(Brandywine Senior Living at Mahwah located in Mahwah, N.J. — Photo courtesy of Brandywine Senior Living)

Construction: Planned

Berry College Announces Site for New CCRC in Ga.

Berry College, a liberal arts college in Rome, Ga., this week announced the site of a new continuing care retirement community (CCRC) that will be construction on undeveloped land adjacent to the college’s main campus.

Slated to open in 2019, the yet-to-be-named CCRC will overlook an 88-acre lake, with unobstructed views of Lavender Mountain and situated just minutes from nearby medical centers in the region.

Berry College, which plans to name the CCRC sometime next year, said in a release that the community will feature 150 apartment homes and cottages, and will offer a “full complement” of health care and supportive services as well as amenities on its 27,000-acre campus.

For years, Berry College has received requests from alumni and residents to create a senior living community near campus, said Alexander Whitaker, Berry College chief of staff, in a written statement.

Once constructed, residents at the CCRC will be able to access cultural and academic offerings, from lectures and sporting events, to more than 60 miles of hiking, biking and running trails, to the campus’ wildlife. Additionally, lakeside fine dining and “a host of recreational and fitness facilities” unique to the CCRC will also be available for residents’ use.

Prospective residents interested in living at the new community can place a minimal deposit to enroll on a priority waiting list beginning December. In late 2016, Berry College said that priority members can select their future residence with a fully-refundable 10% deposit and receive special savings and benefits.

Construction: In process

Northbridge Companies to Begin $65 Million Maine Expansion

Northbridge Companies, an owner and manager of senior living communities throughout New England, alongside real estate partner Portland, Maine-based Sandy River Company, will break ground next week on three new communities in Brunswick, Wells and Westbrook—all located in Maine, Northbridge announced in a press release this Tuesday.

Slated to open in fall 2016, the three new communities represent a $65 million commitment by Northbridge Companies.

The communities are named Avita of Brunswick, Avita of Wells and Stroudwater Lodge—two of which will be fully dedicated to memory care, utilizing Northbridge’s Avita Memory Care program.

Collectively, they will offer a total of 215 units for 253 potential residents.

The new communities will offer several hospitality-oriented amenities including spa and salon services, an upscale dining experience, community rooms, as well as engaging activities and educational programming.

Stroudwater Lodge will be located adjacent to the existing Avita of Stroudwater community that opened in Westbrook in 2013, and will be a multi-level community featuring 95 studio, one- and two-bedroom units. Amenities include a theatre, art studio, salon and barber shop, café, pub, outdoor patio, brain gym with touch screen technology, sunroom and a landscaped courtyard in approximately 90,848-square-feet.

The community sits just minutes from downtown Portland, offering residents and their guests easy access to shopping, entertainment and medical services. Stroudwater Lodge will offer both independent living and assisted living options in addition to the Avita memory care program adjacent to the community.

Meanwhile, the two new Avita memory care communities in Wells and Brunswick will offer similar amenities including a salon and barber shop, brain gym, screened porches, social and recreational programming and a locally-sourced menu from The Eat Fresh, Eat Local kitchen.

Each community will span approximately 47,703-square-feet, featuring 60 studio, one-bedroom and companion suites.

Mainstreet Begins Construction on Transitional Care Facility in Texas

Carmel, Ind.-based developer Mainstreet recently began construction on a new transitional care facility in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Next Generation property will feature 94 beds, within its 69,355-square-foot structure and will provide transitional care (short-stay rehabilitation and therapy) and assisted living.

As a transitional care center, the property will offer hospitality-oriented care with amenities that include a therapy gym, an outdoor rehabilitation courtyard, movie theatre, game room, a spa, an on-site chef and more.

For this project, the Nashville office of Doster Construction Company was awarded the $19.3 million project—signifying the first project between Doster and Mainstreet.

The project is expected to be completed by October 2016.

Isakson Living Moves Forward with Luxury CCRC Plans

Atlanta-based developer Isakson Living this week announced it is moving forward with plans to develop Peachtree HIlls Place, a luxury senior living community offering a full continuum of care in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood.

Initially introduced in 2006, plans for Peachtree Hills were put on hold in 2009 during the recession. But now, Isakson Living is finally ready to bring its design to fruition.

The first phase of development will include the construction of 84 luxury condominiums and eight custom single-family homes. Condos will include one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans ranging in size from 1,400-square-feet to more than 3,000-square-feet.

Upon completion, there will be 192 condominiums and 12 single-family homes.

Services at the community will include assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing, security, transportation and amenities such as a clubhouse with multiple dining venues, a fitness center and a health center.

Over the next several months, Foley Design Associates Architects will be refining the plans for the community, Isakson Living stated in a press release.

Pre-sales will begin in 2016.

Oxton Senior Living Expands Memory Care Units at Ala. Community

Madison, Ga.-based Oxton Senior Living late last week announced the groundbreaking of 18 additional memory care apartments, in addition to its current 32 apartments, at one of the company’s senior living communities in Montgomery, Ala. dubbed Oxton Court at Waterford Place.

Located at 3920 Antoinette Drive in Montgomery, Oxton Court at Waterford offers all-inclusive pricing; well-trained resident care and culinary staff; transportation services to residents; and organized daily activities.

Oxton, which operates nine senior living communities in Georgia and Alabama, including the Waterford property, expects the expansion to be complete within six months.

Mustang Creek Estates Breaks Ground in Burleson, Texas

North Dallas-based Mustang Creek Estates announced this week it recently broke ground on a new, $7 million, 42,000-square-foot assisted living and memory care community, Mustang Creek Estates of Burleson.

The community will be designed like a neighborhood, where within each of the community’s six homes, up to 15 residents will live. This intimate size is meant for community staff to provide more individualized attention and care to each resident.

The focal point of each home will be the open kitchen, where residents can see their food being prepared from scratch and take in the aromas of home-cooked meals.

Additional community features include all-inclusive monthly rates and accommodations for other caregiving options as residents’ needs change. Also included is an emergency call system, secure backyard, phone, cable, Wi-Fi, life enrichment program, on-site medical assistance and more.

Mustang Creek Estates of Burleson will sit on more than seven acres of land southwest of Burleson Church of Christ.

The community was designed by civil engineer Joseph E. Helmberge, P.E. of Kimley-Horn, a design consulting firm; and the architect is Scott Roberts of Creative Architects in Garland, Texas.

Mustang Creek Estates expects the Burleson community will open summer of 2016.

EPOCH Senior Living Holds Beam Ceremony for N.H. Community Opening Next Year

In partnership with National Development, EPOCH Senior Living will host a beam signing ceremony November 6 to commemorate ongoing construction of EPOCH at Nashua, a memory care assisted living community slated to open in fall 2016.

Bridges by EPOCH at Nashua represents Bridges by EPOCH’s first expansion into the State of New Hampshire. Currently, there are five operating EPOCH communities, developed in collaboration with National Development—four located in Massachusetts in Hingham, Mashpee, Westford and Westwood; and one located in Trumbull, Conn.

The community will include 48 apartments with private bathrooms in each suite, and will feature soothing lighting, décor and tall ceilings. Residents will also be able to enjoy an enclosed, landscaped courtyard, a full-service beauty salon, chef-prepared meals and personal laundry services.

Bridges by EPOCH at Nashua is located at 575 Amherst St. in Nashua, N.H.

MorseLife to Break Ground on New Luxury Independent Living Residence

MorseLife Health System next week will celebrate the construction start of a new luxury independent living residence in West Palm Beach, Fla., The Tower at MorseLife.

To commemorate the launch of construction on the 300,000-square-foot, 10-story residence, MorseLife will host a groundbreaking ceremony on November 12 on its 37-acre campus.

The Tower at MorseLife will be built in two phases at a cost of $77.6 million and is scheduled to open in the summer of 2017.

Project plans call for 135 beautifully-appointed one- and two-bedroom apartments during the first phase of construction, ranging in size from 780- to nearly 1,500-square-feet. Also included in this phase will be amenities like gourmet dining in the residence’s restaurant and bistro, a wellness spa, outdoor pool, housekeeping, transportation, security, along with an array of activities.

The plan is to offer a total of 182 apartments, with additional units built in the second phase of construction, MorseLife said in a press release.

The residence is the final building of MorseLife’s four-phase, $150 million capital project funded in part by the non-profit’s Campaign to Transform MorseLife, which has raised over $31 million to date.

Previous project included the Sondra & David S. Mack Pavilion for Short-Term Rehabilitation, which opened in January 2014; renovation of the campus’ long-term care residence, the Resnick Pavilion, which was completed in November 2014; and Memory Care Assisted Living, which opened in June 2015.

Perkins Eastman is the architect for The Tower at MorseLife. Whiting-Turner is the construction company.

Benchmark Senior Living to Celebrate Groundbreaking of Mass. Community

Wellesley, Mass.-based senior living provider Benchmark Senior Living will host a groundbreaking event next week on November 12 to celebrate the beginning of construction for its latest project in Norwood, Mass.

Benchmark Senior Living at Norwood is a $34.5 million development that, when completed, will feature 90 units—70 traditional assisted living and 20 for those needing memory care in a secured neighborhood.

Groundbreaking for the new development, which represents the 53rd Benchmark community, will take place at 40 Clapboardtree Street in Norwood, Mass.

Methodist Retirement Communities Names Texas Senior Living Community

Not-for-profit senior living provider Methodist Retirement Communities has given a name to its planned Texas development, The Langford at College Station.

The name pays tribute to former College Station mayor (1942-1968), the late Ernest Langford, who was also known for his role as the former dean of the architectural program at Texas A&M.

In selecting a name for the community, Methodist Retirement Communities had been in contact with descendants of Ernest Langford to share the vision of the senior living community and seek the Langford family’s blessing regarding the name.

The Langford at College Station will be an independent, assisted living and memory care community that will offer 72 IL condo-style flats, 24 AL apartments and 18 memory care suites.

The community has a projected completion date in, or before, 2018.

Construction: Completed

Brandywine Senior Living Completes $100 Construction Pipeline

Mount Laurel, N.J.-based operator Brandywine Senior Living recently announced that it has completed a $100 million construction pipeline this year that has included the openings of three new communities and expansions of two existing Brandywine communities, resulting in the addition of over 300 units to the company’s portfolio.

The three new communities opened in the Philadelphia and New York metropolitan areas. They include:

Brandywine Senior Living at Haddonfield, located in the historic district of Haddonfield, N.J., sits 15 minutes from downtown Philadelphia.

