After spending 60-plus years in the health care industry, Robert Zentz, president and CEO of Fellowship Community in Whitehall, is stepping down from his post.

Zentz is experiencing recurring health problems.

“I’m having a lot of complications,” he said.

Zentz put into play the company’s succession plan, and the board of directors of Bible Fellowship Church Homes Inc. announced July 26 that Robert Erland, chairman of the board of directors, will take over as interim president/CEO effective Aug. 6.

After graduating from the University of Buffalo with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, Zentz began his health care career in 1956. He received a master’s degree from Notre Dame. He graduated from the Edward Moyer Hospital School of Nursing and remains a licensed, certified RN.

Zentz took his impressive credentials and enhanced his resume with various hospital management jobs in western New York. Zentz came to the Lehigh Valley, ultimately serving as vice president of nursing with Sacred Heart Hospital, a position he held for 25 years.

In 1996, Zentz took a one-day retirement before taking over as president and CEO of Fellowship Community in Whitehall.

He is credited with taking Fellowship Community to its rating as one of the top senior care centers in Pennsylvania and the nation. When Zentz joined Fellowship Community, his focus was on creating a culture of change.

“I love people, and that is my main motivation to be in the health care business,” he said.

According to Zentz, the company started differently.

“Normally, you start with independent living to get some financial stability and then move to personal care and then acute care. Fellowship started with acute care,” he said.

The immediate issue when he came on board in 1996 was name recognition so he could get patients referred from other hospitals.

“The way to get name recognition is to be involved in the community,” he said.

His early involvement accounts for his recognized years of service to the community.

“The important thing is the people of Whitehall and the surrounding communities. They welcomed us and treated me respectfully,” he said. “They worked closely with us and allowed us to expand Fellowship Community and make it an asset to Whitehall.”

Things were changing at Sacred Heart when Zentz retired.

“All my employees were from Whitehall, Coplay, Northampton and Catasauqua. That’s where our patients came from. When Lehigh Valley opened, we lost a lot of patients and had financial difficulties, but we had a good core of talent working for us,” he said.

Zentz supported the merger of Sacred Heart with St. Luke’s.

“I was on the board of St. Luke’s and helped during the consolidation,” he said.

Training his employees to be cordial and open has always been a goal. It is one of the hallmarks of Fellowship Community and the reason so many seniors opt to live in the comfortable setting, he said.

“I stress to our employees that you ought to do everything with excellence - or not do it,” he said.

Zentz managed a staff of 360 along with another 90 people dedicated to Sodexo food services.

Highlights of his community involvement included serving as vice chairman of St. Luke’s Sacred Heart Board of Trustees, a member of Whitehall Township Planning Commission and as past president of Whitehall Area Chamber of Commerce.

His accomplishments over his six decades of service are recognized in many ways. He received the Healthcare Heroes Lifetime Achievement Award from Lehigh Valley Business, the Distinguished Citizen Award from Minsi Trails Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the Legacy Award from Bright Hope Pregnancy Support Centers and was named a Stellar Senior by Lehigh Valley Style in 2016.

Importantly, Fellowship Community prides itself on its low heart failure rate.

“Hospitals get penalized when someone comes back from heart surgery and has an event that requires readmission within 30 days,” Zentz explained.

“Our program is well respected. Of the last 40 residents, only two were readmitted. We received the Women’s Choice Award for our nursing home and extended care facility. That award is hard to come by!” he said. “Now we are working on our certifications for dementia care.”

Zentz met Larry Wiersch, of Cetronia Ambulance Corps, who invited him to become a member of Cetronia’s board.

“He is the reason for Fellowship’s continued success,” he said. “He’s probably one of the most important mentors that I’ve had here at the ambulance corps.”

Zentz’s friends praise his expertise and deeply religious nature. His personality and his business sense show his character. He likes to get things done.

“Ideas and intentions don’t move mountains; bulldozers do,” he said.

Zentz established a scholarship fund for Fellowship employees to enhance their educational skills.

“We have some people here who started as aides and now hold management positions because they used that program,” he said.

“I provided some direction and leadership, but it’s the people who work at Fellowship that make it such a great place,” he said.

“I need to include the people in Whitehall. They worked with us and made Fellowship an asset to the community,” Zentz said. “It’s a privilege to work with all these people and watch them develop and provide quality care to seniors.”