Daniel R. Ruth paid regular visits to a geriatric facility when he was growing up, but not to see any relatives of his own. He did so because his father worked for more than 40 years at the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, an internationally recognized facility in Toronto — 30 of them as CEO.
The younger Ruth worked at Baycrest himself at the same time he was playing high school football. He worked in food service, housekeeping and as a security guard.
“I grew up in the field,” he said.
The almost-43-year-old Ruth is the new executive director of the Jewish Home on Silver Avenue in San Francisco, replacing its director of 30 years, Jerry Levine. Ruth officially began work at the 430-resident facility on July 1.
With one of his brothers a physician specializing in geriatrics and the other a hospital administrator, Ruth said, “I think because our parents never pushed us in this area, we naturally migrated there.
“It’s natural,” he continued. “It’s part of who my family was and is.”
Ruth recalled an old adage that a society should be judged on how it treats its infirm and elderly. Because of that sentiment coupled with his mother being the first female president of their Reform synagogue, “there was a commitment to community and social service,” he said. “We weren’t pushed there, but my brothers and I found our way there.”
Ruth was born to American parents but was raised in Toronto and has dual citizenship. He received his bachelor’s degree at York University and got a master’s in health administration at the University of Toronto.
Most recently, Ruth was CEO of Village Shalom, a Jewish geriatric facility in Kansas City, Kan. He was there for almost five years, and oversaw it from its conceptual stage through completion. Village Shalom treats seniors who come for daytime activities as well as those with acute Alzheimer’s or dementia who need full-time care.
When it opened, Village Shalom had such amenities as an elder spa, a wellness center tailored specifically to the needs of the elderly and a kosher restaurant, the only full-time kosher cafe in all of Kansas City. It also has a museum-quality art gallery.
Ruth wasn’t looking to leave, but the fact that he had been at Village Shalom through the design and development stages made him a highly desired candidate to board members at the Jewish Home.
“Daniel’s community outreach experience, along with his financial and operations background complements our mix of programs, services and research,” said Arlene Krieger, board president. “The home is at a crossroads and well positioned to address the challenges of both the increasing number of Bay Area elderly and the range of programs needed to serve them.”
Ruth said that since he’s started, he’s found his job “exactly how I had envisioned the position.”
He described the Jewish Home as a place with “a dedicated board of directors; a professionally competent group of senior management and very loyal, as evidenced by years of service and committed front-line care; and service workers who do their best to meet the needs of our residents.”
Ruth envisions making the home into what he calls a “regional geriatric resource,” serving all segments of the elderly community.
One plan in the works is to develop financially independent satellite operations on the Peninsula. “We can take our show on the road,” said Ruth, meaning some services can be brought to clients there.
“When some of those individuals require a more full-time enhanced level of care and service, we’ll have the ability to meet their needs at the Jewish Home, so the moving walkway will go both ways,” he said.
Because the Jewish Home is looking into expanding its services throughout the Bay Area, Ruth believes his “background in developing multiple levels of care in a facility dovetails with this broad vision.”
Ruth and his wife, Fern, a tennis instructor, have three children, and they plan to live in Novato, once their home is finished.
While Ruth doesn’t miss the humidity of Kansas City, he enjoyed his work and the community. Nonetheless, he said he was drawn by the reputation and location of the Jewish Home.
“We have family here, and getting a sense from the board of what the vision is has made this very attractive, and I was most interested in being involved with it. My wife and I are looking at this as our final stop.”