Morningstar Living and Moravian Manor Communities Affiliate Under Unitas Communities

Morningstar Living and Moravian Manor Communities—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, 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.
• 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.
• 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 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

Christian Brown, Chair

Bernadette Taylor, Vice Chair

Ben Atwater, Treasurer

Ted Lewis, Secretary

Brian Black

C. Hopeton Clennon

Geoff Eddowes

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.”