01-03-2025
Mission accomplished: McAlilly retiring after 31 years at helm of Methodist Senior Services
TUPELO – On Monday, Steve McAlilly won't have to go the office at 109 S. Broadway, where for the past 31 years he led Methodist Senior Services.
That's because Friday was his last day as president and CEO, and now McAlilly is ready to enjoy retirement.
McAlilly will no doubt be remembered for his unwavering support and implementation of the first Green House home project, andinnovative skilled nursing model that now has 400 similar homes worldwide.
How he became the leader of MSS started in Meridian where he practiced law for 14 years.
"Then CEO of Methodist Senior Services wanted to expand their reach and build a campus in Meridian, and his name was Bill Carroll. I had known him for a while, but he was looking for a free lawyer," McAlilly said with a smile. "He had a knack for calling on his friends for free professional services and he asked me to get get it up and running."
MSS opened Aldersgate Retirement Community, and McAlilly served on its community volunteer board, and then later joined the MSS board. In the summer of 1993, Carroll announced he was retiring effective Jan. 1, 1994.
"I saw the job description and thought I could do that and be a lot more useful on a day to day basis," McAlilly said. "Somehow I convinced the board, and they hired me. Knowing what I know now I probably wouldn't have hired me back then, but I've learned a lot."
McAlilly moved from the Queen City to the All-America City in 1994, "and it's been a wonderful life," he said.
His signature project, the Green House homes, got their start after seeing a presentation by New York geriatrician Dr. Bill Thomas. At the time, Thomas called it the Eden Alternative, and with it came a set of principles to help eliminate loneliness, helplessness and boredom from the lives of elders.
"He believed in surrounding them with plants, animals and children, and lives would be better for both children and elders," McAlilly said. "The first time I heard it I knew that was what we needed to be doing."
McAlilly read a book by Thomas and emailed him, vowing that he would do everything he could to have Mississippi seniors live in places practicing the Eden principles. Thomas called a few days later, and the two have remained friends since.
When MSS began developing its plans for Traceway, McAlilly was happy to tell him of some of the features that were planned for the 140-bed nursing home.
"I told him it was going to have pods with 20 people, a town hall in the middle, a pharmacy, a barbershop, a beauty shop, a convenience store and all these cool things, and he said, 'I'm not sure that's what we should be building anymore,'" McAlilly said. "Talk about knocking the wind out of your sails."
At the time, Thomas didn't have the concept of the Green House quite figured out However, a year later Thomas had gotten a grant to provide funding for the now fully developed Green House project and asked of McAlilly and MSS would like to accept the grant.
McAlilly and the rest of the MSS team were into their iteration of what Traceway would be, and the Green House idea was exactly what McAlilly thought was needed. He just had to convince the board that this was the way.
"I told them if we build what we're planning to build it would be obsolete by the the time we open the doors and we would have created a $12 million mistake" he said. "The board had the courage to stop, evaluate the Green House concept and say 'go.' It was a big gamble, but could not have done it by ourselves. That shows the importance of a nonprofit board and its leadership and guidance."
There were four national grants given, but MSS was the only one to follow though with its Green House homes.
"And that's how we became the first Green Houses in the country," McAlilly. "Like Elvis, the Green Houses were birthed in Tupelo."
At Traceway are 10 Green House Homes, each equipped to house 10 or 12 residents, for a total of 112 residents. MSS has a total of 20 Green House Homes offering skilled care, assisted living and memory support services.
In 2023, McAlilly was honored with the Center for Innovation Trailblazer Award to mark the 20th anniversary of the Green Houses. The CFI is the nonprofit parent organization of the Green House Project and the Pioneer Network.
"I call Steve McAlilly the Godfather of Green House, because without his vision, the model never would have made the transition from a concept to bricks and mortar," said Susan Ryan Center for Innovation CEO after McAlilly was presented the award. "The entire elder care reform movement owes an incredible debt to Steve for having the vision, courage and dedication to go beyond the status quo and commit to creating a better world for elders."
During McAlilly's tenure, MSS saw four new senior communities added, services have expanded on existing campuses, and a campus destroyed by Hurricane Katrina was rebuilt.
In addition, contract therapy services were introduced to MSS healthcare campuses; an in-house pharmacy opened to reduce direct costs for elders; and the Beth and Henry Brevard Celebration of Leadership Academy was created to provides leadership development for employees.
The leadership academy meets four times a year and meets statewide.
"That's going to make a big difference in the long-term, I believe," he said.
In addition to the leadership program, the MSS network includes 12 campuses offering housing and services for seniors, along with five service divisions, including Meals on Wheels of Lee County, NextAge Mississippi, SeniorTx, and SeniorRx.
Clearly, under the leadership of McAlilly, much was accomplished.
"There are a lot of things that make my heart warm," McAlilly said. "The Green Houses certainly are a part, and part of that was my parents were able to live in a Green House home, and the love and care they got was personal to me."
Another notable achievement was the creation of a liability insurance company, with 18 organizations similar to MSS pooling their resources.
"The premise was that not-for-profit companies should have better results than traditional market in nursing home insurance," McAlilly said. "Because we're operating from a sense of calling and trying to do the best we could. That panned out. We were able to flatten the curve on rate increase. I say it now that it's a risk management company with a component of insurance with it.
"The focus is risk management because first it takes care of people to try to eliminate the risk in their lives, and second, that reduces the claim and the costs. Since the beginning we now have 80 members and because we're a member-owners MSS has gotten close to $4 million in dividends over the 20-plus years. And again we couldn't have done that without a team and board of directors."
Retirement will mean more time to spend with grandchildren and more time to travel, but McAlilly will stay active serving with various volunteer organizations.
His successor is Christy Vance, who has been with Methodist Senior Services for more than 20 years and who was named COO in 2020.
McAlilly said the organization is in fine hands.
"She knows me, she knows who we are, and my only advice is to keep the DNA that we are alive and well," he said. "I know she'll be a successful CEO. We joke about if you cut us we bleed Methodist Senior Services blood, and she's that way. She believes in the mission. She's committed to excellence and I forward to what new and exciting things will happen under her leadership."
