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WHEELING -- Donald R. Kirsch was hired as business manager of Good Shepherd Nursing Home in 1979, when Jimmy Carter was president, fewer than 10% of Americans had ever used a personal computer, and the nursing home had been in existence less than a decade.
With his retirement, he leaves an organization that regularly earns top five-star ratings from the federal government, placing Good Shepherd in the top 10% of nursing homes nationwide. He is always quick to deflect credit, pointing to the staff of 320 full and part time staff who care for the Good Shepherd residents.
"I am blessed to have been part of a group of like-minded individuals whose sole purpose was the creation of a lasting legacy to the vision and generosity of Clara Welty and her sister Bertha," he said. The Welty sisters donated their fortune to the Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston to care for elderly people.
"Together, from humble beginnings, we created the largest eldercare corporation registered exclusively in the State of West Virginia. To have been part of such an endeavor represents a rare opportunity, and one that I will cherish for the rest of my life," Kirsch said.
He is also grateful to Good Shepherd residents and their families.
"I have cherished my time with our residents and their family members," he said. "The provision of eldercare is built on a foundation of trust. With all our efforts, we are nothing without those individuals and their family members who requested our help in their time of need. I wish to thank our residents and their family members, past and present, who trusted us to care for them."
Kirsch also thanked the many individuals who shared their time and talent to make Clara Welty's vision a reality.
"In particular, I wish to thank the trustees of the Clara Welty Trust, whose investment and business acumen is beyond parallel; the devoted and skilled members of our Board of Directors; the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston; the five bishops I worked with, each of whom left an indelible mark on our corporation; and the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd and Palatine Sisters for creating a religious presence within our facilities, along with spending hours upon hours in prayer for our success."
Kirsch singled out two individuals for special mention.
"Of the myriad of people who helped me along the way, Richard G. Herndon and Dr. John W. Braddock offered me the opportunity of a lifetime in my early 20s. As members of the Welty Board, they were generous in their advice and frugal in their criticism. From them, I received an education that no amount of money can buy."
Kirsch said he is also grateful for the tremendous contributions of his family, wife Barbara, children, Jason, Justin and Morgan, sister Carol Terry and his parents Robert and Joan Kirsch.
"I could not have done it without them," he said.
Kirsch was hired as business manager of Good Shepherd Nursing Home in 1979, two days before his 22nd birthday. Two years later, Bishop Joseph H. Hodges promoted him to administrator of Good Shepherd, making him the youngest nursing home administrator in the state at age 24. Later in his career, Kirsch was promoted to the position of Manager of the Welty Corporation, encompassing the Welty Home, The Clara and Bertha Welty Apartments, The Welty TownHomes and The Braddock Apartments
In a final meeting with the Welty Corporation staff, he thanked them for the care, concern, love, and affection that they show for the residents under their care. Together, the staff, board, and Kirsch completed $43 million worth of construction projects that increased the number of residents that the Welty Corporation serves by 60%. The organization added a short-term rehabilitation unit, and created an outpatient therapy unit to deliver physical, speech, and occupational therapy to residents and outpatients.
"Together, we earned national workplace safety awards from OSHA, making us the first elder care corporation in West Virginia to do so," he said, adding that staff fought COVID together and saved lives in the process.
He told staff that any single accomplishment he mentioned would be a major accomplishment for any eldercare corporation.
"Yet you have achieved all of these accomplishments," he said, "and you did so with style, grace, and professionalism, along with a quiet humility that endears you to many."
Mr. Kirsch thanked staff for the faith and confidence that they showed him, and for allowing him to represent them in the community.
"Thank you for reaching into your pocket to purchase items for residents who did not have the funds to make the purchase themselves," he said. "Thank you for returning at the end of your day to remain with a gravely ill resident, making sure that they did not pass away alone. And thank you for providing me with wonderful memories that will sustain me for the remainder of my life."
Kirsch is confident that his replacement, who has trained as part of his staff for years, will continue to uphold the high standards that have made Good Shepherd the area's Best Nursing Home, according to The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register's Best of the Valley Readers' Choice Awards.
The Good Shepherd Board of Directors hired Morgan Murphy as the new administrator. The new administrator is a Wheeling native who is a graduate of Mount de Chantal Visitation Academy and earned a bachelor's degree in business administration with a specialty in health services for long-term care at West Liberty University and a master's degree in health care administration from Ohio University. She also happens to be the daughter of Donald and Barbara Kirsch.
Murphy has been a familiar face at Good Shepherd since she was a child. She often accompanied her father as he visited with residents and families and remembers being part of a group of piano students who performed music recitals for residents, especially during the holidays. In her teenage years she helped with resident activities and worked evenings and summers as a receptionist.
Before joining the staff as regulatory and compliance director, Murphy completed a yearlong administrator-in-training program at Good Shepherd, then was named manager of skilled rehabilitation and long-term care facility at East Ohio Regional Hospital. She later served as a physician integration specialist at the Ohio Valley Health Services & Education Corporation.
Kirsch said he and his Good Shepherd colleagues have spent Murphy's entire adult life preparing her for this type of opportunity.
"Morgan is the right person with the right skill set to carry the legacy of Clara Welty forward into the next generation," he said. "All corporations should be so fortunate."