Brandywine Senior Living at Mahwah—the company’s first building in Bergen County, N.J., located 30 miles west of New York City.

Brandywine Senior Living at Upper Providence, located in Phoenixville, Pa., sits within a growing suburban market just 30 minutes outside of Philadelphia in Montgomery County.

For the expansion projects Brandywine completed, two were completed at existing communities in Rehoboth Beach, Del., and Litchfied, Conn.

Additionally, Brandywine currently has a 120-unit community under construction in Livingston, N.J., and is planning two new starts in the Washington, D.C. region in the beginning of 2016.

Tutera Senior Living & Health Care Completes $7.5 Million Rehab Center Expansion

This week, Tutera Senior Living & Health Care will host a grand opening event November 5 to celebrate the completion of the $7.5 million expansion of its new Stratford Commons Rehabilitation & Health Care Center in Overland Park, Kan.

Construction of the expansion project began in September 2014 on the new Center, a 34,000-square-foot, single-story community that adjoins Tutera’s Stratford Commons Memory Care Community, itself a 29,000-square-foot community located at 12340 Quivira Road in Overland Park.

Modeling itself as a serene, resort-style interior, Stratford Commons Rehabilitation & Health Care Center includes 41 private suites and two couple suites with large, private bathrooms, a kitchenette, built-in cabinetry, large exterior windows and high ceilings.

In efforts to support a multi-dimensional approach to healing, the Center includes Alter G anti-gravity treadmills to reduce recovery time, as well as specially designed equipment to monitor the needs of the most physically vulnerable to help them regain strength, functionality and, ultimately, independence.

The Center also includes restaurant-style dining with menus created by an in-house chef; luxurious spa amenities and salon services; massage and yoga therapy, among an ongoing calendar of wellness programming.

The interior design at the new Center was provided by Austin, Texas-based studioSIX5

Robycross Completes Six Senior Living Renovations Across the Caroilnas

Robycross, a firm specializing in the renovation of retirement and health care facilities, recently completed six major projects at senior living communities throughout the Carolinas.

The projects ranged from remodels of nursing home offices to complete overhauls of communities’ common areas. Clients included Five Star Senior Living (NYSE: FVE), ACTS Retirement-Life Communities and SanStone Health & Rehabilitation.

For Five Star, Robycross completed renovations of all common areas at four Morningside communities, all located in South Carolina. This included renovations to the communities’  dining facilities, lobbies, social rooms and corridors.

Robycross is currently wrapping up one project in Lancaster for Five Star, having completed facilities in Rock Hill, Georgetown and Sumter earlier this year. The total of these projects was about 100,000-square-feet.

For ACTS Retirement, Robycross just finished remodeling the nurses’ office at Tryon Estates in Columbus, S.C.

As for SanStone Health & Rehabilitation, the company also completed construction of a new, 8,000-square-foot corporate office facility adjacent to the new Lodge at Mills River Health and Rehabilitation near Asheville, N.C. Headquartered in Arden, N.C., SanStone provides short or long-term rehabilitation care at nine centers throughout N.C.

Written by Jason Oliva

The post In the Pipeline: Senior Housing Construction Projects (11/5/15) appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Senior Housing News kept readers on top of breaking and innovative senior living industry happenings in 2015. There were new players, new ideas, trend analyses and touching memorials to industry leaders lost this year.

Here’s a list of Senior Housing News‘s most popular posts this past year, culminating with the single most-read article of 2015:

#10. December 28 — Senior Living Operators Ready for Post-Holiday Sales Rush

The holiday season is a busy time for senior living sales teams, who face additional pressure to convert an influx of leads into move-ins. Benchmark Senior Living, for example, sees internet inquiries for its communities pick up between November and December as families start to do their own research into senior living options for their loved ones.

#9. September 25 — Remembering the Beloved Granger Cobb

Justin Hutchens, executive vice president and chief investment officer of senior housing and care at HCP Inc., wrote a touching tribute to his “closest friend and mentor,” Granger Cobb, after Cobb’s passing. Before his death, Cobb served as CEO of Emeritus Senior Living and was one of the architects of the company’s 2014 merger with Brookdale Senior Living.

#8. April 27 — Why Senior Living Must Change ‘Dramatically’ by 2050

Dilip V. Jeste, senior associate dean for Healthy Aging and Senior Care at the University of California, San Diego, and head of the university’s Stein Institute for Research on Aging, and Center for Healthy Aging, shared his ideas around “model” nursing homes, assisted living facilities and independent living settings that will contribute to maintaining health throughout the aging process.

#7. March 1 — ‘Ritz-Carlton Meets Disney World’ For New Senior Housing Developer

Affinitas Life kicked off a $50 million funding campaign for the first of a proposed pipeline of senior housing developments targeting seniors in the 10% wealth and income category. “This isn’t your parent’s retirement community,” said Anthony Santiago, CEO and co-founder of Affinitas Life. “It is where the Ritz-Carlton meets Disney World for seasoned adults.”

#6. June 8 — Titan Deal Will Make America’s Largest Senior Community Even Bigger

With over 105,000 residents, The Villages is the largest retirement community in the U.S.—it is even its own census-designated place. In May, it joined with Titan Senior Living and KR Management on plans to develop a series of senior living communities strategically located to serve The Villages master development. In total, The Villages in partnership with KR and Titan plans to provide residents with about 3,000 senior care beds at build-out.

#5. April 6 — ‘Uber for Home Care’ Raises $20 Million from Investors

In April, Honor, a startup that offers on-demand in-home services, secured $20 million in funding. Honor is a system to both match home care providers with clients and to provide monitoring so that family members can keep track of the care a loved one is receiving.

#4. February 18 — Best of Assisted Living Design 2014: The Boutique ‘Hotel’

Senior Housing News took an in-depth look at the winner of the 2014 Senior Housing News Design & Architecture Award in the assisted living category, Waterford Grand. Located in Eugene, Oregon, Waterford Grand. Though Waterford’s levels of care distinguish it from other stand-alone assisted living communities, its organic design, paired with high-end finishes and a concentration on wellness, made it a standout among the rest.

#3. February 10 — New Senior Living Operator Launches with 21 Properties Under Development

Thrive Senior Living Founder and Principal Jeramy Ragsdale partnered with Granger Group Founder Gary Granger to create First & Main, a new senior living operator based in Atlanta. “First and Main, from a consumer standpoint, is targeted at keeping the senior at the center of everything—from the daily commute to the grocery store and Starbucks,” Ragsdale told SHN. “From a real estate standpoint, this is just good real estate. It is right at the corner of ‘First and Main.’”

#2. March 26 — The Top-10 Largest Senior Living Providers in 2015

The Assisted Living Federation of America’s report on the 80 largest senior living providers in 2015 reflected the growth and consolidation of the top players in the market. The biggest change in the list is was merging of Brentwood, Tennessee-based Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD) and Emeritus Senior Living Corp. (NYSE: ESC).

#1. January 19 — The Top 10 Senior Housing Trends for 2015

At the start of 2015, SHN predicted that there would be increased senior housing M&A activity in the coming year, and that companies would have to review both their recruitment and retention strategies due to staffing woes. SHN also predicted the trend for senior housing communities to have a defined home health care strategy and business plan. Check out SHN’s list of 2015 trends and see how many you have noticed this year.

Editor’s note: The top stories list is based on traffic data received on Senior Housing News content compiled beginning on January 1, 2015.

Written by Mary Kate Nelson

The post The Top 10 Senior Housing News Stories of 2015 appeared first on Senior Housing News.

A few weeks into 2016, some of the leading executives in senior housing are looking into their crystal balls as they refine their strategies for the year ahead.

Senior Housing News recently asked CEOs and other top executives at some leading operators to share their predictions. If there’s a common thread it might be this: 2016 could a watershed year for senior living operators entering into more partnerships with other health care providers.

Several leaders said that senior housing will become a more important part of the nation’s increasingly integrated health care system, following years in which the industry has been kept on the fringes of ACOs and similar provider networks.

But the predictions were wide-ranging, touching on everything from the role of technology to workforce issues, development trends and occupancy expectations. The consensus is that 2016 will be another dynamic year, marked by innovation, healthy competition, and a drive to serve the nation’s growing ranks of seniors:

“There will be increased awareness — among providers in the larger markets developing integrated health care delivery systems — of the value many of the senior housing operators provide, or can provide, to better achieve their ‘Triple Aim’ objectives, which are to improve the experience of care, improve the health of the population, and reduce per capita cost of health care.” —Loren Shook, Co-Founder/CEO/Chairman, Silverado

“In 2016, I think you will see a significant increase in occupancy in independent living and CCRCs due to the increasing appeal of amenity-style living to new seniors and significant investments in updates and repositioning of existing communities.” —Adam Kane, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Erickson Living

“In 2016, there will be growing importance for senior housing operators to innovate so they can provide solutions that address the evolving needs and expectations of associates, seniors, and their families. We’ll see a growing adoption of technology platforms to improve operational efficiency and the customer experience.” —Andy Smith, CEO, Brookdale Senior Living

“As the health care landscape continues to evolve and grow, we are presented with some exciting opportunities to increase our collaboration with health care systems to benefit seniors. We look forward to building on last year’s focus on coordination of care to help improve our residents’ experiences and truly enhance their quality of life.”—Chris Winkle, CEO, Sunrise Senior Living

“For senior housing in general, a challenge in 2016 will be keeping up with the competition. Occupancy is up but everyone is still building. Many times companies will drop rates or give deals because they need to fill up their buildings. We need to all say we are not going to do that so we do not have to compromise the care we are providing.” —Tami Cumings, Chief Operating Officer, U.S. Memory Care

“I think the ultimate success of every retirement community is based on the quality of its staff, and their buy-in to the operator’s vision. As the number of communities across the nation increases in 2016, we anticipate an even greater need for creative recruitment, engaged training, continuous coaching and providing a meaningful, rewarding work experience.” —David Barnes, President and CEO, Watermark Retirement Communities

“I expect to see continually increased competition for occupancy/rate and talent as new properties continue to open. There will be a continuation of the recent uncertainty in the capital markets. And, the eventual collaboration of senior living and health care providers/systems will continue to unfold. The array of seniors we are now serving continues to diversify, as do the services we are providing them. Senior Living is moving ever closer to further collaboration with health care providers as the demographic, payment and care delivery worlds are being transformed.” —Tom Grape, Founder and CEO, Benchmark Senior Living

“[The coming year] is going to be the start of development slowing down. It will be the time when operators that haven’t wanted to change from their model built 10-15 years ago are going to start to feel that. Technology isn’t just ‘cool’ things, but it helps coordinate care. There’s going to come a point where those [slower operators] can’t play any more.” —Lori Juneau-Alford, Chief Operating Officer, Avanti Senior Living

“I think there will be continued consolidation in the industry. I think the larger public companies and the REIT-owned companies will continue to buy up smaller companies. I think companies that have ‘super regional influence’ will have a very good position in the marketplace, because there are very few of them left. I also think you’ll see development continue to grow in terms of select markets, and I think you’ll see occupancy inch up by about 1% as a national trend.” —Dwayne Clark , Founder and CEO, Aegis Living

Written by Tim Mullaney and Elizabeth Ecker

The post Senior Housing Crystal Ball: Top Execs’ 2016 Predictions appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Trends, influenced by tailwinds and headwinds, blow strong and then can change course over short periods or over a span of many years.

