Michele Juffer


Administrator Michele Juffer stepped in to fill a vacancy on the Good Samaritan Society Board of Directors in 2010. Now as she begins


her first term, Juffer wants to expand on the knowledge she gained as an interim Board member and be a voice for her colleagues in the field.


“I feel that I have just begun learning the role that I play wearing the Board member hat,” says Juffer, of Good Samaritan Society – Wagner in Wagner, S.D. “I also know that I am a voice. I am the voice of the administrator. I am the voice of the staff member. I am the voice of a small, rural center.”


A graduate of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Juffer began her service to the Society in 1994 when she completed administrator training at Tripp, S.D. During that time, she also filled in at centers in Bloomfield, Neb., and Howard, S.D.


Looking to the future, the Good Samaritan Society must continue to share its Christian ministry and mission with residents and clients, says Juffer. But the organization must also find ways to reach out to those who know nothing about the organization or its mission, she says.


“From what I have read and understand, our founder (the Rev. August Hoeger) was all about thinking outside the box,” says Juffer. “We need to continue that path, knowing that we never really know what God has in mind for us.”


Christopher Johnson


Christopher Johnson says it is a privilege to begin a second term on the Society’s Board of Directors.


“I am very much interested in continuing my Board experience,” says Johnson, of Stillwater, Minn. “I am excited about what the Society represents, its future, and how it can shape the needs for our seniors.”


Johnson, a vice president for OptumInsight Business Transformation, UnitedHealth Group, sought another term on the Board for a variety of reasons. Among them: the Society’s Christian mission, experiencing the needs of the senior population through the eyes of a grandparent, and having the opportunity to use his expertise and background as a resource for the Society.


A graduate of the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks and the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, Johnson lists five areas that will affect organizations that provide senior care and services in the future: affordability of care, access to care, political climate, unprecedented demand, and reconciliation of values, emotions and the costs of care.


The costs of senior care are rising rapidly, says Johnson. “Conversely, the ability to afford care … is becoming more difficult, thus forcing sometimes difficult tradeoffs when evaluating one’s options. This also places increasing pressure on those companies that offer these services.”


Sharon St. Mary board of directors


During the nearly 20 years, she has served the Good Samaritan Society, Sharon St. Mary has gained knowledge first-hand


about the organization’s legacy, its challenges and its opportunities. Now as a member of the Board of Directors, St. Mary hopes to put what she’s learned into action.


“I am no longer content to sit on the sidelines and critique the efforts made by others to shape our profession, our mission and our future,” says St. Mary, the executive director of Good Samaritan Society – University Specialty Center in Minneapolis, Minn., and Good Samaritan Society – Stillwater in Stillwater, Minn. “I feel blessed to have been able to be a part of the Good Samaritan Society for 19 years, and I would like to give back to the Society, its members, and the people we serve.”


St. Mary began working for the Good Samaritan Society in 1992. She has served on the Good Samaritan Foundation Board of Directors and the Board of Directors for Care Providers of Minnesota.


Significant challenges are ahead for the Society that stem from a changing political and societal landscape, St. Mary says. But, she says, the Society also has a unique opportunity to be a “one of the primary architects for engineering care delivery in the future” by being willing to experiment and take risks. By doing so, the Society has an opportunity to emerge as an industry leader.


The Good Samaritan • 2011 • Vol. 45 • No. 2 3


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