Maimonides, or the Rambam, lived from 1138 until 1204, and remains one of the most prolific Torah scholars of all time, as well as a noted physician whose treatises on such conditions as asthma, diabetes, hepatitis, and pneumonia influenced future generations of medical professionals.
Faced with the challenge of retitling a 43-year-old Jewish housing and health care community in Virginia Beach, the new owners, New Jersey-based Green Tree, reached back to the Middle Ages and the author of the 14 volume Mishneh Torah for that new name, Maimonides Healthcare.
“We want to highlight both the longstanding Jewish and medical aspects of this community,” says Ari Stern, CEO of Green Tree Health Care of Jackson, N.J., which has acquired the current Beth Sholom Village campus in Virginia Beach. “We now have nine senior housing communities in our portfolio, but this is the first one that has consistently been Jewish for its entire history. It is very special to us, and we intend to operate it with great respect for residents, families, and employees.”
Stern and his brother Manny are both Licensed Nursing Home Administrators and have been credentialed for many years, having been administrators at a combined dozen homes over their careers. Manny will be the regional administrator for Green Tree, which owns and operates homes from Northern Virginia to Jefferson City, Mo. and from Solomons, Md. to Providence, R.I. The administrators of the nursing home and assisted living facility in Virginia Beach will be Lauren Schoenfeld and Allison Hechtkopf, who currently hold the same positions at Beth Sholom Village. They will now work for Green Tree along with nurses, CNA’s, dining staff, custodial workers, and others.
On June 12, the Green Tree team came to Beth Sholom Village for the first time, not as potential suitors to purchase the College Park campus, but as the likely owners, based on the scheduled June 30 financial closing. They met with staff and assured them that Green Tree, which includes yet another Stern among its leadership team, Simon Stern, who is president of the company, but no relation to Manny and Ari, have their best interests at heart. Simon had ownership in 14 nursing facilities before founding Green Tree. “We invest into our physical plant and direct patient care to ensure our homes are appealing places for families to send loved ones,” says Simon Stern.
Ari Stern, along with members of his clinical and human resources team, assured the current BSV employees that Green Tree will provide competitive wages and benefits and be attuned to their needs. “Some things will surely change for them, but our corporate philosophy is to take care of your staff,” says Ari. “We understand, particularly in today’s competitive labor environment, that we must respect the work they do and retain their services and talents for the benefit of residents and families.”
Financial stability for Maimonides Healthcare in Virginia Beach is critical. “We must have it to ensure this community is here for many more years, but our goal is to make this transition as seamless as possible for staff, residents, and families.”
All the Sterns intend to make frequent visits to Virginia Beach to come to know the community, its synagogues, and regional agencies.
“We want to be here for a long time,” says Ari Stern, “and make Hampton Roads proud to have us as their provider of high-quality skilled nursing, rehabilitation and assisted living services, as Beth Sholom has been for more than four decades.”
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Joel Rubin is a past president of Beth Sholom Village and is CEO of Rubin Communications Group.
-Joel Rubin