Loretto names new CEO, COO following efforts to shore up its finances

SYRACUSE — The board of directors at Loretto this week named new senior leadership following the organization’s efforts to streamline its operations.

The organization appointed Kimberly Townsend, who has served on Loretto’s board of directors for 10 years, to president and CEO.

Townsend has served as board president since 2011, Loretto said in a news release.

Her new position at Loretto will be effective in January.

Loretto appointed Steve Volza as COO of its skilled nursing and housing operations.

Volza, who has worked at Loretto for 38 years, is currently serving as the organization’s senior vice president, Loretto said.

Besides her role on the Loretto board, Townsend has been serving as associate general counsel and senior director of government affairs for Welch Allyn in Skaneateles Falls, Loretto said.

“I have spent my career shaping strategy, solving problems, and building strong relationships. I will bring those strengths to Loretto,” Townsend said in the news release and in her remarks to the board, senior leadership, and community leaders gathered at Loretto for this week’s announcement.

She assumes the CEO role from Bruce Buchanan, managing director of Philadelphia, Pa.–based Health Management Partners, LLC (HMP).

HMP is a firm that has worked with Loretto for the past two years to help the organization streamline its operations and establish a “firm financial base,” Loretto said.

Buchanan believes Loretto has a “great future.”

“They have a long-standing reputation in this community as being at the forefront of elder care. They have always been true to their mission. Now, they have the financial foundation necessary to move into the future,” Buchanan said in the news release.

He called Townsend “a visionary leader.”

Townsend thanked HMP for its leadership, Loretto said.

“As we were working with HMP to build a stronger Loretto, we continued to move forward. We currently have $90 million in capital projects planned and underway that are part of the vibrant economic growth of this region,” Townsend said.

The projects include a larger facility for the PACE MacAuliffe Health Center that’s planned in town of DeWitt, Loretto said.

PACE (short for a program of all-inclusive care for the elderly) a separate nonprofit corporation of Loretto, according to its website.

In addition, Loretto in December will begin construction on a second apartment building in Baldwinsville with rent subsidies from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to Loretto.

The projects also include the merger of Mercy Health & Rehabilitation Center and the Cayuga County Nursing Home, both of which are located in Auburn; and the completion of construction of The Cottages at Garden Grove in Cicero, a small-homes project for skilled-nursing eligible residents, the organization added.

The small-homes project is a joint project of Loretto, Crouse Hospital, and St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, Loretto said in its news release.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com