On an airplane, these tailwinds and headwinds create turbulence, causing temporary discomfort that typically passes with smoother air ahead. So even though a slight tailwind at the senior housing industry’s back is helping it gain momentum, we recommend you keep your seatbelt fastened this year. Here are the top trends to keep watch on in 2016:

#1 People Power – Attracting, Developing and Retaining Employees Amid a Pending Employment Crisis

The senior living and senior housing industry’s greatest challenge for 2016 lies not within bricks and mortar, nor bits and bytes, but in the flesh and blood that works on a daily basis.

The challenge is both to attract, develop and retain current employees and bring in new talent. With the industry needing 2.5 million more long-term care workers in the U.S. during the next 15 years, senior living does not have a solution at hand. Addressing poor engagement and high turnover with technology is part of the solution but is not the silver bullet, as the the challenge lies at all levels, from the maintenance staff to the CEO, front office and back office.

Not only do owners, operators and developers face this challenge, but capital providers, technology vendors and the many other ancillary products and services that touch senior living and senior housing also need to bring in new talent. Employers in the private and public sectors need comprehensive strategies. Various private and non-profit organizations have major initiatives to develop future leaders through training, education and certification that will begin to take shape during the next 12 months. The talent pipeline in the industry may be in a good shape for the next 24 months, but the challenges of meeting the employment needs of the industry are just beginning.

#2 Consolidation – Is pressure a good thing?

Last year was met with rising pressure among top senior living companies, especially on one public operator to make the most of its real estate by spinning it off and focusing instead on operations only. Brookdale received pressure in 2015 from a vocal shareholder group that implored the company to spin off its real estate into a REIT and unlock the intrinsic value of its stock. It went as far as to push for a management shake up that would replace acting Brookdale board members.

Then again later in the year, a similar alarm sounded on Capital Senior Living [NYSE: CSU], with one of its major shareholders urging the company to act on opportunities to boost shareholder value, which may include selling to a private equity investor or other strategic acquirer.

Most recently, Five Star Quality Care [NYSE: FVE] was approached by a real estate holding company led by the owners of fellow operator Senior Star, seeking to purchase a portfolio of the company’s under-performing senior housing properties.

Prominent REITs have not been immune to pressure, either, as share prices have dropped despite solid market fundamentals. New Senior Investment Group (NYSE: SNR) and NorthStar Realty Finance [NYSE: NRF] are both are feeling heat to restructure or consider a sale.

The coming year will continue to put pressure on the publicly traded senior housing businesses as external parties demand results and returns. The pressure brought upon the industry by external influences is both good and bad.

In the interest of industry consolidation, the inevitable evolution will take place in order for the largest operators to enjoy the best economies of scale. In the short term, the changes are uncomfortable and uncertain, but the industry needs to trust that bigger can be better and that consolidation happens in all industries; it just hasn’t happened in this industry to the degree it has in other, environments..

Expect this pressure not only among operators and owners, but among vendors in 2016. The highly fragmented market for senior living technology can and will be made more efficient through M&A. Not all parties will survive. (See Trends, 2015.)

#3 Political Focus on Senior Care & Housing

In election years, senior housing issues tend to get batted around on the heels of health care, social security and other major initiatives that are impacted by the aging population of the United States. By nature of the baby boom and the “Silver Tsunami,” senior housing issues will be brought to light on the political front. The overall awareness is a good thing; it will draw even more investment and funding to the space, and clearly the more research we have about aging, the better.

Case in point: Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton has publicly backed the Fight for $15—a union-supported drive for a higher minimum wage for fast food, child care and home care workers. With home care workers in the wage spotlight and discussions swirling about minimum wage requirements rising across a handful of states and counting for all workers, political pressure on this issue is likely to continue.

Also in the spotlight of political discourse: Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. On her platform, Clinton has called for $2 billion more in government research funding—per year—in an effort to cure the disease. (Current estimates place annual Alzheimer’s research funding at around a quarter of that amount.) And the most recent budget deal signed into law by the president included $350 million more for this research than the previous budget allocated.

But not all policy is friendly to the industry from a business standpoint. Owners and operators need to keep a close pulse on political platforms and proposed legislation in the coming year that is bound to impact their businesses.

#4 Technology – Upgraded user experience

The last few years have seen a dramatic growth in the number of apps, sensors, platforms and technology services that have either direct or indirect senior care uses.

These applications, such as electronic health records (EHRs) and monitoring platforms, will be reviewed and enhanced as part of the IT development lifecycle. These mature apps will incrementally improve their interfaces and data management in ways that may not be specifically visible by the end user or the resident, but those improvements will have profound long-term effects. For new entrants into the senior housing industry or those making new investments, organizations such as the LeadingAge Centers for Aging Services Technology (CAST) have developed tools for not only selecting tested products but also providing information to help with 2015’s Strategic IT Planning for Long-Term and Post-Acute Care (LTPAC) Providers: A “How To” Workbook.

Technology vendors in the industry continue to work on improving their core systems and interfaces, but those tweaks hardly get the attention of a product launch. The technology that has propelled industry development and operations shall continue to improve in 2016. It’s not to say that the best will get better, but the lifecycle of technology development continues, so owners and operators should push their tech vendors to enhance and deliver, especially if there are support and maintenance agreements in place.

Press releases and new product announcements may tease the promised land of the technological silver bullet, but experienced technology vendors and well thought out technology plans by providers will help ensure that proper care is provided in an efficient manner.

#5 – Home Care Gold Rush Trickles Down to Senior Living

$81.5 million. That’s how much three home care startups—Honor, HomeHero and Hometeam—have raised collectively from investors, mostly in 2015. When Honor announced a $20 million round last April, it was dubbed by some the “Uber of home care.” Like the popular ride-sharing app, Honor utilizes technology to make home care a more on-demand experience. Clients can find caregivers, schedule appointments, and handle payments all on the app, and the company also uses technology to record what happens when the caregiver is in the client’s home.

HomeHero and Hometeam operate on similar models and have announced $20 million and $27.5 million funding rounds, respectively.

Hometeam already is working with assisted living providers, offering facility-based care programs and aiding in transitions of care, CEO and founder Josh Bruno says. The startups are using their tech platforms to collect data on their clients, which could be useful to senior living providers seeking more insight into their residents’ health status and likelihood of hospitalization.

With serious backing from high-profile investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, the home care startups also may be viewed as a threat to senior living, if they succeed in making it easier for people to age in their own homes. The senior housing industry may have to grapple in a more intense way with an increasingly robust home care market in 2016.

Ultimately, home care might merely be the gateway for major investors in the senior living space, but home care players will have incredibly value data associated with referral patterns, hiring practices, and caregiving methods. Home care companies might provide the disruption in the industry as they will have the pre-amble for senior housing’s future customer base.  .

#6 Is Skilled Nursing Sexy (Again)?  

On the heels of reimbursement changes that positioned SNFs at the bottom of some investors’ wish lists, the industry is once again seeing skilled nursing bring sexy back (cue Justin Timberlake).  Investors are paying top dollar once again for skilled nursing assets as the search for yield ventures out further on the risk-reward curve with other industry cap rates still sitting at considerable lows.

Quite literally, there are sexy and new post-acute care constructions that have blurred the lines around what “skilled nursing” is today. Welltower (NYSE: HCN) notably is tied into a pipeline of these properties being built by Carmel, Indiana-based Mainstreet in a deal secured in 2014.

But relative to other asset types, skilled nursing properties are also garnering new favor, fetching higher per-bed prices than in the recent past, and in some markets, the highest-ever.

Nationally, pricing may have peaked around 2010-2011, according to data compiled by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care, but prices in Q42015 were up a notch from pre-recession prices for SNFs in 2007.

There is also a more targeted approach to skilled nursing assets among some of the largest investors in the space, as demonstrated by Ventas’s spinoff of the majority of its skilled nursing portfolio into a separate REIT in 2015. The new REIT, Care Capital Properties [NYSE: CCP] will be on the hunt for SNF acquisitions in the coming year.

#7 Senior Living Providers as Health Care Power Players

The CEOs of Sunrise Senior Living, Silverado, and Benchmark Senior Living all agree: 2016 will bring more partnerships with physicians, hospitals, insurers and other organizations in the U.S. health care system.

It’s been a long time coming. Five years ago, the Affordable Care Act created new payment systems and other policies meant to get health care providers to collaborate more, in order to provide better care for patients at a lower cost.

But while hospitals, physician groups, skilled nursing facilities, managed care organizations and other players have forged partnerships, senior housing has been stuck largely on the sidelines.

Some senior living companies have been putting pieces in place over years so that they can be valuable participants in these sorts of partnerships. They’ve added service lines such as therapy, implemented technology, and begun to collect and be responsive to data about residents.

Now, the big payoff for these types of efforts may be near. A senior housing provider that can, say, identify a resident at risk of being readmitted to the hospital and intervene has a valuable competitive edge. Hospitals, facing Medicare penalties if readmission rates are too high, are realizing that they have a lot of incentive to discharge seniors to this type of community.

And senior living companies may be realizing the power they wield. Rather than going hat in hand to Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) to ask for inclusion, they may seek out like-minded, high-performing partners and create integrated networks on their own.

Are we ready for the next match.com for partners in the ACO space?

#8 Person-Centered Care Delivery on Demand Evolves, Grows

The trend for  on-demand services will continue to evolve during the next twelve months as core service providers such as Uber] and Lyft look to grow their platforms.

