Editor’s Note: McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Home Care and McKnight’s Senior Living are profiling the McKnight’s 2024 Pinnacle Awards honorees daily in April and May. For additional McKnight’s Pinnacle Awards content, visit this page.

Chuck Hastings exemplifies the tradition of employee loyalty. He has been with Blomfield, NJ-based Juniper Communities for 27 years, and it is commonly said that the senior living and care company would not be the success it is if not for his guiding hand. 

As the company’s chief financial officer and vice president of finance and business development, Hastings now oversees the group’s portfolio and keeps the cash-flow side of the business strong and healthy. He is known as a nimble, creative thinker who motivates through personal connections and by eagerly sharing his knowledge. 

Hastings has seen Juniper Communities grow from five communities to 27, and eight more were expected to open in the first quarter. Colleagues say it seems he spends time every day on the long-term care version of the $64,000 question: how to get building leaders to act as owners and motivate them to run their buildings as if the cash they spend were their own personal nest eggs. Building leaders always know how to reach him when they have financial questions, thanks to processes that he has created to encourage better communication. 

During the pandemic, he and his team sought grants and funding from nontraditional long-term care supporting sources. Doing so allowed Juniper to supplement resources the federal government was providing. His resourcefulness brought the company new protocols involving daily testing, and he also creatively located sufficient amounts of personal protective equipment when supplies were scarce.

His market savvy and vast financial knowledge have set a standard of excellence that has kept Juniper Communities responsive to residents, staff members and investors for years. 

  • Hastings serves on the board of the Lupus Foundation of New Jersey.
  • He earned a bachelor’s degree in European history from Princeton University. 
  • Hastings holds a dual MBA in healthcare management and entrepreneurial management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

The McKnight’s Pinnacle Awards program is jointly administered by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, McKnight’s Senior Living and McKnight’s Home Care. Honorees were recognized March 21 at a dinner and awards ceremony in Chicago. Omnicare was the Silver sponsor for the 2024 Pinnacle Awards program. Parker Health Group and Sentrics were event sponsors.