What makes a non-profit senior living organization special? What sets such organizations apart from for-profit ventures? And what effect does this have on the quality of care that residents recieve at these locations?
Presbyterian Senior Living prides itself on maintaining the highest organizational standards ensuring that residents receive the highest possible quality of care, that employees are treated well as individuals, and that everything the organization does aligns with its mission. That mission is to provide Christian understanding, compassion and a sense of belonging to promote wholeness of mind, body and spirit.
The following characteristics are hallmarks of a non-profit senior living organization.
Read: Non-Profit vs. For-Profit Senior Living Organizations: What You Need to Know
A Clear Mission
Non-profit senior living organizations are guided by a clear mission that provides a very apparent benefit to the public. Income and assets are dedicated to educational, charitable, literary, religious or scientific purposes of the non-profit organization.
Presbyterian Senior Living uses its strength as a relatively large organization to create environments in which senior adults can thrive. As a not-for-profit organization, we can concentrate on our residents’ needs first rather than on profits. In our communities, our staff members can get to know residents personally and accommodate residents’ individual preferences as often as possible.
Ownership by a Corporation
Non-profit senior living organizations are owned by corporations and not by individual people or families. As a corporation, non-profits like Presbyterian Senior Living are managed under the purview of a board of directors or trustees who are charged with ensuring that the corporation operates according to its mission in the public interest. For more than 85 years, Presbyterian Senior Living has operated in accordance with its mission as it provides senior care services to more than 6,000 seniors across Pennsylvania, Delaware, Ohio and Maryland.
No Personal Gain to Individuals
In a non-profit senior living organization, individuals do not receive income distributed as dividends or stock options. Laws and organizational procedures prohibit individuals from accepting money from a non-profit organization for personal gain.
A Volunteer Board
A non-profit senior living organization such as Presbyterian Senior Living operates under the guidance of a volunteer board of directors or trustees. The organization works to recruit board members from a variety of disciplines in the greater community, including government, medicine, education, religion, law, business and others.
Board members often have a professional or personal interest in ensuring the wellbeing of seniors. In many cases, board members also are involved in gerontology, elder law, lifelong education and other fields that strive to provide seniors with longer lives and a higher quality of life.
Meeting the Measure of a Non-Profit Organization
By every definition, Presbyterian Senior Living upholds the defining characteristics of a non-profit senior living organization. As Chief Executive Officer Stephen Proctor notes, "Presbyterian Senior Living’s focus on serving aging individuals with limited incomes benefits the senior population and the greater community." Presbyterian Senior Living is proud to help enhance life for aging individuals as a non-profit provider of senior living services.