These services are both a help and hindrance to many operators that may want to provide maximum flexibility to their residents, but operators will be challenged in their ability to grow the ancillary services by utilizing these on-demand apps.  Niche players will develop quickly in this area, but can they expand and / or integrate their offering by partnering with existing on-demand delivery platforms (Uber, Lyft, Grubhub, Instacar, Peapod) or integrate with other technology platforms that already are installed in communities? And these services are well equipped for urban and suburban markets but have yet to translate well to rural markets.

Nevertheless, the growth in on-demand, personalized services will become more ubiquitous as connectivity and devices provide a simple(r) means to call upon specialized providers.

#9 What’s in a name? Rebranding Mania Continues

Health Care REIT (NYSE: HCN) and the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA) were just two of many recognizable senior housing brands to get an overhaul in 2015.

Whether rebranding HCN to Welltower and ALFA to Argentum will make a positive difference remains to be seen—to say nothing about how successfully “Life Plan Community” will replace “Continuing Care Retirement Community.” But it’s likely that the mania for rebranding will only gain more traction in the year ahead.

Increased competition between nonprofit and for-profit companies also is playing a part. In the last 11 years, 53 of the top 150 largest nonprofit providers have changed their names, according to investment bank Ziegler. Many are dropping religion-specific terms to broaden their appeal to a wider resident base.

The trend also is driven by the industry’s consolidation, as mergers and acquisitions can necessitate rebranding. It might be a matter of unifying two separate companies under a new, singular identity. But strategies such as “micro-branding” also are catching on, as a way to add individuality to communities that are part of a national or regional company.

And as the Life Plan Community initiative demonstrates, there’s also an ongoing effort to rebrand not only organizations but some senior housing concepts. Even more dramatic changes could be on the horizon: Influential voices have floated the possibility of even finding a different term for “senior.”

#10 Avoiding and Re-Defining Obsolescence Through Flexible Design

This year will see slight pain in new development pockets of overbuilding will start to emerge and present risks to owners and operators in these markets as they compete to fill occupancy.

As more development continues in markets to coincide with projected demand, current owners and new developers will need to create spaces that not only provide a means to grow but also for flexibility, to ensure assets not only last long but can be converted to other uses as much as possible.

With new technology and boomer expectations, developers, owners and operators need to rethink obsolescence as something that transcends physical plant deterioration and the basics of simple functionality, to further consider style and technology. Obsolescence in senior housing is not nearly as rapid as as that of consumer technology, with feature changes and processing improvements every 18 months. Redevelopment life-cycles will shorten as demand for up-to-date features and services continue to grow and owners and operators look to expand their revenue bases.  While debt capital remains at all time lows, the need to reinvest into physical plants for future flexibility should be job one.

Written by George Yedinak with Tim Mullaney and Elizabeth Ecker

The post The Top 10 Senior Housing Trends for 2016 appeared first on Senior Housing News.

This coverage of the 2016 National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care Spring Investment Forum is brought to you by Mainstreet. As the nation’s largest developer of transitional care properties, Mainstreet specializes in real estate development, value investments and health care. With Mainstreet’s support, SHN is bringing live event coverage of the NIC conference, which draws developers, providers and operators within the post-acute and preventative health care services space.

The senior living industry is fragmented, poorly depicted, and often—in the minds of the consumers it targets—confusing.

But it doesn’t have to be, say senior living executives. There are three things senior living needs to continue to focus on as an industry to help resolve those perceptions, according to Benchmark Senior Living President and Chief Operating Officer Stephanie Handelson: education, transparency and passion.

“There’s a lot of confusion on the consumer side, and more transparency has to come into play,” said Handelson, who served as a panelist during a March 10 session at the 2016 NIC Spring Investment Forum in Dallas.

Transparency and education intersect when it comes to defining assisted living as a concept, agreed Ed Kenny, chairman and CEO of LCS, who also spoke on the panel.

“We’re at an interesting point as it relates to the definition as to what ‘assisted living’ is,” Kenny said.

Assisted living can really be divided into three different categories, he said: assisted living facilities that are housing- and service-oriented, but do not have care coordination on their radar; assisted living facilities that are actively participating in care coordination; and assisted living facilities that are actively participating in care delivery.

“One size doesn’t fit all,” Kenny said. “What makes sense from a regulatory point of view?”

Providers must lead this discussion as opposed to having the discussion thrust upon them, Kenny said. Handelson agreed.

“Why aren’t we looking at states and saying there should be three tiers of licensing for assisted living?” she asked. There is a lot of confusion on the consumer side as to what an assisted living facility offers, and how assisted living facilities can differ from one another with respect to the services they provide, Handelson said.

Consumers also care about quality, and transparency into that quality, the panelists agreed.

Quality Measurement is Here to Stay

Quality is a major topic, according to Kenny, who added that its measurement is, and will always, be around—regardless of whether providers agree with the weight the tool assigns to certain quality measures. In fact, it’s the industry’s job to help the tools more accurately reflect a facility’s quality, Kenny said.

“The reality is the measurement tool is going to stay in some form,” Kenny said. “The industry needs to have a strong voice in modifying and updating that tool.”

When thinking about quality, it is important to keep customer expectation in mind. In fact, it is critical that providers focus in on customer expectation and are aware of those measurements, Kenny said.

“From the aspect of transparency, we need to recognize that that information’s out there, it’s very visible, you’re going to be recognized for it,” Kenny said. Attention should be paid to educating staff on what it means to deliver on resident experience, he said, adding that providers also need to be sure they are meeting family members’ expectations in terms of quality.

The level of transparency that these real consumers—residents’ family members—want nowadays is “very different” than it was 10 years ago, Handelson said.

“It wasn’t complicated in the past,” Handelson said. “You’d build it, they’d come.”

The panelists also discussed senior living’s negative stereotype. When it comes to its perception, the industry needs to address the negative notions, Kenny said.

“We can’t, as providers of service to seniors, have the litmus test of whether we’re doing a good job or not rest with the state survey process,” he said. “That’s a bad business model. What are we doing as providers to up our game?”

Written by Mary Kate Nelson

The post How Providers Can Combat Negative Consumer Perceptions appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Construction: Planned

Autumn Senior Living, Lindell Investments Plan $24 Million Community in Fla.

Gulf Coast assisted living developer Autumn Senior Living and Lindell Investments, a Tampa-based real estate developer, have finalized plans to begin construction on a new assisted living and memory care campus in the Tampa suburb of Westchase, Florida.

Autumn of Westchase is set to break ground in the second quarter of 2016, with an expected completion in 2017. Autumn estimates the cost of the project at over $24 million.

Plans call for 122 spacious apartments in a three-story structure. Included within the campus will be two restaurants serving the latest in Mediterranean and gluten-free cuisine, as well as old favorites, Autumn stated in a release. 

Beyond the apartments, Autumn will offer residents assistance with activities of daily living, along with a full range of physical and occupational therapy services.

Autumn of Westchase is designed in cooperation with the USF Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute. The project will create more than 60 professionals jobs, including medical care providers, nurses, administrators and physical therapy specialists.

Over the last four decades, Autumn Senior Living has managed 45 properties totaling 3,600 units.

Life Care Services Plans $40 Million Waco, TX Community

Des Moines, Iowa-based Life Care Services has begun land clearing for a $40 million senior living community in Waco, Texas, reports WacoTrib.com.

The development, dubbed The Delaney at Lake Waco, will be a four-story, 167-unit complex offering independent living, assisted living and memory care. 

Upscale amenities will also be featured, such as a theater, library, exercise and wellness room, a large dining room and extensive landscaping of the campus grounds. 

Residential accommodations will include 80 independent living units, 55 assisted living areas and 32 memory care units. 

The Delaney at Lake Waco will be built on Fish Pond Road near Ridgewood Country Club.

The project is one of several similar communities LCS is developing in the Texas areas of Katy, League City and Georgetown.  

Construction: In process

Brookdale, HCP Expand Indianapolis CCRC Campus

Prompted by Indiana’s aging demographics, Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD) is expanding one of its continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) in Indianapolis to better serve the assisted living and memory care needs of the city’s aging population. 

The $11 million project at Robin Run Village is part of a capital investment and community management joint venture between Brookdale and HCP, Inc. (NYSE: HCP). 

Expansion plans call for the addition of a three-story building—the top floor of which will offer 25 apartments for residents with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Brookdale’s Clare Bridge program of care will be implemented for residents living in this wing of the new building, which will also provide a spa, rooftop terrace and pergola. 

On the first and second floors, Brookdale will offer 43 assisted living apartments and a variety of amenities, including a library, activity rooms, bistro/pub area, lounge and private dining rooms. 

With the completion of this expansion project, Robin Run Village will now be able to accommodate approximately 700 residents on its 86-acre campus. 

By 2030, seniors are expected to comprise 20% of Indiana’s population, compared to 13% in 2010, according to the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business—statistics cited by Brookdale in its announcement of the forthcoming expansion project.

Meanwhile, the number of Hoosiers with Alzheimer’s disease is projected to rise 18% between 2015 and 2025, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. 

Robin Run Village is located in Indianapolis at 5354 West 62nd Street.  

Atlas Senior Living Begins Construction of Lexington, Ky. Community

Birmingham, Alabama-based Atlas Senior Living is currently underway on the construction of a new upscale senior living community in Lexington, Kentucky.

Legacy Reserve at Fritz Farm will provide three levels of care, including independent living, assisted living and memory care services. 

Elegant apartment homes, all-day dining and community activity programming will support residents living in the 114-unit independent living portion of the community. 

Soon to follow the development of the independent living environment will be 38 personal care units and 15 memory care units. These living spaces will be located just steps away from The Willows at Frits Farm and its skilled nursing and rehabilitation options.

With a projected completion for spring 2017, Legacy Reserve will feature a modern, chic design by DMK Development of Louisville. 

In terms of amenities, the new community will feature upscale dining options, a heated indoor salt-water swimming pool, resident common areas, a Sports Bar, library, cleaning and transportation services, a day-spa for hair and nail appointments, along with an exercise room.

The Arbor Company, Capitol Seniors Housing Break Ground on Va. Memory Care Community

Arbor Terrace Fairfax, a memory care community, is currently under construction in Fairfax, Virginia. 

Scheduled for opening in spring 2017, the new community is being developed by Washington, D.C.-based Capitol Seniors Housing in partnership with Artisan Land Group, LLC of Oakton, Virginia. Upon completion, Atlanta-based The Arbor Company will operate the community.

Within its single-story structure, Arbor Terrace Fairfax will offer 48 memory care units, 24 of which are dedicated for residents who need moderate to full assistance with their activities of daily living. 

