He was a champion for senior citizens for the 44 years he served as an elected official, and this month, former U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts received a champion’s thank-you at Kennett Square-based senior living provider Genesis HealthCare.

“Congressman Pitts was willing to fight to protect the welfare and rights of our frailest seniors,” said CEO George V. Hager Jr. in a Daily Local News report by Fran Maye. “We cannot thank Congressman Pitts enough for his unending support of the seniors we care for every day.”

The East Marlborough lawmaker retired in January as a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee.

“Wherever he went, he gravitated to the most important committees where he could make his influence felt,” said former Chester County Commissioner and former State Sen. Earl Baker.

Pitts, in turn, deflected some of the praise back toward Genesis.

“Genesis HealthCare means so much not just in Chester County but in the entire commonwealth,” he said. “It’s so important to provide care to the elderly, and especially the frail and disabled.”

Read more about the special honor given to Rep. Joe Pitts in the Daily Local News here.