Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley and North Shore Elder Services are expected to merge by July 1, creating a Lawrence-based agency with a $95 million budget and 460 employees.
The combined agency will operate as Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley, under the direction of CEO Joan Hatem Roy. Clients in Danvers, Marblehead, Middleton, Peabody and Salem will still see the name, North Shore Elder Services, officials said.
“This is an important and exciting action for both agencies as well as for the older adults and their families in the 28-community service area,” Hatem Roy said. “Our combined strengths and resources will create many opportunities for innovative and expanded services.”
The nonprofit agency has managed a range of programs and services since 1974 offering a variety of choices to “help people maximize their independence and enable them to live safely.” Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley currently serves 23 cities and towns within Greater Haverhill, Greater Lawrence and Greater Lowell. They are Amesbury, Andover, Billerica, Boxford, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Georgetown, Groveland, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell, Merrimac, Methuen, Newbury, Newburyport, North Andover, Rowley, Salisbury, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro, Westford and West Newbury.
North Shore Elder Services’ Board Chair Joseph Berardino said, “This merger brings together two strong, highly regarded aging service organizations that have each been serving older adults and their families in northeastern Massachusetts for more than four decades.”
North Shore Elder Services Executive Director Paul J. Lanzikos is expected to remain through the transition.