For residents in the transitional stage, who need more help than offered by assisted living but don’t yet need full-service memory care, Arbor Terrace will feature 24 Bridges residences.

In total, the new community can accommodate up to 54 residents and is expected to create approximately 50 new full-time jobs. 

All residents will be able to enjoy access to a wide range of support services and amenities, including a physical therapy and rehab area, bistro, salon and gourmet dining, as well as Arbor’s Dining with Dignity program. 

Moseley Architects designed the community, and interior design was provided by Mosaic Design Studio. The general contractor for the project is Scott Long. 

Winter Construction Begins Work on Canterfield Senior Living Project in Ga. 

Atlanta-based Medical Development Corp. has chosen Winter Construction to serve as general contractor to build a new Canterfield Senior Living community in Kennesaw, Georgia, reports Metro Altanta CEO.  

The new Canterfield Senior Living of Kennesaw facility, which will include three floors and 74,000-square-feet, has an expected completion date for the first phase of development in Spring 2017.

Atlanta-based architecture firm Corcoran Ota Group designed the community. 

MDC launched the Canterfield luxury senior living brand in 2011. The company has selected Winter Construction to also build several similar Canterfield facilities in Franklin, Tennessee, and Bluffton, South Carolina.  

Construction: Completed

Five Star Senior Living Expands Memory Care Suites at Somerford House & Place of Hagerstown

Newton, Massachusetts-based provider Five Star Senior Living (NYSE: FVE) this week announced it has completed an expansion project for the Bridge to Rediscovery (BTR) neighborhood at Somerford House & Place of Hagerstown in Hagerstown, Maryland.

The extension, which is designed to maximize natural light throughout the community, features 16 modernized private suites, custom stonework in common areas, buffet-style dining and three secure outdoor gardens. 

Five Star’s BTR program is designed specifically to meet the needs of those living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. The program caters to the distant capabilities, interests and favorable activities of each resident, while also encouraging family involvement every step of the way.

Benchmark Senior Living Opens $34 Million Expansion at Mass. Community

Waltham, Massachusetts-based Benchmark Senior Living recently opened a new expansion on the campus of The Commons in Lincoln, Massachusetts, reports Banker & Tradesman.

With the new expansion, The Commons campus now offers assisted living, skilled nursing, memory care, as well as inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services. 

The $34 million development includes amenities such as wireless internet, on-site physical therapy and clinical examination rooms. A campus wellness center will be staffed by CareGroup Parmenter Home Care & Hospice, Inc. 

Written by Jason Oliva

The post In the Pipeline: Senior Housing Construction Projects (4/7/16) appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Some argue that senior housing has shifted toward becoming a health care business wrapped in a real estate bow. That holds especially true when it comes to memory care, where residents have distinct care needs—but if not real estate, then what exactly is memory care selling?

At a quantitative level, memory care units tend to be smaller than those in either independent or assisted living. In part, that’s because independent living units generally resemble apartments, with one or two bedrooms, living areas and kitchens. Memory care’s direct care and service offerings, however, tend to be more robust than those in its independent and assisted living counterparts, prompting some providers to reconsider how they market themselves.

One such provider is Anthem Memory Care, a developer and operator based in Oregon that has built and manages six memory care communities in California, Colorado and Illinois, with two more soon to open.

Nice rooms and attractive buildings are important, Anthem Principal Mark Rockwell tells Senior Housing News. Rooms in Anthem’s buildings range from 250 square feet to 390 square feet, but at the end of the day, memory care isn’t a real estate transaction.

“It simply means that we step back and say, ‘What business are we in?’” he says. “Our business is a care model, not a real estate model. Why would we lead with selling real estate?”

Care-centric Pricing

Anthem has taken the approach of presenting its care model to potential residents first and foremost, because it can be confusing to talk about selling something in the form of room rates, Rockwell says. Doing so could lead families to think their loved ones are receiving less care if they choose a smaller or shared room as opposed to a larger one.

“We’re not in the business to rent rooms,” Rockwell says. “We need to talk about the kind of care [residents] are going to get. [Families] are not going to come to us because we have the best building. They should be coming to us because we have great care.”

Anthem offers two levels of care to its residents at two distinct price points, the first of which encompasses basic services such as hands-on assistance with incontinence products and stand-by assistance or verbal cueing for activities of daily living. Level two is deemed all-inclusive and includes hands-on transfer, restroom, and hygiene and mobility assistance, among other services.

Some companies bump prices up more precisely, scoring residents by points based on their level of cognitive impairment and care needs, for example, and charging families more as the points go up, Rockwell says. But again, that can lead to confusion.

“The simpler we can keep our pricing, the better off we are and the happier families will be,” he says. “Those rent components are going to be different, but the care piece is always the same.”

That’s not to say one pricing strategy is necessarily superior to the other, Rockwell says. The point is being very upfront and straightforward about how pricing will run, and emphasizing the care residents will receive.

“We try to keep our pricing in general pretty constant,” Rockwell says. “There shouldn’t be much fluctuation.”

When it comes to why families turn to memory care, it usually has little to do with elaborate amenities on offer or the size of a bedroom, says Andrèa Catizone, President of Senior Living SMART, a resource hub for smaller, independent providers. Instead, they’re looking to improve their loved ones’ quality of life.

“For families, it’s typically a very emotional and need-driven sale,” she says. “There’s a reason they pick up the phone when they do. I’ve found it’s very rarely the real estate that families will focus on.”

Even amenities deemed important in memory care have a care focus, Catizone says. Whereas a potential independent living resident might be more concerned with whether there’s an onsite swimming pool or putting green, memory care might tout its access to a safe outdoor area for fresh air, or significant community spaces for indoor activities to foster resident engagement.

Importance of Engagement

Beyond care itself, day-to-day activities prove especially crucial in selling memory care.

“You have to be willing to try anything and everything,” says Jenni Seaman, life engagement director at Chelsea Place, an Anthem community in Aurora, Colorado. “You can’t get stuck in a rut of doing the same things over and over again.”

Chelsea Place focuses on community involvement and intergenerational programming, which can range from visiting a local elementary school so that students can read to residents, to simply taking residents out to lunch and stopping at the park on the way back. The reading program has been successful, in particular, as it offers a chance for residents to give care instead of being the recipients of it. Plus, they’re treated like celebrities among the children, Seaman says.

Caregivers at Chelsea Place are involved in residents lives beyond care, as well, as they’re expected to dedicate 25% of their workload toward engaging with residents. That way, their jobs aren’t entirely task-oriented, and it allows residents the opportunity to be part of the community at large, setting tables or filling bird feeders, and again, not simply the recipients of care.

“I think that’s becoming more and more what consumers are looking for,” Seaman says. “The engagement piece is what people are really wanting to see [in memory care].”

Catizone agrees, explaining that families’ first criteria typically revolves around how close the community is from their own homes, but what comes next is staff and resident engagement.

“Does the staff interact? Will they answer questions if a family asks? Is there enough challenge and variety in activities throughout the day?” Catizone says, as examples of what a family might be looking for in memory care. “The actual real estate plays very little part.”

Written by Kourtney Liepelt

The post How Standalone Providers are Marketing Memory Care appeared first on Senior Housing News.

The U.S. health care system is changing in big ways, and senior living companies have much to contribute in the dawning era—but it hasn’t been easy for them so far. They have not been allowed to participate in some of the emerging models of care affecting their residents, and now is the time for senior living providers to invite themselves in and prove they belong, according to some industry leaders.

The new models were ushered in after the Affordable Care Act passed in 2010, and sometimes are lumped together under the term “pay for performance,” in which reimbursements through Medicare and similar programs are tied more to quality outcomes than simply to services performed.

In fact, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) put forth a goal of having 30% of Medicare payments tied to these new models, such as Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), by the end of 2016. That goal already had been met as of March.

As the pendulum has swung toward these new models, senior living providers have seen skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, hospitals, physician practices, and other parts of the senior care continuum start to form partnerships to better coordinate care, sharing in the potential financial rewards for doing so and the financial risks of failing. However, with independent living and assisted living being primarily private-pay rather than part of the Medicare ecosystem, this industry has been largely excluded from the new partnerships, at least in an official capacity.

That’s problematic, because many of the Medicare beneficiaries who are being cared for in these coordinated care models reside in senior housing communities, said Stephanie Handelson, president and COO of Benchmark Senior Living, at last week’s Post Acute Link Care Continuum Conference in Chicago. Based in Waltham, Massachusetts, Benchmark operates senior living communities in seven states, covering the full continuum of independent living through skilled nursing, as well as memory care.

Furthermore, because of the way assisted living has evolved in the last three decades, these residents have complex care needs that the senior living provider is addressing, making these companies important health care players as well as housing providers, she pointed out.

“They are highly acute, frail, need three to five ADLs [activities of daily living], average length-of-stay is 22 months,” she said of typical AL residents. “We’re caring for a very frail resident who was a custodial long-term care resident previously.”

In addition to providing care for these seniors, assisted living companies in many cases are acting as care coordinators, facilitating the movement of their residents through other settings as needs arise, pointed out Steven Littlehale, executive vice president and CCO of PointRight Inc., a predictive analytics platform for post-acute providers.

“We know you weren’t invited to the party, but it sounds like you want to crash the party,” Littlehale said to Handelson, who confirmed that she does want to play party crasher. And in some ways, Benchmark and other senior living companies already are playing that role.

Seizing the opportunity

In terms of what senior living companies can contribute in new coordinated care models, Handelson emphasized the role that they can play in reducing rehospitalizations. This is a primary concern in new care models, given that they often reduce Medicare reimbursements for hospitals and other providers if readmissions are too high.

If seniors have two or three days of oversight with 24-hour observation and medication management after leaving the hospital, the likelihood they will return decreases, Handelson said. Senior living providers potentially could play a larger part in providing this sort of post-acute care for all Medicare beneficiaries, but the most obvious opportunity is for those seniors who are returning to the senior housing community.

“We could have a better partnership between the hospital and home health and the hospice, and have everybody actually working together,” she said. “We’d have better outcomes.”

It’s a welcome message at least for home health providers, said Tracey Moorhead, president and CEO of the Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA), a major association for the home-based care industry.

“My members need to hear that they have an opportunity to partner with organizations like yours, based on their quality scores and outcomes,” Moorhead said.

Benchmark has indeed formally partnered with home health agencies and physician practices at all 52 of its properties, after putting them through a rigorous vetting process, said Handelson.

