Transform

Stephanie Harris thought she would end up working in politics and eventually running for office. But then she got a job working for a senior living turnaround business and realized the industry was her calling. Now, Harris is CEO of Arrow Senior Living, and she is putting her deep background in senior living turnarounds to work while leading the St. Louis-based operator through the Covid-19 pandemic and into the uncertain future. In this episode of Transform, learn: -- How Arrow Senior Living achieves middle-market margins in excess of 30% to 40% -- What Harris believes is the right unit mix for a middle-market senior living community -- How slow-moving "green banana" leads have been key to Arrow's occupancy recovery

Nine months ago, Transforming Age and Sustainable Housing for Ageless Generations (SHAG) announced plans to affiliate. Now with 39 communities, the nonprofit is on the cusp of some big changes. Helping to lead that charge is Senior Vice President of Development Jay Woolford. Looking ahead, he sees the national senior housing nonprofit putting an even greater emphasis on serving older adults in intergenerational communities suitable for low- and moderate-income residents. The nonprofit is also due to announce the formation of a new property management company. In this episode of Transform, learn: -- How Transforming Age plans to serve more moderate-income older adults -- Why the nonprofit is focusing on co-locating senior housing with other organizations and uses -- How the newly combined is growing in 2022

Chris Belford, CEO, Sinceri Senior Living by Senior Housing News

Tod Petty, COO / Executive Vice President Senior Housing, Lloyd Jones by Senior Housing News

This episode of Transform is sponsored by CDW Healthcare. The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a wider adoption of technology in the senior living industry. While that could lead to new disruption from tech giants like Google or Amazon, LCS Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Frank Vedder believes it could bring new opportunities to the industry, too. In this episode of Transform, learn: - What LCS did during the pandemic to keep residents and families connected and engaged - How technology can help address ongoing staffing challenges - The state of senior living cybersecurity - Why Vedder sees data analytics as crucial to the future of senior living operations

Staffing is currently among the senior living industry's biggest challenges -- but Glenn Barclay, CEO of QSL Management and principal of its parent company, QSL, has a plan. Barclay and his team are rolling out a new position called “retention specialist” aimed at keeping more workers past the 90-day mark. The position significantly reduced turnover in the community where it was piloted, and QSL is in the midst of rolling it out to all of the company’s 10 communities. In this episode of Transform, learn: - How QSL is confronting the senior living staffing crisis - What QSL did to keep residents safe at a community in Louisiana during Hurricane Ida - Why QSL is one of two senior living companies with communities carrying The Blake brand - Where Barclay sees the biggest opportunities for growth outside of primary markets

2Life Communities President and CEO Amy Schectman knows too well how easy it is for middle-income older adults to fall between the cracks. That's why she and 2Life have come up with a new senior housing concept aimed at filling the middle-market "abyss." The concept, called Opus, is meant to reduce senior housing rates for older adults through a mix of volunteerism, centralized locations and partnerships with other health and senior care providers. In this episode of Transform, learn: - Why 2Life is branching out beyond affordable senior housing to serve the middle market - What Schectman believes it will take to significantly lower senior housing rent below market rates and how Opus will work - Why partnerships may be the key to keeping middle-market care costs low - How 2Life balances mission and margin in the age of Covid-19

Andrew Carle, Adjunct Lecturer, Georgetown University and Executive Director of The Virginian by Senior Housing News

Florida is the current epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., but that has not translated into a lingering occupancy loss for Westminster Communities of Florida. In fact, the organization is maintaining an occupancy rate at around 91% amid those challenges. CEO Terry Rogers says the key to the organization's ability to maintain stable occupancy is the fact that, in many residents' eyes, the provider's communities are safer than the places where they live. And while the spread of the delta variant does concern Rogers, he also sees other tailwinds that could counteract its challenges. In this episode of Transform, learn: - How Westminster Communities of Florida is working to keep residents safe as the delta variant spreads throughout the state - Why Rogers is exploring branching out into Minka homes or active adult communities - What Rogers thinks is the next chapter in the senior living industry's ongoing recovery

