Residents come first for new Friends Care administrator

Friends Care Community’s new director Karl Zalar, right, spoke with Extended Care resident Jim Ford last week. Zalar’s philosophy of nursing home care emphasizes residents and his accessibility.

By Diane Chiddister

It may take him a few months, but as soon as possible, Karl Zalar, the new administrator of Friends Care Community, plans to call all the center’s residents and employees by name. He also hopes to make twice a day rounds of the center, and in general be as accessible as he can be.

“I’ll be out and about constantly,” Zalar said in a recent interview. “That’s who I am. That’s how I manage.”

Zalar has been on the job for a few weeks, having filled the vacancy left by former administrator Jeff Singleton, who left Friends last summer after 14 years. Singleton left big shoes to fill, Zalar believes. He is especially impressed by Friends having been one of the first nursing homes in the state to introduce the principles of the Eden Alternative, in which nursing homes strive to make their facilities homey and life-affirming. For example, Friends currently has two resident pet dogs and a cat, and houses a day-care center.

“Anything that we can do to de-institutionalize the center and make it more like home, we should do,” Zalar said, adding that he is open to new ideas from staff, community members and residents as well.

“Within our financial constraints, if the staff has cool ideas, we should do them,” he said.

Zalar describes himself as someone with a good sense of humor who would like the atmosphere at Friends to be light and fun, but always professional. He wants Friends staff members to always be mindful of the importance of their work caring for people, many at the end of their lives, who face considerable physical and emotional challenges.

“You want to treat people as you would want to be treated, as you would want someone to treat your mother,” he said.

His philosophy of nursing home care is simple, Zalar said.

“The resident comes first, the resident comes first, the resident comes first,” he said.

Zalar was selected for the position last month, and began work several weeks ago. According to Friends board member and search committee co-chair Carl Hyde, the board received 15 applications for the position and narrowed those down to five applicants, who each came to Friends in early December for a day of interviews, including one with residents, staff and community members. Zalar received the highest ranking of the five candidates, according to Hyde, and also impressed the search committee with his experience. For the past 10 years, he has been head administrator of an Urbana nursing home and hospital.

In a written statement, Friends’ board member and search committee co-chair Mary White stated, “I am delighted with the appointment of Karl Zalar to lead Friends Care Community. We received applications from many highly qualified candidates and found each of the five we interviewed very impressive. But there was broad agreement on the search committee, which included trustees, residents, family members and staff, that Mr. Zalar was our top choice given the needs of Friends Care Community at this time.”

Zalar feels “blessed” at having been chosen, he said, especially since, as well as feeling at home with the center’s philosophy, he is impressed by the amount of community support, both financial and otherwise, from which it benefits. It is rare, he believes, for a care facility to be both independent and nonprofit and to be financially stable.

“This is a unique opportunity,” he said.

Zalar, 59, received a sociology degree from the University of Rochester, and later received a masters in counseling from Bowling Green University and a masters in management from Antioch University McGregor.

In his last job, Zalar was the administrator at the Mercy McAuley Center in Urbana, an extended care center and hospital. Before moving into a career in long-term care facilities, he had worked as a director of a physical rehabilitation agency and for the outpatient rehabilitation and sports medicine center at Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton.

He made the career change into long-term care facilities after researching job opportunities 10 years ago, Zalar said. Soon after moving into his first longterm care administrative position, he knew that the work fit him emotionally as well. He appreciated having extended contact with the center’s residents, instead of just working with people for a few days, as in his previous jobs.

“It’s an opportunity to become a part of people’s lives,” he said.

Friends Care Community, which includes the extended care facility, an assisted living facility and independent apartments, has been working well for a long time, Zalar said, and he has no plans to make significant changes. Currently, he is observing how Friends functions, he said, and he will later engage in “tweaking” to make things run even better.

“The staff, the environment, the level of care is very good,” he said. “There are some loose ends, but they won’t be hard to fix.”

The times are challenging for extended care facilities, according to Zalar, partly because the federal government has decreased Medicaid reinbursements on which many facilities, including Friends, depend. While Friends is non-profit, it is necessary to maintain a small profit margin in order to keep things running smoothly, he believes, and it’s becoming harder to do so. Consequently, he said, he will be looking at ways to reduce expenses without making dramatic changes.

While Zalar appreciates the Yellow Springs community, he does not plan to move here. His wife, Julie, works at the Upper Valley Medical Center as an occupational therapist and their current home in Huber Heights allows them both a reasonable commute, he said. However, he plans to become as involved in the community as he can be.

Zalar has three grown children and one stepdaughter, along with one grandchild. When he is not working, he enjoys reading and golf, and he and his wife enjoy spending time with their friends.

But he also loves working, and Zalar said he hopes to keep working at Friends until he retires, which he estimates to be seven to nine years down the road.

“I’m here to stay,” he said.

In her statement, White urged villagers to get to know the new Friends administrator.

“Go meet him!” she wrote. “Let him know who you are and what you hope for in Friends Care. If you have the time, offer your support.”

Contact: dchiddister@ysnews.com