“The way we pick our providers is unbelievably picky. It’s like getting married,” she said. “We’ve had people we’ve dated, and we ditched them because the way they provide the service is so critical to the health and wellness of our residents. If I couldn’t get home health to come quick enough if I needed an IV, I’m going ot have to send that resident out [to the hospital].”

The other side of the coin is that once a company like Benchmark commits to becoming more integrated with the changing health care system, it not only has to carefully select partners like home health agencies, but meet the needs and preferences of the entity that is most responsible for controlling the patient’s care, said Handelson. In Benchmark’s markets, that is the physician or the ACO that the physician belongs to.

That’s because these groups have scale—a single ACO can cover multiple senior living properties and as many as 1,000 residents at a time, she said. As such, they have their own preferences with regard to home health and hospice providers and other terms of the partnerships.

“Although this is so complex, there’s opportunity for us one way or another, but everyone needs to figure out who the new master is,” she said. “I personally think it’s the physician.”

However, senior living providers should not necessarily be resigned to ceding control to an ACO or similar entity, some other leaders suggested. It was not party crasher but another metaphor, “general contractor,” that Peter Kress, vice president and CIO of Acts Retirement Life Communities, invoked. In the general contractor role, the senior living provider would be the primary manager of residents’ care, enabling maximum control over cost and quality.

“In long-term and post-acute care, the biggest danger we run is that we’re going to be bricklayers instead of being the general contractor, being the person who owns the customer relationship,” he said. “And yet practically every setting has a significant opportunity to own customer relationships.”

The data dilemma

To succeed in owning the relationship, the key is having the most information and insight into those customers, Kress said. Technology investments therefore should be targeted to support this goal, he argued.

This is not necessarily the approach that many providers are taking, considering that the federal IMPACT Act is defining more standard data collection for post-acute providers, as part of an effort to compare different settings and set payment rates accordingly. But putting too much emphasis on meeting these uniform standards may not be wise, according to Kress.

“[When we] shift our mind from how we get paid to customer-centricity, we set a way higher bar for the information we gather,” he said. “As soon as we set that higher bar, the quality of information we gather, it all of a sudden becomes straightforward for us to comply with the information sharing partner to partner.”

This is a compelling vision, but “CMS is not making it easy to achieve that Nirvana,” said Moorhead. Despite the IMPACT Act, the agency is imposing different regulations on different areas of post-acute care in such a way that it challenges the ability of providers to have interoperable technology and efficient data sharing, she said.

While she did not weigh in specifically on the question of being CMS-centric versus customer-focused, Handelson said some senior living providers may have to shift the way they think about themselves and the tech supporting their business.

The assisted living industry is built on customer relationship management (CRM) software that was put in place in the early days, when a more pure hospitality focus could be successful, she said.

“We’ve made a huge investment over all this time, and now we’ve got to take that and reinvent ourselves if we want to play in this … health care space, whether we’re part of the payer mix or not,” she said. “We have to be able to communicate in the same language [as other providers], and now it’s all very care-centric whereas before it was hospitality-centric.”

This may be one of the most important steps for a senior living provider to make inroads with health care partners, because having the right care-related metrics will enable providers to demonstrate that they can help achieve the goals of lowering costs while improving outcomes.

As PointRight’s Littlehale put it, “You have to bring a lot of the data with you to be welcome at the party.”

Written by Tim Mullaney

Photo Credit: “Red, Blue & Orange Balloons,” by Knar Bedian, CC BY 2.0

The post How Senior Living Providers Can Crash the Health Care Party appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Senior Lifestyle Announces New EVP, Chief Administrative Officer

Senior Lifestyle, an owner, operator and developer of senior living communities, announced the promotion of Justin Robins to executive vice president and chief administrative officer.

Robins has served in various roles at Senior Lifestyle, including financial analyst, director of development, director of hospitality, vice president of capital and plant operations and vice president of business solutions, which is the company’s recently formed business strategy department. In that role, Robins was responsible for information technology and procurement, leading a multimillion dollar investment initiative in IT staff and technology. 

“It gives me great pleasure to promote a young man who has been so dedicated to Senior Lifestyle,” Senior Lifestyle Chairman Bill Kaplan said in a news release. “His passion has remained true, ever since he came to us as a high school summer intern. I’ve not only had the pleasure to watch Justin grow in his career, I have also witnessed the tremendous growth opportunities he has provided for his teams.”

Senior Lifestyle has a portfolio of more than 170 communities across 27 states, offering independent living, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing for the luxury, moderate and affordable segments.

NCAL Names New Board Member

The National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) named Thomas Reddy to its board of directors as an at-large representative.

Reddy is the president of TR Development, offering independent owners of municipalities in-depth management and leadership services for the development of senior housing, assisted living communities and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). He fills an open seat on the NCAL board vacated earlier this year.

Reddy has more than 35 years of long-term care experience, and he owns or manages seven assisted living communities and SNFs in Kansas and Nebraska. Three of those are owned by the Vintage Group. Previously, Reddy was the founder and owner of Vintage Park, where he oversaw the development, construction and management of 10 new assisted living communities.

“Tom’s deep expertise in developing successful assisted living communities while remaining focused on quality care will be a valuable addition to the NCAL board,” Chairman Chris Mason said in a news release. “He brings a unique perspective of how NCAL can strengthen its service to small, independent operators.”

Lancaster Pollard Makes 3 New Hires

Lancaster Pollard, a financial services firm that helps health care, senior living and housing providers with financial advice and financing solutions, hired Doug Harper and Casey Moore as managing directors of agency finance and Joe Munhall as director of syndicated credit.

All three come from Berkeley Point Capital, where they served in similar capacities.

Harper was most recently a director of seniors housing at Berkeley Point, and before that, he was a managing director at Red Capital Group for 10 years.

Moore also joins Lancaster Pollard from Berkeley Point, and prior to that, he was a principal at Prudential Mortgage Capital Company and a senior managing director at Red Capital.

Munhall was most recently a vice president of originations at Berkeley. Before that, he served as vice president of corporate banking at Commerce National Bank, and he comes to Lancaster Pollard with more than 20 years of banking experience in seniors housing, commercial real estate and the middle market.

“We are very excited to have Doug, Casey and Joe joining us,” Lancaster Pollard President Kass Matt said in a news release. “All three are industry veterans who will bring a tremendous amount of capital markets experience and industry knowledge to their leadership roles.”

Covenant Retirement Communities Appoints Director of Skilled Nursing

Covenant Retirement Communities (CRC), a not-for-profit senior services provider, appointed Peggy Connorton as director of skilled nursing operations.

Connorton has spent 16 years serving in leadership roles in both the for-profit and nonprofit health care sectors. She joins Covenant Retirement Communities with experience in operations, finance and business development, most recently working as director of quality for the American Health Care Association, where she oversaw the development and relaunch of LTC Trend Tracker, which provides access to government data collected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on skilled nursing centers.

In her new role, Connorton oversees skilled nursing operations at Covenant Retirement Communities’ 13 skilled nursing centers and directs the health care team to ensure compliance with all federal and state requirements.

“I’m thrilled to be part of a national organization that has been serving seniors for more than a century,” Connorton said in a news release. “CRC is a committed leader in an industry that is changing rapidly, and I look forward to supporting the organization’s goals and providing direction to our health care staff.”

Benchmark Senior Living Welcomes Executive Vice President

Waltham, Massachusetts-based Benchmark Senior Living, an operator of 53 senior living communities in seven states, established a new executive vice president role to oversee sales and operations, appointing Jayne Sallerson to the position.

Sallerson is currently the COO of Sherpa, the senior living sales conversion and CRM system. Prior to that, she served as executive vice president of sales and marketing for Emeritus Senior Living and vice president of sales and marketing for Summerville Senior Living.

Sallerson’s appointment at Benchmark is effective Aug. 22.

“In my new position, I will have a unique opportunity to draw from my years of experience at Emeritus, as well as knowledge I gained about what we call ‘prospect-centered selling’ during my tenure with Sherpa,” Sallerson said in a news release. “By creating a new position that focuses on the customer experience before as well as after the sale, Benchmark is in a position to help lead this sea change, yet again demonstrating its reputation for ongoing innovation.”

The Cardinal at North Hills Appoints Dining Services Director

The Cardinal at North Hills, Kisco’s Senior Living’s newest community in Raleigh, North Carolina, appointed Korey Tibbet as director of dining services.

Tibbet will oversee the operations of both the kitchens and dining areas. She makes the transition from sister community Woodland Terrace, where she spent 16 years.

“An important part of our culture is to provide growth and career advancement for talented employees like Korey,” Kisco Senior Living’s President and CEO Andy Kohlberg said in a news release. “He has continued to not only impress us with his culinary skills, but with his growing management and operations expertise, as well.”

The Cardinal at North Hills is set for completion this fall.

Written by Kourtney Liepelt

The post Movers & Shakers: NCAL’s New Board Member appeared first on Senior Housing News.

It’s earnings season, and the message is clear—acquisitions and dispositions are back in a big way. This week, we clued our readers into Welltower’s massive new senior housing portfolio acquisition on the West Coast and Sabra’s plans to offload a serious chunk of skilled nursing change.

Here in the newsroom, we were keeping up with an assisted living community—for parrots. We are also gearing up to watch the Olympics in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, which opens Friday, August 5. Go USA!

Most Read

[Update] Welltower to Acquire 19-Property West Coast Portfolio for $1.15 Billion—Welltower Inc. (NYSE: HCN) has agreed to purchase a portfolio of 19 senior housing properties on the West Coast for $1.15 billion, which will make the Toledo, Ohio-based real estate investment trust (REIT) the largest owner of senior housing in Northern and Southern California. The properties are currently operated by Vintage Senior Living. The announcement coincided with the release of the REIT’s 2nd quarter earnings.

What Sellers Can Expect for Mediocre Senior Housing Properties—Offloading senior housing properties is a vastly different experience for different types of sellers. Class A might be the most desirable, but what’s the Class B, C or D senior housing owner to do? What does “Class B” even mean?

[Update] Sabra Plans to Sell 29 Genesis Properties—Sabra Health Care REIT (Nasdaq: SBRA) is joining the ranks of REITs taking significant steps to limit their exposure to skilled nursing. Sabra and its major skilled nursing tenant, Genesis Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: GEN), have reached an agreement to market up to 29 leased buildings for sale, the REIT announced Aug. 1.