Steve Lindsey, CEO, Garden Spot Communities by Senior Housing News

Jerry Finis, Pathway to Living CEO by Senior Housing News

To reach the baby boomers, senior living operators are going to have to offer them something more than engagement. Instead, the baby boomers will want the flexibility to make their own choices about how they live their lives. That's the belief of Watermark Retirement Communities President David Barnes, and the thesis behind the company's Elan and Elite collections of luxury senior living communities. In this episode of Transform, learn: -- How Watermark is preparing to meet the demands of the boomer generation -- Why Barnes sees Watermark as an "associate-centered" company -- What the provider is seeing in terms of recovery in its markets and how long that might last

The sky-high cost of building materials is making life hard for senior living developers in 2021. Confluent Senior Living is no exception. The developer has even resorted to stockpiling lumber to save money, a risk that Confluent Managing Partner John Reinsma says the company wouldn't normally take. But there is a silver lining in the fact these challenges have forced Confluent to slow down and rethink how senior living communities are developed and designed. In this episode of Transform, learn: - What challenges Reinsma sees ahead in senior living development - The origin of Confluent's new "Whole Health Standard" design concept - When elevated building material costs might come down - How Confluent is growing in 2021 and beyond

It’s been said that the Covid-19 pandemic has put much of the senior living sector back into lease-up --- Heritage Communities COO Amy Birkel knows this all too well.    For the Omaha, Nebraska-based senior living operator’s 14 communities, the pandemic has turned back the clock on occupancy to the point that Birkel says it's like managing a portfolio of new buildings. But she also believes that the pandemic's challenges have led to new practices that will help serve the company during its recovery.   In this episode of Transform, learn: -- What Birkel learned after running a Covid-19 "war room" in the early days of the pandemic -- How Heritage plans to attract and retain workers in 2021 amid growing staffing headwinds -- Why Heritage made wellness a bigger part of its operations during the pandemic -- How and where Heritage is expanding in the months ahead

Larry Cohen, CEO, Trustwell Living by Senior Housing News

Marquis Companies CEO Phil Fogg, Jr. has a philosophy: anything that improves outcomes for long-term care residents is worth owning and doing. That helps explain why Marquis has its hand in so many service lines, from senior living and long-term care to rehab and an in-house pharmacy. Being a population health company has benefitted Marquis, and the organization is still expanding its capabilities to improve efficiency and quality of care. In this episode of Transform, learn: - Why Marquis became the diversified long-term care company it is today - How Fogg sees the timing of pent-up demand for assisted living - Marquis' growth plans in the senior housing space - What managed care really means, and how Marquis is approaching it

Senior living providers will need to come up with a new playbook to attract the baby boomers in the post-pandemic world — and boutique hotels could provide a roadmap for that reinvention. Danette Opaczewski, executive vice president of resident experience and COO at Revel Communities -- the senior living brand of The Wolff Company -- knows this better than most. She joined Revel in January 2020 after a long career in the hospitality industry, and believes the industry can learn from the boutique hotel sector. In this episode of Transform, learn: - What Revel is doing to attract the baby boomers - Why Opaczewski believes there are some senior housing rules worth breaking - How Revel is trying to break the senior housing mold with tech-forward operations, “staycation suites,” and a seasonal rental program.

This episode of Transform is sponsored by Medication Management Partners. The Crestwood, Illinois-based company provides medication management and is a dedicated pharmacy partner for assisted living, memory care, and behavioral health communities across the country. Over the past few months, MMP has helped its senior living partners hold vaccination clinics --- and Director of Partner Success Patrice Johnson was a lynchpin in that effort. Listen to this episode of Transform to learn: * Johnson's advice for holding a successful senior living vaccination clinic * What comes next in the senior living vaccination efforts * How MMP plans to handle vaccinations after the Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program ends

Pacific Retirement Services (PRS) was in talks with eight different universities last year when the pandemic hit, putting forward progress on ice. But the Medford, Oregon-based organization's new CEO, Eric Sholty, believes demand for these types of projects will come back when conditions in the senior living industry return to normal. In addition to its portfolio of 12 CCRCs, PRS is looking for smaller, single-site providers seeking to affiliate as a result of the pandemic’s pressures. And the organization also plans to grow its portfolio of 25 community housing properties that serve low-income adults. In this episode of Transform, learn: - How PRS is building census at its new Mirabella at ASU community on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe - Why university-backed senior living projects could make a comeback after the pandemic - When Sholty believes a wider senior housing recovery will take hold - What the organization is focused on in terms of growth in 2021

Paul Griffin III, Founder, CEO, and President of Griffin Living by Senior Housing News