Merrill Gardens Rehires Tana Gall as President, Acquires Her Operations Company Blue Harbor

by Jeff Shaw

SEATTLE, Wash. — Merrill Gardens has named Tana Gall president of the Seattle-based owner-operator, replacing David Eskenazy who recently announced his retirement. Gall will lead the company in all aspects of operations when she takes over leadership responsibilities at the end of the year.

In addition, Merrill Gardens has acquired Blue Harbor, a senior living management company in Portland, Oregon, where Gall was the CEO for the past three years. Fortress Investment Group of New York owned Blue Harbor.

Blue Harbor currently manages 21 communities in 13 states. The company’s corporate office in Portland and the regional teams that support the Blue Harbor communities will continue to operate to ensure a smooth transition.

“With the acquisition of Blue Harbor, we nearly double the size of Merrill Gardens, and Tana’s expertise will be critical as we innovate new ways to best serve our senior population,” says Bill Pettit, president of the R.D. Merrill Company, parent company of Merrill Gardens.

Gall was previously with Merrill Gardens as president from 2013 to 2015, when she successfully led the company through a major divestiture of a large group of communities and implemented the rollout of major technology and operating platforms. Gall left to form her own consulting company before she was recruited to lead Blue Harbor. She also spent 19 years at Seattle-based Leisure Care Senior Living, rising to the rank of president.

“This is a huge opportunity to take a group of communities I understand and a group of people I enjoy working with at Blue Harbor and merge them with a company and team at Merrill Gardens that I have always had immense respect for,” says Gall.

Moving forward, Merrill Gardens plans to produce a new Merrill brand for the Blue Harbor communities, keeping the two companies under separate flags marketed to different needs.

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