April 11, 2022

Episode 9:5 Tom Grape on Benchmark’s Formula for Success and How Boomers Will Turn Senior Living on Its Head

21 minutes

For 25 years Tom Grape has been a pioneer in independent and assisted living, memory care and life plan communities. As Founder, Chairman and CEO of Benchmark Senior Living, he has grown the company portfolio to 63 communities in 7 states. Benchmark’s focus on culture has made the company an employer-of-choice repeat award winner with Fortune and the Boston Globe.

About Tom

When Tom Grape founded Benchmark Senior Living in a two-room office in Wellesley, Mass., he understood the significant health and social benefits his consumer-centered approach to senior living would provide people. Nearly 25 years later, Benchmark is one of the largest senior housing companies in the country, consistently receiving industry-leading resident and family satisfaction scores.

Tom’s commitment to seniors has gone beyond those served by Benchmark. He has advocated for all seniors and helped pave the way for the industry both regionally and nationally. He is a founding board member and former chair of Argentum, the national organization of senior living companies; an executive board member of the American Seniors Housing Association; and a member of the owner/operator advisory group and strategic planning committee for the National Investment Center (NIC) for the Senior Housing and Long-Term Care Industries.

In 1994, along with Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services and now Governor Charlie Baker, Tom was instrumental in writing the legislation for assisted living in Massachusetts. Such groundbreaking work was recognized in 2019 when Tom received the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from the Massachusetts Assisted Living Association (Mass-ALA). Tom is a frequent speaker, panelist and author on topics related to development, workforce, programming, and the importance of human connection in senior living.

Key Takeaways

A key to Benchmark’s success is a concentration on core basic principles, applied over time..

The Boomers are going to want the full array of choices that they've had throughout their lives. They are going to turn senior living on its head.

As the senior living market matures, there will be more segmentation and greater differentiation among products. Examples are urban and middle market models and mixed-use developments.

Technology startups often miss the mark on the real need. Most develop a product based on a perceived need, without understanding the senior living market.

The various software packages for accounting, care, CRM, and others are still not integrated. Getting technologies to work together remains a fundamental conundrum.

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By Nancy Griffin

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