator and advocate, he serves as a role model for all of us,” said Katie Smith Sloan, President and CEO of LeadingAge. “The depth of his caring and commitment exemplifies the best in our sector.”

About Presbyterian SeniorCare Network:

For more than 90 years, Presbyterian SeniorCare Network has been focused on Making Aging Easer ® for older adults and their families. As the region’s largest aging services provider, we provide a wide range of service and living options that meet people’s needs wherever they are in their aging journey. Today we are privileged to serve more than 6,500 older adults through in-home and community-based programs that provide wellness and care management services as well as 56 communities across 10 Western Pennsylvania counties, including LifePlan and independent living campuses, personal care and assisted living communities, skilled nursing centers offering short-stay rehabilitation, and more than 30 supportive housing communities for income-eligible adults and persons with disabilities. We are known as a Center of Excellence in three areas – Dementia Care, Rehabilitation and End-of-Life Care -- as a result of our deep expertise and years of experience in caring for the geriatric population.

Headquartered in Oakmont, PA, Presbyterian SeniorCare Network is a not-for-profit that has achieved accreditation through CARF as a Network and in five other categories including Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs), Assisted Living, Person-Centered Long-Term Care Communities, Home and Community Services, and Dementia Care Specialty Program. CARF is an international, not-for-profit organization that promotes quality, value, and optimal outcomes by conducting voluntary surveys for aging services providers to assure that quality standards are being met. To learn more, please visit www.SrCare.org.

About LeadingAge:

LeadingAge represents more than 5,000 nonprofit aging services providers and other mission-minded organizations that touch millions of lives every day. Alongside its members and 38 state partners, LeadingAge uses applied research, advocacy, education, and community-building to make America a better place to grow old. Its membership, which now includes the providers of the Visiting Nurse Associations of America, encompasses the continuum of services for people as they age, including those with disabilities. LeadingAge brings together the most inventive minds in the field to lead and innovate solutions that support older adults wherever they call home. For more information visit leadingage.org.

Paul M. Winkler to Retire Later This Year

Pittsburgh, PA, March 29, 2021 – Today, Laura W. Synnott, Chair of the Presbyterian SeniorCare Board of Directors announced the upcoming retirement of Paul Winkler, President and CEO of Presbyterian SeniorCare Network, and the plan for succession.

Ms. Synnott noted, “Thanks to Paul’s vision and the solid foundation of executive leadership that he has built over the past 22 years as CEO, the organization has evolved and stands poised to meet the needs of future generations of older adults.” Synnott added, “We are grateful for his servant leadership, boundless energy, passion for excellence and unwavering commitment to aging services, our organization and all those we serve.”

For nearly two years, the Board has been thoughtful about looking forward and succession planning for the organization. According to Ms. Synnott, the Board did not have to look far nor undertake a time-consuming national search to determine the next President and CEO for the Network. The Board plans to formally vote at its May 14, 2021 meeting to appoint Presbyterian SeniorCare Network Senior Vice President, James Pieffer, as the next President and CEO, effective September 1, 2021.

Winkler and Pieffer have worked in tandem for nearly 34 years. Winkler began his career with the Network in 1987 as a Nursing Home Administrator, serving first as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and becoming President and CEO in 1999.  “Throughout his tenure, Paul has exemplified our core values of innovation, collaboration and benevolence to successfully steer the organization through many periods of growth and change,” Synnott remarked.

Pieffer has been with Presbyterian SeniorCare Network since seeking an administrative fellowship almost 36 years ago after completing the Health Administration program at the University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health. Since then, Pieffer has served in a variety of senior leadership capacities, including Senior Vice President of the Network and President of its real estate affiliate, SeniorCare Network. Pieffer, a recognized leader within non-profit senior services across the country, is known especially for his work in Housing with Services, Assisted Living and innovative project development.

“We are blessed to have someone of Jim’s caliber already on our team to lead our organization to new heights,” concluded Synnott.

Meeting someone where they’re at in their life journey seems challenging, right? Especially if they’re living with dementia, a physical disability or just need more help than they used to. Luckily for Washington County, Presbyterian SeniorCare Network has been strategically implementing new living and service options that can meet people where they are in their life journey.

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