Patrick Anderson

panderson@argusleader.com

The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society announced Wednesday it is eliminating more than 100 positions at its national campus in Sioux Falls.

The senior care nonprofit said in a news release the job cuts are part of a reorganization in response to financial pressures.

"These changes are driven by a desire to be leaders of change, rather than victims of it," President and CEO David Horazdovsky said in the statement. "Rather than letting financial pressure be a continuous distraction from what is most sacred to us, we decided it was time to create a more adaptive business model."

The job cuts represent nearly 15 percent of the society's workforce at its southwest Sioux Falls campus, which recently underwent a $30 million, two-year renovation.

►Previously: Good Samaritan unveils modern national campus

"It is one of the hardest things we have ever done as an organization, and I deeply regret the impact it will have in the lives of these good people," Horazdovsky said.

The nonprofit has been experiencing financial difficulties due to flat revenues and the growing cost of operating the system's various offerings, according to tax documents. Good Samaritan lost $4.6 million in 2014, after its expenses jumped by about $17 million.

The company regularly reported conflicts of interest in its tax forms, doing business with numerous family members and other companies associated with top officials. For instance, Good Samaritan paid $3.5 million in 2011 to WellAWARE Systems, a senior care technology company. Horazdovsky served on WellAWARE's board of directors. Good Samaritan continued to send hundreds of thousands of dollars to the company in later years.

It was unclear from the organization's statement what types of jobs were being eliminated. Horazdovsky said it would not abandon core services.

Good Samaritan is the nation's largest nonprofit provider of senior services, including rehabilitation, skilled nursing, assisted living, senior living, in-home care, and hospice. In addition to its national offices, the nonprofit offers programming for seniors at eight facilities in Sioux Falls and 33 facilities in South Dakota.

The nonprofit employs nearly 21,000 people in 24 states and is the ninth largest employer in Sioux Falls, with 1,446 employees as of January.

The organization was founded as a religious charity in North Dakota in 1922.