Moravian Manor Communities and Morningstar Living—two faith-based, not-for-profit pillars in senior living in Pennsylvania—have received regulatory approval to finalize its affiliation, and have formed Unitas Communities to serve as the parent company. The communities had been actively exploring forming an affiliation for the better part of a year, with their respective boards and related task forces conducting due diligence within each organization. This past summer, both Boards unanimously approved the affiliation.

Under the affiliation model, both organizations will retain their own separate, corporate identities and continue to operate separately financially and legally, while sharing key services and resources. This allows them to capitalize on shared strengths to secure their positioning for the future. New leadership roles include:

• • President & CEO: J. David Swartley, President and CEO of Moravian Manor Communities, has stepped into the key leadership role of President and CEO for both Life Plan Communities.
  • Executive Director, Moravian Manor Communities: Cynthia Meier, formerly Vice President of Finance at Moravian Manor Communities, has been named as Executive Director for Moravian Manor Communities. She will oversee the day-to-day operations there.  
  • Executive Director, Morningstar Living: Susan Capobianco has been named as Executive Director for Morningstar Living and will oversee the day-to-day operations there. She also will continue in her current role as Chief Marketing Officer at Morningstar Living. 
  • Chief Financial Officer: Christopher Hunt, who had been serving as Morningstar Living’s Chief Financial Officer, will step into the dual role for both Moravian Manor Communities and Morningstar Living. 
  • Brynn Lee, Chief Human Resources Officer: Brynn Lee, who had been serving as Morningstar Living’s Chief Human Resources Officer, will step into the dual role for both Moravian Manor Communities and Morningstar Living. 

The establishment of Unitas Communities (unitascommunities.org) will serve as an umbrella under which shared services and any future endeavors will be developed. The name Unitas comes from the Moravian heritage, with the Moravian Church officially known as Unitas Fratrum (Unity of Brethern) since 1457. Leadership is focused on the Moravian Church’s emphasis in living its motto: “In essentials, unity, in non-essentials liberty, and in all things love.” 

Each community will maintain a smaller Board, with local leadership and resident representation, while the parent company Board establishes representation for both communities’ as well as that of the Eastern District Synod of the Moravian Church, who sponsored each of the organizations years ago to originally serve their aging church population.

Unitas Communities Board of Trustees

Rich Harney
Rick Jackson
Melissa Johnson
Rex Knowlton
Edward Nawrocki
Donna Sabol

“Long-term strategies guide our decisions as faith-based, not-for-profit organizations,” commented David Swartley, President & CEO. “Both of our communities do not have shareholders to whom we must pay quarterly dividends, allowing the Board of Trustees to focus on long-term initiatives. Most leaders in our space believe that small, stand-alone long-term care facilities will struggle to survive. Thus, our affiliation, which we hope will grow and evolve to include more communities in the future.

Starting in January this year, we rolled out a new magazine to our community… Pursuits! Residential living residents enthusiastically welcomed this monthly resource to learn about all the things they could pursue to do, learn and share at Moravian Manor Communities. Jennifer Shutt, Director of Community Life, serves as the editor and driving force for its production and our long-term partner Stratega Marketing creates the design.

Unbeknownst to us, this spring, Stratega Marketing secretly submitted Pursuits to the National Mature Media Awards^® program. Aside from being proud of the design, Stratega felt it was a strong publication that demonstrates the quality lifestyle available at our life plan community. Just last month, we learned that Pursuits won a Bronze award in the Magazine category. What an honor to have Pursuits recognized alongside projects produced by industry experts, including local community Tel Hai, AARP and others!

The National Mature Media Awards® is the nation’s largest awards program of its kind, annually recognizing the nation’s best marketing, communications, educational materials and programs produced for adults 50 and older. The winners are selected by a distinguished panel of judges from across the United States, which represent years of expertise working in the mature market. Using a rating scale of 1 to 100, judges rank the entries based on format, content, creativity, relevance and overall quality. 

