Executive Director
Sadie G. Mays Health & Rehabilitation Center is seeking a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator to serve as Executive Director for its 206-bed facility located in southwest Atlanta. The Executive Director is responsible for the overall leadership, strategic direction, and day-to-day operational management of the facility. This role ensures the delivery of high-quality care to residents and compliance with state and federal regulations while fostering a safe, caring, and efficient environment for both residents and staff. The Executive Director will foster a culture of compassion, respect, and excellence in care while building strong relationships with residents, families, staff, and community stakeholders. The ideal candidate will possess exceptional organizational, leadership, and communication skills.
THE ORGANIZATION
Sadie G. Mays Health & Rehabilitation Center (SGM) is a 206-bed, skilled nursing facility located in northwest Atlanta on a 15-acre campus. The facility is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation which operates under the auspices of the Atlanta Association for Convalescent Aged Persons, Inc.
SGM provides 24-hour coverage by both on-duty registered nurses and on call physicians; physical, occupational and speech therapies; IV therapy; wound therapy; short term rehabilitation; post-operative care; hospice care; nutritional management; respite care; pain management, and G-tube feeding. Support staff include a podiatrist, a full-time registered dietitian, and a psychiatrist. Residents are offered in-house social and recreational activities.
SGM employs a staff of 130. Approximately 70 of the staff members are skilled nursing personnel. Patient census is 155 residents and the average resident’s age is 80. The Center’s operating revenue is $15.3 million.
HISTORY
Sadie G. Mays Health & Rehabilitation Center stands and operates as a tribute to Sadie Gray Mays, who epitomized tender and unrelenting determination to help others. Sadie G. Mays, a native of Gray, Georgia, graduated from Paine College and earned her master’s degree in Sociology from the University of Chicago. She built a distinguished career as a social worker and professor before becoming First Lady of Morehouse College in 1940. Her husband, the late Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, and President Emeritus of Morehouse College, stated “she had a special concern for the young, aged, disadvantaged, and the poor.”
During the 1940’s, long-term health care services, especially for Blacks who were ill, homeless, and many times unwanted, were very inadequate. Prior to the establishment of Medicaid and Medicare, most persons needing long term services were placed in the county operated Alms House or “Poor House,” or in privately owned boarding homes. In September 1946, an article in the
Atlanta Journal evoked public outcry causing public health officials to respond to the needs of the Black community.
In early 1946, an Interdenominational Committee was established for the purpose of providing more effective care for the sick and homeless. On January 21, 1947, a nonprofit corporation, the Atlanta Association for Convalescent Aged Persons, Inc., was founded. Mrs. Sadie Gray Mays was elected as its President.
By March 1947, the Old Battle Hill Sanatorium site was selected to be used as the new nursing home. The home was named “Happy Haven” and on March 24, 1947, accepted its first residents. The original home could accommodate up to sixty residents.
A new 62,000 sq. ft. facility was constructed in 1967, which increased the occupancy to 160 beds. On February 8, 1968, the first residents were admitted into their new home. By the end of March, the remaining residents of the Fulton County Alms House were transferred to Happy Haven, officially closing the “Poor House” which served the Black community. This transfer of residents marked the end of an era of deprivation for the homeless, chronically ill, and unwanted.
Sadie G. Mays was admitted to Happy Haven Nursing Home during the summer of 1969, and she died there on October 10, 1969. On December 20, 1972, the Board of Directors unanimously elected to change the facility’s name to Sadie G. Mays Memorial Nursing Home, in honor of its founder. An additional renovation and expansion done in 1972 increased the Center to a total of 206 beds. In 1992, a $2.5 million renovation was completed.
In 1997, the name was changed to Sadie G. Mays Health & Rehabilitation Center, which better reflects the Center’s transition to providing comprehensive rehabilitation therapy and specialty services. In 2014, 13 rooms were transformed into private rooms for the short-term rehabilitation wing.
The high standard of patient care set by Mrs. Mays still guides the Center’s operating philosophy. Today, the facility is accredited by Medicare, Medicaid, the Veteran’s Administration, and the State of Georgia. It has been named to the
U.S. News & World Report’s Best Nursing Homes list three times. With a staff of 130, it is a major employer in the community. The Sadie G. Mays Health & Rehabilitation Center is poised to meet future challenges in health care.
