The entrepreneurial spirit and passion for the well-being of others, which is exemplified in the high standard of care at AMFM, has made John Elliot not only a leader in his industry but also in his community.
By Jessica Chambers & Jennifer Jett Prezkop
John Elliot’s approach to life has been to find the opportunity in every situation and create something positive. Early on, an apprenticeship led him to his career specialty, and a little later that career opened the door for entrepreneurial opportunity. As a result, he and his wife, Fonda, have been providing much-needed, top-of-the-line health care services to West Virginians since 1982 through their company, American Medical Facilities Management, LLC (AMFM).
Elliot has used his career to make a difference in the lives of West Virginians in need of medical help, and he has used what little time he has left at the end of the day to make the world a better place for others. As the YMCA’s 2015 Spirit of the Valley award recipient, Elliot has proven that one’s hard work and success can produce a ripple effect that creates life-changing opportunities for others.
A Foundation for Success
Born in Newport News, VA, in 1945, Elliot was surrounded by the art of design and architecture from an early age. His father was a naval architect and his grandfather was a master carpenter, which no doubt had a strong influence on Elliot’s career choice. Before Elliot began elementary school, his family relocated to Cleveland, Ohio, and from there, he went on to attend Kent State University, where he studied architecture.
It took Elliot several years to finish his studies because he didn’t put everyday life on hold while he pursued his long-term goals. As a college student, he worked full time, got married and became a father. Elliot graduated in 1970 with an architecture degree and a solid understanding of the importance of balancing one’s career, family life and ambitions.
The opportunities that exist for architects in the health care industry were ones he discovered by chance. “As I was going through school and starting my own architectural firm, I was happy to be creating these amazing buildings and concepts from nothing,” he remembers. “It was by sheer happenstance that I was eventually hired to begin designing health care facilities.”
In 1972, Elliot founded John Elliot Associates, Architects and Planners, and during the late 1970s, he began designing and building nursing homes in West Virginia. When the developer pulled out of a nursing home project in Summers County at the last minute, Elliot decided to take over the project himself, and he began to learn more about the nursing home side of the business.
“Isn’t it amazing,” he says, “how the unanticipated curveballs in life sometimes lead to the greatest rewards?”
John and Fonda Elliot at the ribbon cutting for the Mercer Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in 2001.
The Creation of AMFM
During the Summers County project, Elliot began to learn more about the nursing home industry, which piqued his interest and opened the door to a unique entrepreneurial opportunity. In 1982, he and his wife founded AMFM, a skilled nursing, rehabilitation and long-term care services company, and their first location was the facility in Summers County on which Elliot had worked. Fonda, who was a certified nurse, was critical in the development of the health care-specific company.
“She developed the standards of care that have built AMFM’s reputation as a leader in quality care in West Virginia,” says Elliot. “Our mission, standards and quality of care all began with her and her vision of what good care should be about. Today, even though she has been retired from AMFM for several years, her presence is felt every day from McDowell County to the Eastern Panhandle and wherever our tree of life logo is displayed.”
AMFM’s standard of care has earned national recognition, including awards from the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL). “These awards are very difficult to achieve,” says Elliot. “The program is based on the core values and criteria of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, and each application goes through a rigorous process and peer evaluation to be considered.”
In 2015, five facilities won the Bronze Commitment to Quality Award, and three centers received the Silver Achievement in Quality Award. The Clarksburg Nursing and Rehabilitation Center won the Silver Achievement in Quality Award in 2013, and the Summers Nursing and Rehabilitation Center won the same award in 2014. These two locations were the only ones in West Virginia to receive the award during those years.
AMFM has received local recognition as well. The West Virginia Health Care Association named one of AMFM’s administrators their Administrator of the Year and a registered nurse the Direct Care Employee of the Year. The E.A. Hawse Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, where both recipients worked, was also named the Best Practice of the Year in 2015.
John Elliot speaks with one of Braxton Health Care Center’s Volunteer of the Year award recipients at an employee celebration picnic.
A Culture of Caring
The accolades AMFM has received speak not only of the health care facilities’ quality of care but also the quality of employees providing that care. As the owner, Elliot’s top priority is taking care of his more than 1,700 employees across 16 facilities.
“It’s really the simplest concept that most businesses get wrong,” Elliot says of his management style. “Take care of your employees, listen to them and care about their lives. In turn, they will take care of your customers because they feel like a valuable asset and that they matter. Believing in the people you surround yourself with and building teams in each center that follow our philosophy is the key to success no matter what business you operate in.”