Around the Web

Worlds’s Longest Friendship Bracelet to be Measured in Ridgefield—Have you ever wanted to break a world record? Residents at Benchmark Senior Living at Ridgefield Crossings in Ridgefield, Connecticut, hosted a world-record chasing event to get its friendship bracelet officially measured to be submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records. The friendship bracelet measures 2,100 feet long and was constructed by more than 3,000 people across Benchmark’s communities.

For Your Viewing Pleasure 

“So That Is Gone”—In another episode documenting Gerda Suanders’ progressive dementia, Sanders has her first evaluation in three years. She learned in 2010 that she had cerebral microvascular disease, a precursor to dementia, and Slate has been following her story since 2014.

Amy’s Adds

80 Parrots to Welcome Guests to Maine Sanctuary Open House—About 50 exotic birds call Siesta Sanctuary, an assisted living place for retired parrots, home. For more than a decade, displaced birds have been living the dream in the sanctuary, located in Harmony, Maine.

Written by Amy Baxter

The post Editor’s Picks: Welltower’s $1.15 Billion Buy appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Wearables and remote monitoring technology offer many clear benefits for seniors, their families and the communities and home health organizations that support their care. But there are many valid concerns to overcome: what if my seniors won’t wear a wearable? How do I keep their data secure? What kind of Wi-Fi is needed to support such an initiative? How do I manage the corresponding data with IoT integration in a way that improves outcomes?

The challenge with some of the resident technology available today is that it creates a disruptive experience – it asks residents and their families to change behavior and learn an unfamiliar, new process in order to realize the benefits.

The ultimate goal for resident technology is that it enhances seniors’ lives through a seamless experience that makes them feel good and encourages activity and socialization.

During this webinar, you’ll:

1)    Learn how to structure a resident technology program that gets seniors engaged and is tailored to support their interest and ability to utilize technology in a positive way.

2)    Review the necessary IoT technology considerations and logistics to prepare for wearables, remote monitoring and meaningful resident data management.

3)    Gain an understanding of the importance of an analytics dashboard to power your community’s resident technology.

4)    Learn about LifeWell/Pinpoint Senior Living’s and Benchmark Senior Living’s own experiences rolling out resident technology, including lessons learned and best practices.

Webinar: Wearables for Senior Care: A Real-Life Application and How to Make It a Reality in Your Community

When: Tuesday, October 25

Time: 2:00 PM CST

Register Today for this FREE Webinar! 

Sponsored by

The post Webinar: Wearables for Senior Care—A Real-Life Application appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Senior housing industry jobs are growing by the day as the population ages….find out who is looking for fresh talent and if your skills fit the needs of some of the industry’s most innovative employers that are advertising on the Senior Housing News Job Board.

Post your job today to reach the most progressive and up to date candidates in the industry.

This week’s SHN jobs listings include positions at Wells Fargo, Benchmark Senior Living, LCS and more. Click the following opportunities that are now open to find out more. For a complete list of jobs, visit the Senior Housing News Job Board.

Commercial Mortgage Pursuit Associate – Wells Fargo
Community Director – Greystar
Regional Director of Operations – Benchmark Senior Living
Director of Corporate Communications – Benchmark Senior Living
Director of Community Relations – Benchmark Senior Living
Executive Director – Benchmark Senior Living
Director of Sales & Marketing – Primrose Retirement Community
Healthcare Administrator – NHA – Brookdale
Chief Operating Officer – United Investment
Nursing Home Administrator – LCS
Executive Director – Compass Pointe Healthcare System
Regional Director of Sales – Grace Management, Inc.
Vice President of Marketing – PRCN

For a full list of additional job opportunities in the senior housing industry, visit Senior Housing News Jobs.

The post New Career Opportunities with Wells Fargo, Benchmark, LCS & More—Apply Today appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Senior Housing News and its job board attracts the best and brightest talent in the industry.  If you’re trying to find candidates who are synched up with industry trends and insights, post your new jobs with us here to get in front of those candidates.

In this week’s SHN jobs listing, companies such as Senior Lifestyle, Capitol Seniors Housing, Greystar and many others are seeking qualified professionals to join their teams.  

Check out this week’s SHN jobs listings for new career opportunities in Senior Living. For a complete list of jobs, visit the New Senior Housing Job Board.

Regional Director of Sales & Marketing – Senior Lifestyle  
Construction Project Manager – Capitol Seniors Housing
Director of Corporate Communications – Benchmark Senior Living
Director, Health and Wellness – Senior Lifestyle  
Community Director – Greystar
Director of Community Relations – Benchmark Senior Living
Licensed Executive Director – Senior Lifestyle 
Commercial Mortgage Pursuit Associate – Wells Fargo
Regional Director of Operations – Benchmark Senior Living
Executive Director – Senior Lifestyle 
Executive Director – Benchmark Senior Living
Nursing Home Administrator – LCS
Executive Director – Senior Lifestyle 
Chief Operating Officer – United Investment
Healthcare Administrator – NHA – Brookdale Senior Living
Director of Sales & Marketing – Primrose Retirement Community
Executive Director – Compass Pointe Healthcare System

For a full list of additional job opportunities in the senior housing industry, visit Senior Housing News Jobs.

The post New SHN Job Board—Post Opportunities, See Who’s Hiring appeared first on Senior Housing News.

(Rendering of The Blake at Edgewater located in Indian Land, S.C. — photo courtesy of The Blake)

Construction: Planned

Thrive Senior Living Announces New Community in Florida

In partnership with Fortress Ventures and Compass Real Estate, Thrive Senior Living has announced the development a new senior living community in Naples, Fla., Thrive at Naples.

The community will offer independent living, assisted living and memory care. There will be 197 units with a dedicated memory care neighborhood.

Thrive at Naples will feature a wellness center with state-of-the-art fitness equipment, a second floor patio that will offer afternoon happy hour and a full salon with a massage room.

Construction: In progress

Ground Broken at New MorningStar Community

A new senior living community is underway in West Des Moines, Iowa. A joint effort from MorningStar and Confluent Development, MorningStar Senior Living at Jordan Creek will offer 85 suites for assisted living and memory care.

The 71,643-square-foot community will have 56 suites dedicated to assisted living and 29 for memory care. The layouts of the units will range from studio to two-bedroom suites and will be 340- to 1,200-square-feet.

MorningStar at Jordan Creek expects to be complete in November 2017, but an information center will open in March 2017.

Rosemann & Associates is the architect for the project and Thoma-Holec Design is the interior designer.

Construction Underway on $44 Million Senior Community in Canada

Owner and operator, Revera has broken ground on a new senior living community in Edmonton, Canada.

The community, dubbed McConachie Gardens, will features 160 suites in total. Of these, 104 suites will be dedicated to independent living, 28 for assisted living and 28 for memory care.

The independent living units will be in a four-story building, and assisted living and memory care will be in a separate two-story wing.

The community will include amenities such as a fitness center and spa, an outdoor fitness circuit, planting and gardening areas, a health garden in the memory care residence, an art studio, a multi-media room and for dining, there will be a formal dining room, pub and bistro.

McConachie Gardens is scheduled to open in spring 2018.

Ground Broken for New Ebenezer Community in Minnesota

Ebenezer Management Services has broken ground on a 130,000-square-foot senior living community in Plymouth, Minn.

Cherrywood Pointe of Plymouth will offer independent living, assisted living and memory care. There will be 66 units for independent and assisted living and 23 for memory care. The units will offer a home-like alternative to a traditional nursing home setting.

Amenities will include chef-prepared meals, private dining, an overnight guest suite, balconies, community rooms, lounge, media room, fitness center, salon and underground parking.

The community is owned by United Properties and Ebenezer will manage it.

Kaas Wilson Architects and Henriksen Interiors is in charge of design and Weis Builders is in charge of construction.

Cherrywood Pointe at Plymouth is expected to open in early 2018.

The Bristal Assisted Living to Open Long Island N.Y. Community

Assisted living provider, The Bristal Assisted Living, soon will be opening its 14th community and 11th in Long Island, New York.

The Bristal at Lake Success will have 88 units for residents to live independently with early stages of Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia.

The community will also serve as a research facility for Northwell Health’s Feinstein Institute for Medical Research.

In addition to many assisted living services, the facility will also offer personalized programs to help residents manage Alzheimer’s disease and other memory impairments.

Construction Underway at Assisted Living and Memory Care Community

Located in Indian Land, S.C., The Blake at Edgewater has broken ground. The 88,000-square-foot assisted living and memory support community will open its welcome center in spring 2017.

The Blake at Edgewater will offer one- and two-bedroom assisted living suites and the memory support facility will feature studio and one-bedroom suites in a home-like environment.

Residents will enjoy chef-prepared meals served restaurant-style daily, concierge services to assist with transportation and family communication needs, daily and weekly housekeeping services, a salon, activity rooms, a movie room, an on-site physical therapy clinic and several gathering rooms.

The community will be managed and owned by Blake Management Group. 

Benchmark Senior Living Celebrates Ground Breaking of 53rd Community

Benchmark Senior Living has broken ground on its newest senior living community, The Branches of North Attleboro, located in Attleboro, Mass.

The community is being built on 11 acres of land and is scheduled to have its first model apartment complete by early 2017.

The Branches of North Attleboro is the beginning of a new series of assisted living and memory care apartments by Benchmark, which aims to address a wide range of needs but still be affordable.

This will be Benchmark’s 53rd community in the New England region and plans to open to its first residents in fall 2017.

Construction: Complete

Construction Complete on $10 Million Community

Providence Life Services and real estate firm, Lagestee-Mulder worked together on a recently completed $10.1 million senior care community in St. John, Ind.

Park Place of St. John provides a home-like setting with a set of small cottages specifically for skilled nursing. The community also offers memory care and rehabilitation units. The main building has two stories with 30 private rooms and a gym for residents receiving rehab services.

There are two other buildings adjacent to the first which each have 10 private rooms centered around a common kitchen and dining room for residents receiving skilled care and memory care.

The project was built by CORE Construction of Schererville, Ind.

Affordable Assisted Living Community Opens in Dallas

Simpson Place, located in Dallas, Texas, is now open. The $15 million affordable assisted living facility has 150 units and totals more than 95,000-square-feet.

The project was financed through multiple organizations and private businesses, including the Dallas Housing Authority, the Federal Home Loan Bank, Amergy Bank, Stonegate Senior Living and the City of Dallas Regional Center.

Written by Alana Stramowski

The post In the Pipeline: Senior Housing Construction Projects (11/17/16) appeared first on Senior Housing News.

