Friends Care director resigns

By Lauren Heaton

Friends Care Community Administrator Jeff Singleton resigned from his position on Monday, Sept. 17, effective immediately. He has been the administrator for 14 years.

“I resigned to pursue other opportunities,” Singleton said on Tuesday. “Friends is a magnificent organization, and it has been a privilege to have served as administrator for 14 years.”

Singleton was placed on administrative leave by the Friends Care Board of Trustees in mid-August, according to Board Chair Carl Champney, who declined to give the reason for or the precise timing of the leave. But on Tuesday, Singleton said that his resignation was voluntary. The Friends staff was officially notified on Tuesday.

Bob Reed is now serving as interim administrator at Friends. Reed has served Friends since Singleton’s leave, according to Champney, and he will continue to direct the center on a part-time basis until a new administrator is found. Reed, who lives near Columbus, has completed annual financial audits for Friends and also has experience in nursing home administration, Champney said.

During Singleton’s tenure, Friends Care made several expansions in an effort to serve a larger number of elders with a wider range of needs. Starting out as a 66-bed nursing home when Singleton came, Friends later built 20 assisted living units and then added independent living units to the 22-acre campus on Herman Street. A major renovation of the extended care nursing home facility was completed several years ago, and the Home Assistance Program and the Friends Preschool were also established under Singleton’s leadership. This past year, Singleton was also involved in planning a new senior apartment project for Friends on the Barr house property on the corner of Xenia Avenue and Limestone Street.

“To go from a small nursing home to a retirement campus, it’s been wonderful to be a part of helping that happen,” he said. “Friends has seen tremendous growth in an era where health care has primarily been struggling, and I hope only good things are to come for Friends in the future.”

Singleton, who lives with his family in Yellow Springs, plans to pursue a similar line of work somewhere in the Dayton or Cincinnati area, he said.

According to Champney, Friends Care board members Mary White and Carl Hyde are co-chairing a search committee for a new administrator. The committee will include Reed and several other board members, as well as staff and Yellow Springs community members. Champney anticipated the search could take several months to complete.

Contact: lheaton@ysnews.com