AMFM strives to provide a consistent work environment for its employees despite the ever-changing nature of the health care profession. The company offers annual performance-based wage increases and a wellness program, and it works hard to keep benefit premiums from rising.
In addition to their job satisfaction, Elliot has also made his employees’ educational goals a priority. “We have to reward and encourage the next generation to learn as much as they can,” says Elliot. “Education is crucial to our success as a company and to our state. We need mentors and educators we can learn from to shape and guide our daily life, ideals and goals.”
AMFM offers scholarships to employees who are looking to further their education and career in nursing. The Ellen Warder Memorial Scholarship was established in 2001 in honor of Ellen Warder, the company’s former legal counsel who passed away suddenly. AMFM also provides scholarships to the West Virginia Health Care Association through the AMFM Charitable Foundation, Inc., which was founded in 2009 and allows each facility to give financially to local charities and groups in their individual communities.
L-R: Former U.S. Senator John D. Rockefeller, former West Virginia Governor Bob Wise, John Elliot, Fonda Elliot and former President Bill Clinton.
Challenges of a Changing Industry
Despite its high standard of care, award-winning service and committed employees, AMFM is no stranger to challenges. The health care industry is continuously changing, and things are a lot different from when Elliot began working in the field in the 1980s.
“The regulations and legal and political environments have changed drastically over the years,” he says. “The number of people requiring care is going to explode nationwide in the next several years, and the work force and payment and reimbursement models are not keeping pace. The legal environment has emerged as a significant challenge in the past several years as litigation firms have specifically targeted long-term care centers. The expectations of our customers also continue to evolve and change. Basically, as we move forward, the demand, quality and customer satisfaction continue to increase while the lawsuit losses continue to go up and the reimbursements are going down.”
According to Elliot, every year an independent survey company that specializes in skilled nursing centers surveys AMFM’s employees and customers at each center to get a measurement on satisfaction standards. Since the company began participating in these surveys, AMFM’s centers have been ranked in the top 10 percent in the nation 46 times for customer and/or employee satisfaction.
Regardless of the challenges, AMFM still makes quality of care its highest priority. “The one element of our business that has not changed is the care we provide,” says Elliot. “While we have more regulations and more to do every day, our expectations of the quality of care from our employees has not changed, nor should that ever change. Providing the best quality care we can and controlling our costs are quite simply the best approaches to these challenges.”
The Art of Giving Back
In addition to treating his employees well, Elliot also strives to be good to the communities in which his facilities are located, which is why he created the AMFM Charitable Foundation, Inc. in 2009. To date, the AMFM Charitable Foundation has presented more than $235,000 to charitable organizations throughout West Virginia, including donations to food pantries, volunteer fire departments, libraries and women’s shelters.
“Your community is only as good as what you can put into it,” he says. “From working with the West Virginia Health Care Association and its national counterpart, the American Health Care Association, as well as the board of directors for the YMCA, the Boy Scouts of America Buckskin Council and United Way, we have worked to touch as many aspects of our community as possible.”
In addition to the charitable work through his foundation, Elliot serves on the board of directors for City National Bank and the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra and sat on the executive committee of the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences. Through the Clay Center and orchestra, he’s found a great sense of joy in helping the community arts and music programs. “The arts seem to be overlooked more and more these days, but when you see a child’s face light up at a musical performance or when being exposed to art, you know you’ve made a difference,” he says.
In 2015, Elliot’s work as a community advocate was pivotal in him being named the recipient of the YMCA’s Spirit of the Valley award, an honor that, according to the YMCA’s website, “recognizes exemplary community service, which benefits all people of our Kanawha Valley.”
“It was a very humbling experience to be recognized with an award that has been given to so many great leaders and individuals over the years,” says Elliot. “We’ve been blessed in our lives through AMFM, family and friends, business associates and our community. When I looked out at the many faces that gathered at the Spirit of the Valley luncheon, I knew every decision, every struggle and every fight we’ve faced to be as successful as we have been was well worth it.”
At the end of the day, Elliot is a people person, bent on helping others through jobs, deeds and even inspiration when he has a chance to share it. “I hope I’ve provided some influence and inspiration to those around me,” he says. “Some advice I can give to them and others who are wondering where their life will take them is this: always stay the course, and always ask which way is north.”