*Editor’s Note: This article has been changed from a previous version, which stated that Handelson had been let go. It has been changed to state that her exit was “mutually agreed upon,” to reflect a statement provided by Benchmark on Tuesday, Dec. 13.

Benchmark Senior Living President and COO Stephanie Handelson is no longer employed at the company. Her departure was a mutually agreed upon decision, Benchmark told Senior Housing News in a statement on Dec. 13.

Handelson’s vision for the future of Benchmark had diverged from that of its founder and CEO, Tom Grape.

“Stephanie and I have come to the mutual agreement to part ways,” Grape said in the emailed statement to SHN. “One of the strengths of my relationship with Stephanie is that we approached our business through very different lenses, which served Benchmark well over the years, as we pushed each other to challenge the status quo. But the industry is at a critical inflection point, with increasing supply outpacing demand, and a changing demographic. Stephanie and I have differing philosophies on the future of the industry and the strategies to address it, and it is more important now than ever that we have a unifying voice. I have nothing but gratitude towards Stephanie and wish her the very best.”

Benchmark did not specify who will fill her role moving forward. 

Handelson joined Benchmark in 2009. The Waltham, Massachusetts-based company is the 21st-largest senior living provider in the nation, with 53 communities and a resident capacity of 5,200, according to 2016 rankings from provider association Argentum.

An industry veteran even before coming to Benchmark, Handelson began her senior living career as an executive director in New York and eventually joined Sunrise Senior Living, in 1999. She worked her way up to Senior Vice President of East Coast Operations for Sunrise and served in that post for two years prior to joining Benchmark.

Handelson was committed to driving resident care at Benchmark, Grape told SHN. It’s a priority she emphasized when she detailed Benchmark’s efforts to formally partner with home health agencies and physician practices at all its communities, to reduce hospitalizations and be a stronger player in a more integrated health care system.

“The way we pick our providers is unbelievably picky. It’s like getting married,” she said in June at the Link Post Acute Care Continuum Conference in Chicago. “We’ve had people we’ve dated, and we ditched them because the way they provide the service is so critical to the health and wellness of our residents.”

Having four brothers and no sisters helped her develop a confident leadership style, Handelson told Senior Housing News in a 2013 interview. She also emphasized the importance of empathy in the senior housing business.

“I never forget to view this business through the lens of the families trying to make very difficult decisions about the care of their loved ones,” she said.

Written by Tim Mullaney

The post [Update] Benchmark Parts Ways with President appeared first on Senior Housing News.

This past week, Senior Housing News kept readers in the know about be.group’s anti-turnover efforts and how interest rate hikes might impact senior living next year. We also parsed out which cocktails are most popular in senior living—and wished we could regularly take part in some senior living communities’ happy hours.

Most Read 

Dished: Most Popular Cocktails in Senior Living—From onsite pubs and Bloody Mary bars to home brewing beer, senior housing as of late has aimed to appeal to the happy hour lover in every resident. Senior living providers are also coming up with creative ways to incorporate alcohol in programming and concoct crafty cocktails. SHN identified some of the most popular cocktails in senior living, as reported by the residents and providers themselves.

How be.group Slashed Dining Services Turnover By 67%—After embracing a technology-forward platform to better engage its employees and communities, California-based nonprofit senior living provider be.group has seen a significant reduction in turnover. Beyond the measurable outcomes for the bottom line, be.group has also seen improvements in the resident experience.

Senior Housing REITs to Feel the Impact of Rate Hikes in 2017—As expected, the Federal Reserve updated its policy to effectively raise short-term interest rates Tuesday, and said it will impose as many as three rate hikes in 2017. Senior housing REITs saw swift losses, despite the decision coming as no surprise. Fortunately, the impact of the announcement is unlikely to negatively impact REITs in the long term, but how some of the biggest players in the senior living industry will act in 2017 is still up in the air as interest rate hikes are due to come at a faster pace.

Weekend Reads

Therapy Cats for Dementia Patients, Batteries Included—Hebrew Home at Riverdale in the Bronx, like some other skilled nursing facilities, is increasingly using robotic therapy cats to calm Alzheimer’s and dementia patients who have anxiety and agitation, The New York Times reported.

Denzel Washington Helps Childhood Librarian Celebrate Her 99th Birthday—Denzel Washington recently helped Connie Mauro, a resident at Atria Johnson Ferry in Marietta, Georgia, celebrate her 99th birthday. Mauro worked for years as a librarian for the Mount Vernon Public Library in New York, where she met Washington when he was just 7 years old.

Written by Mary Kate Nelson

The post Editor’s Picks: Rising Rates, Crafty Cocktails … and Denzel Washington appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Kick off 2017 with a new career in senior housing. The senior housing industry’s top companies are focusing on the year ahead, seeking skilled professionals to join their teams and plan for growth in 2017.

Senior Housing News and its job board attracts the best and brightest talent in the industry.  If you’re trying to find candidates who are synched up with industry trends and insights, post your new jobs with us here to get in front of those candidates.

In this week’s SHN jobs listing, companies such as Senior Lifestyle, Benchmark Senior Living and Capitol Seniors Housing are currently offering positions for regional directors, sales and marketing, executive directors, and more.

Operations Manager – The Merion (Horizon Realty Group)
Medicaid Revenue Coordinator – Senior Lifestyle
Division Director of Memory Care and Programming – Senior Lifestyle
Director of Revenue – Senior Lifestyle
Regional Director of Plant Operations – Senior Lifestyle
Start-Up Regional Director of Resident Care Services – Benchmark Senior Living
Start-Up Executive Director – Benchmark Senior Living
Regional Sales Director – Compass Pointe Healthcare Systems
Director of Community Relations / Sales and Marketing – EPOCH Senior Living – Bridges by EPOCH at Norwalk
Executive Director – Cascadia Senior Living
Executive Director – Senior Living Communities
Construction Project Manager – Capitol Seniors Housing

For a full list of additional job opportunities in the senior housing industry, visit Senior Housing News Jobs.

The post Reinvent Yourself in 2017 with SHN Careers appeared first on Senior Housing News.

The senior living and senior housing industry continues setting their sights on growth through new hires in 2017. Senior Housing News and its job board attracts the best and brightest talent in the industry and if your company is looking to fill positions like these, you should be marketing your jobs here.

In this week’s SHN jobs listing, companies such as Continuing Life Communities, Senior Lifestyle, Benchmark Senior Living and more are currently offering positions for regional directors, operations managers, executive directors and more. Assisted Living Director – Continuing Life Communities

Project Architect – ERDMAN 
Interior Designer – ERDMAN 
Operations Manager – The Merion (Horizon Realty Group)
Medicaid Revenue Coordinator – Senior Lifestyle
Division Director of Memory Care and Programming – Senior Lifestyle
Director of Revenue – Senior Lifestyle
Regional Director of Plant Operations – Senior Lifestyle
Start-Up Regional Director of Resident Care Services – Benchmark Senior Living
Start-Up Executive Director – Benchmark Senior Living
Regional Sales Director – Compass Pointe Healthcare Systems
Director of Community Relations / Sales and Marketing – EPOCH Senior Living – Bridges by EPOCH at Norwalk
Executive Director – Cascadia Senior Living
Executive Director – Senior Living Communities
Construction Project Manager – Capitol Seniors Housing

For a full list of additional job opportunities in the senior housing industry, visit Senior Housing News Jobs.

The post New Career Opportunities at Senior Lifestyle, Benchmark Senior Living & More — Apply Today appeared first on Senior Housing News.

Find out who’s looking for fresh talent and if your skills fit the needs of some of the industry’s most innovative employers advertising on Senior Housing News and its job board. If your company is looking to fill positions like these, you should be marketing your jobs here.

Post your job today to reach the most progressive and up to date candidates in the industry.

The latest job postings at Senior Housing News include:

Sales Director – Legacy Lifestyles
VP of Development – Circle Line Partners – Executive Recruitment
Healthcare Administrator – Senior Living Communities
Assisted Living Director – Continuing Life Communities
Project Architect – ERDMAN
Interior Designer – ERDMAN
Operations Manager – The Merion (Horizon Realty Group)
Medicaid Revenue Coordinator – Senior Lifestyle
Division Director of Memory Care and Programming – Senior Lifestyle
Director of Revenue – Senior Lifestyle
Regional Director of Plant Operations – Senior Lifestyle
Executive Director-Lincolnwood Place – Senior Lifestyle
Start-Up Regional Director of Resident Care Services – Benchmark Senior Living
Start-Up Executive Director – Benchmark Senior Living
Regional Sales Director – Compass Pointe Healthcare Systems
Director of Community Relations / Sales and Marketing – EPOCH Senior Living – Bridges by EPOCH at Norwalk
Executive Director – Cascadia Senior Living
For a full list of additional job opportunities in the senior housing industry, visit Senior Housing News Jobs.

The post Career Opportunities for Directors, Administrators, Designers and More — Apply Today appeared first on Senior Housing News.

The demand for top talent for senior housing jobs is rising fast… find out who is looking for fresh talent and if your skills fit the needs of some of the industry’s most innovative employers that are advertising on the Senior Housing News Job Board.

Post your job today to reach the most progressive and up to date candidates in the industry.

Our most recent postings include:

Chief Financial Officer – Immanuel Lutheran Communities
Director of Health and Wellness – Countrywood Assisted Living – Senior Lifestyle
Director of Health and Wellness – Saunders House – Senior Lifestyle
Director of Health and Wellness – Madison House – Senior Lifestyle
Executive Director – Madison House – Senior Lifestyle
Sales Director – Legacy Lifestyles
VP of Development – Circle Line Partners – Executive Recruitment
Healthcare Administrator – Senior Living Communities
Assisted Living Director – Continuing Life Communities
Project Architect – ERDMAN
Interior Designer – ERDMAN
Operations Manager – The Merion (Horizon Realty Group)
Medicaid Revenue Coordinator – Senior Lifestyle
Division Director of Memory Care and Programming – Senior Lifestyle
Director of Revenue – Senior Lifestyle
Regional Director of Plant Operations – Senior Lifestyle
Executive Director-Lincolnwood Place – Senior Lifestyle
Start-Up Regional Director of Resident Care Services – Benchmark Senior Living
Start-Up Executive Director – Benchmark Senior Living
Regional Sales Director – Compass Pointe Healthcare Systems

For a full list of additional job opportunities in the senior housing industry, visit Senior Housing News Jobs.

The post New Senior Housing Career Opportunities Available — Apply Today appeared first on Senior Housing News.