Wexner Heritage Village President/CEO Announces Retirement

September 29, 2006     

COLUMBUS, Ohio – In a special meeting of the Wexner Heritage Village Board of Directors recently, Richard S. Lamden, president/CEO, announced his retirement effective March 14, 2007. The move will mark the end of a 34-year career in the field of long-term care and older adults services, the last eight of which were spent at Wexner Heritage Village.

Lamden commented that this is a perfect time to step down and allow new leadership to take the next steps in growing Wexner Heritage Village for the coming generations.

The Board of Directors will approve a succession plan in the coming months, as well as a strategic plan defining new goals for the organization.

Ted Fisher, past chair of the WHV Board of Directors stated, “Dick Lamden has a rare combination of focus, guts, determination and intelligence that he applied to catapult Wexner Heritage Village into one of the best long-term care centers in the country. He accomplished this with a sense of humor that has endeared him to those lucky enough to work with him.”

When Lamden was hired in 1999, Wexner Heritage Village was at a critical point of its storied history, facing management and financial concerns. Lamden put in place a strong plan to improve the skilled nursing services, build an endowment and serve seniors in innovative new ways. Today, the facilities, including three independent apartment complexes, two group homes for adults with mental retardation/developmental disabilities, a hospice with its own inpatient facility, and the skilled nursing home, are consistently seeing State of Ohio survey results free of resident care concerns. An endowment effort under the auspices of the WHV Foundation, a body created under Lamden’s leadership, is currently at $9 million.

In the past five years, several new programs have been created at WHV that will better serve today’s older adults as well as the Baby Boom generation who are poised to impact aging services in great numbers as they begin to retire. Zusman Community Hospice began in 2002 to provide end-of-life care within the values of Judaism. Creekside at the Village was completed in 2005 fulfilling a defined need within the community for 82 market-rate apartments that include the highest quality of amenities as well as assistance-in-living services available to community members as they age in place. The variety of such services appeals to do-it-yourself Baby Boomers who want a variety of options for their retirement years.

In addition, the organization continued to grow its Shalom House, Inc. services for adults with mental retardation/developmental disabilities, adding Village Shalom Apartments, a ten-unit building where those who are able are assisted in living independently.

Current Board of Directors chair, James Bowman commented, “Dick is the reason I became involved with Wexner Heritage Village. When we first met, I was so impressed with his vision of a state of the art set of aging services that I couldn't help but get excited. In the eight years Dick has led the organization, the continuum of care that we discussed shortly after his arrival has largely become reality. From Creekside, to the Zusman in-patient hospice unit and everything in between, Dick's leadership will be remembered for many years to come.”

Throughout his distinguished career, Lamden has served older adults in Tucson and Pittsburgh as well as acted as an advocate working with such national organizations as the Association of Jewish Aging Services and the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA). Locally he served on the board of the Contemporary American Theater Company (CATCO) and as chair of the Public Policy Committee of AOPHA (Association of Ohio Philanthropic Homes and Services for the Aging), where he is also chair-elect.

In 1978, Lamden was named Professional of the Year by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona. AAHSA awarded him with the Dr. Herbert Shore Outstanding Mentor of the Year Award in 2004. That same year he was a finalist for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year – not-for-profit category for central Ohio. In 2005, AOPHA further recognized his work with the Leadership Award of Honor.

Lamden and his wife, Frances, plan to relocate to Scottsdale, Ariz. They have two adult children and two grandchildren.

Wexner Heritage Village is a not-for-profit provider of health, housing, social and spiritual services in the central Ohio community, primarily serving older adults and persons with disabilities. Its mission, guided by Jewish values and traditions, is to assist those it serves in pursuing their fullest human potential. The campus serves the entire community and includes: Wexner Heritage House, a 200-bed nursing facility, Heritage Tower and Bexley Heritage Apartments, HUD-sponsored independent living, Creekside at the Village, premier independent apartments, Victor Weinstein Shalom House and Shalom House South, two MRDD group homes, Village Shalom Apartments, Heritage at Home, and the Larry & Leonore Zusman Jewish Community Hospice.