Heritage Ministries announce the creation of a new governance council | News, Sports, Jobs

Pictured are County Executive PJ Wendel and Heritage Ministries CEO Lisa Haglund. Heritage Ministries recently announced the creation of a new governance council. Photo submitted

Local nursing care provider Heritage Ministries is looking to a brighter future for its organization by recently announcing the creation of a new governance board, made up of local people from Chautauqua County.

Heritage Ministries is the county’s largest and most trusted provider of skilled nursing care, including providing care in the areas of therapy, memory care, rehabilitation, assisted living and independent living, with three facilities in the Chautauqua County area. Implementing a new board governance structure aims to ensure the long-term success of the organization and safeguard the well-being of those it serves.

Heritage was founded more than 130 years ago by the Free Methodists, and current CEO Lisa Haglund said that to address past challenges, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the organization felt that a new board of directors had to be set up, composed specifically of local populations.

“The new board is poised to be able to address challenges strategically, diversify our involvement, collaborate with other organizations, and help us provide the highest level of care possible to the county,” Highland said.

While deeply honoring its faith-based mission and heritage, Heritage also recognizes the challenges posed by previous decisions that put the organization – and the vital care it provides – at risk.

The new board must help ensure a strong future for Heritage, which Haglund said is very important because of the facility’s impact on other local organizations, including UPMC. Heritage plays a major role in supporting UPMC, Haglund said, being one of the last local nursing home facilities and providing work for more than 600 employees. UPMC would feel a major impact without the ability to offload to Heritage, she added.

“We are very excited to have this new board coming in to lead Heritage,” Haglund said. “We are excited and grateful to our new board for coming in, establishing our roots in Chautauqua County and allowing ourselves to be led by the leadership of Chautauqua County. There will be a lot of exciting things to come in the next few years.

Looking to the future, Haglund said she hopes Heritage will be able to diversify its revenue streams, improve its margins and enhance its ability to serve the county. She said she also hopes to expand workforce development and bring better health care back to New York state.

“We live in a medically underserved area and we need innovation and partnership, and our new board is ready to meet these challenges,” Haglund said.

Additionally, Haglund said Heritage has been able to overcome many past challenges, including Covid and other past decision-making. Moving forward, they will continue to overcome any future challenges and focus on local growth, she added, also thanking County Executive PJ Wendel and other county leaders Heritage has worked with as they focused on creating the new board. “Strength in Unity” is a new theme for Heritage, termed by Wendel, and has become the common thread of their new effort.

“We have a new theme of strength and unity,” Haglund said. “We are working across county lines with PJ Wendel and other county leaders and looking to the future with a focus on strength, unity, local growth, local leadership and local government.