This recognition further demonstrates MMC’s commitment to creating an engaging, stimulating, and enriching environment for residents. Our Community Life team continuously strives to create meaningful programs and activities for residents to enjoy, and Pursuits is an integral part of their work. We are especially appreciative of the support that Stratega Marketing provides in producing the magazine. Congratulations to all involved for their hard work and dedication in making Pursuits such a success!

If you haven’t seen the magazine yet, be sure to check it out! The current issue and several back issues are available to peruse at www.moravianmanorcommunities.org/publications.

In 2019, Simon Sinek penned the book, “The Infinite Game.” In this book, Sinek makes the case that while we are finite beings, our cause should be infinite. He speaks from a business perspective but offers valuable insights that apply to everyday life.

Long-term strategies guide our decisions as a faith-based, not-for-profit organization. At Moravian Manor Communities (MMC), we don’t have shareholders to whom we must pay quarterly dividends, so our Board of Trustees can focus on long-term initiatives. Most leaders in our space believe that small, stand-alone long term care facilities will struggle to survive. Thus, in 2019, the Strategic Plan called for exploring partnerships and affiliations. 

In 2023, our plan to form an affiliation with Morningstar Living in Nazareth, Pennsylvania became a reality. This affiliation is the first step in our long-term strategy, which will most likely evolve to include more than just two facilities. In order to truly (and literally) represent the unity of the affiliated organizations, we established an umbrella corporation named Unitas Communities. (learn more about Unitas on page 4)

Some of my friends in college played for the women’s volleyball team.  Whenever they broke from a timeout, they would yell, “Together we can!” Working together for a joint cause captures my interest. MMC’s leadership believes developing partnerships is a successful strategy. While our board meetings do not end with a “Together We Can” cheer, a similar thought process exists.

Our affiliation process with Morningstar Living is awaiting the final legal approvals. We have no concerns about gaining approval, as our affiliation is unlikely to be viewed as a harmful monopoly. On July 1, we began the process of working together, and I am spending the first 90 days learning about the respective cultures and personnel. The first fruits of the affiliation will be bringing together our Business Office functions, followed by Human Resources and Information Technology. It is truly an exciting time.

The similarities in challenges and people have been noteworthy. Many of the resident concerns in Lititz are the same as in Nazareth. The staff challenges offer different faces and names, but similar issues. We are all humans trying to make the world a better place. Through the complications, treating our fellow beings with respect is our core motivation. It is about the people.

On Wednesdays, my wife oversees our three grandsons (ages 7, 5, and 2). By the time I get home, she’s usually fatigued. One day, I arrived home and was amused to hear her recap of the day. She told me that Everett (age 5) wanted to play school. At the beginning of their fictitious school day, he was pleased to announce the RULES TO FOLLOW IN SCHOOL. He very seriously stated four rules: “Do not cough on people. Do not sneeze on people. Do not hit people. Do not call people a b*tch.” Well now! We both got a good chuckle from the last rule (which did not come from me). However, at the core of Everett’s advice is a theme we should all abide by: Respect for one another. As the affiliation unfolds, there will likely be some rocky paths to maneuver. One of our core values at MMC is “People First.” If, at the core of our being, we remain respectful of others on the journey, we will succeed. 

In one of Sinek’s chapters, he discusses Trusting Teams and recounts the story of teambuilding with a Shell Oil deep-sea rig crew. He concluded that under the oil workers’ hard exteriors, like all people, they had fears, doubts, and insecurities. No matter what ethnicity, creed, or family history, we all have similar vulnerabilities. When we recognize what we have in common and work together with compassion and understanding, we grow from a collection of individuals into a strong and functional team. While working with diversified groups of people can be challenging, the fruit of our labor is worth the effort.

As MMC and Morningstar Living take the first steps of working together, I am convinced that we will succeed if we treat each other with respect and dignity, unite in unity, and remember that “TOGETHER WE CAN!”