Burkett Promoted to CEO of BMA
Date Posted : 02/08/2012

BMA Management, Ltd., is honored to announce the promotion of Rod Burkett to the position of Chief Executive Officer. This decision follows the recent retirement of co-founder Blair Minton.

BMA has managed Bowman Estates of Danville since the affordable assisted living opened for occupancy in 2005.

Rod has served as President of BMA Management, since the company was founded in 1999.

BMA Management now ranks as the largest provider of assisted living in Illinois and the 18th largest provider of assisted living nationally, according to the most recent List of Largest Providers compiled by Assisted Living Executive, an official magazine of the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA).

In 2010, BMA was honored by ALFA with a “Best of the Best” Award for its “Leading the Way” Leadership Training program. The award is reserved for companies that demonstrate the most innovative and effective practices in the senior living industry.

"I am very proud of the company we have grown," says Burkett. "Before the first building was built, we visualized a mission of making a difference in our resident's lives and their families by providing individualized, dignified lifestyles. We also wanted to make quality services available to older adults of all financial means, including those on Medicaid. What started as a unique vision in the industry manifested into 33 affordable assisted living comunities across Illinois."

"My father and aunt both lived in one of our communities," Rod adds. "Our core values of love, compassion and dignity are about caring for others the same as we would care for our own family members, and we work hard to achieve that everyday."

Under Burkett's leadership, the company plans continued growth, including the addition of two new affordable assisted living communities in Gurnee, Illinois, and Freeport, Illinois, and additions to two of our existing communities.

"We also will be launching a new diversity stratgey that includes the development and management of a new assisted living pilot project specially designed to serve those with Alzheimer's disease and other dementia related challenges, as well as properties in Bourbonnais, Carbondale and Peoria designed for younger adults with physical disabilities. It's going to be an exciting few years for BMA Management, and I am honored to be at the helm," says Burkett.

Based in Bradley, Illinois, BMA Management operates 35 senior living communities that house nearly 3,200 homes and apartments for older adults.

Thirty-three of the communities are affordable assisted living communities that operate under the Illinois Supportive Living program. These communities are able to serve adults 65 and older of all financial means, including those on Medicaid, who need some help to maintain their independence but do not require higher care levels offered in nursing homes.

Prior to founding BMA Management, Rod enjoyed a 20-year career in the health care management fields of public health, home health, medical clinics, hospitals and nursing homes. He served as the Chief Executive Officer of two hospitals and held the position of Regional Director for a large nursing home ownership chain.

For the past two years, Rod has served as President of the Affordable Assisted Living Coalition headquartered in Springfield, Illinois and serves as Chairman of the Supportive Living Facility Cabinet for the Life Services Network in Illinois.

He is a member of the national ALFA COO Roundtable and a member of Vistage, an international executive development group.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Community Health from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois, and completed post-graduate studies at St. Louis University and Eastern Illinois University, which culminated in an MBA in 1993.