Transform - Senior Housing News

Senior Care’s next phase of response to the Covid-19 pandemic will be harder and will tax the industry’s resources in unimaginable ways, Dr. Bill Thomas believes.

And when the outbreak is finally contained, it will fundamentally change senior housing, how it is integrated into the health care continuum and accelerate ongoing trends.

In This episode of Transform, Thomas discusses:

-- How Covid-19 will spur new middle-market development

-- How the pandemic exposed the workforce pressures facing the industry

-- What will happen with current development trends

The accelerating trend of bringing primary care into senior living communities might gain even more momentum as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

One innovative example of combining primary care and senior living comes from Illinois, where Oak Street Health recently brought its care model into four assisted living communities managed by Pathway to Living. Since being founded in 2012, Oak Street has expanded to nearly 60 locations across eight states — and now is making its first foray into senior living thanks to a partnership with industry veteran Brian Cloch.

In this episode of Transform, learn:

— How Oak Street and Pathway are working together to face Covid-19

— What makes the partnership work and the early benefits being seen

— Why new payment and health care delivery models are driving these types of collaborations

As the wave of baby boomer demand nears, senior living providers must be "all things to a lot of people," SRG Senior Living CEO Michael Grust believes.

Achieving this requires innovation and entrepreneurship at a time when operators face a “mosh pit” of challenges, but despite ongoing margin compression, Grust is bullish on the future of the industry.

In this episode of Transform, Grust discusses:

-- How senior living providers are still "inventing a business" decades after the industry began

-- The impact of new capital chasing senior living and the pitfall of "add water and stir" management companies

-- Why current market conditions are both very challenging and invigorating

Relying on demographics to drive senior living occupancy in the years ahead is a recipe for failure, according to Robb Chapin, CEO of Seniors Housing and Medical Properties at Bridge Investment Group.

Consumers have an increasing number of options for where they live as they age, meaning senior living operators must be innovating to create a more desirable product, Chapin says on this episode of Transform.

Under his leadership, Bridge has been growing in new directions. Last year, the investment firm got into operations through its acquisition of Somerby Senior Living, which has been rebranded as Bridge Senior Living. Overall, Bridge’s senior housing fund deployed about $300 million of equity into the space in 2019, equating to about $1 billion worth of transactions.

In this episode, learn:

— How Bridge is building occupancy through its “heels down the hallway” approach to management

— How the firm is approaching transactions in an increasingly competitive marketplace

— Why Chapin is focused on innovations related to the socialization aspect of senior living

For-profits and not-for-profits can and should work together to tackle some of senior housing's biggest challenges.

There is no perhaps no organization that exemplifies that concept better than Englewood, Colorado-based Christian Living Communities (CLC) and its for-profit management arm, Cappella Living Solutions. Both organizations are growing and finding new ways to stay one step ahead of potential disruptors, CEO Terry Rogers told us in this episode of the Senior Housing News podcast, Transform, sponsored by PointClickCare.

This year, CLC made headway on several innovative initiatives, including its participation in Medicare Advantage group The Perennial Consortium and in its efforts to create a development of small homes in partnership with Bill Thomas’ Minka.

In this episode, learn about:

- CLC's plans to optimize and grow its owned and managed senior living portfolios

- How nonprofits can compete with and partner with for-profit providers

- Plans to build a small-home community with Minka

- Progress on the Perennial Consortium

A senior living pioneer, Brandywine Co-Founder and CEO Brenda Bacon is now pushing the industry toward its next chapter.

Old capital structures and operating models must change to accommodate a new generation of consumers and a market in “full-risk territory,” Bacon believes. Through Brandywine’s own experiences, she has grown skeptical of triple-net leases, and she's embracing the “sea change” as senior living adapts to the rising demographic of aging boomers.

In this episode of Transform, Bacon discusses:

— Why there might be a lot of money in senior living before boomer demand hits

— How current challenges are compelling providers to embrace different capital structures

— What she anticipates future residents will want and need, and how Brandywine is innovating

When he was just a child, Ken Jaeger made a vow that one day he would start a business that would make the world a better place.

That sense of mission not only spurred him to found MorningStar Senior Living, it has also proven to be good for business. In 2019, the company partnered with major real estate developer Hines on a pipeline of projects, and it was the shared values between MorningStar and Hines that cemented the relationship, Jaeger believes.

Today, Denver-based MorningStar operates nearly 30 communities and is working with Houston-based Hines to potentially add another 10-15 communities in Texas, the Rocky Mountain region, and as far west as California.

In this episode of Transform, MorningStar founder and CEO Jaeger discusses:

— How the partnership with Hines came about

— Why he advises building smaller than market studies propose

— How he’s collaborating with other senior living providers to share best practices and generate new ideas

— MorningStar’s charitable work and his call to other leaders to think bigger about how they can use their influence to do good

2019 was a big year for Invesque. The Carmel, Indiana-based firm made a splash when it acquired operator Commonwealth Senior Living and 20 of its properties for $340 million. Today, Invesque’s portfolio numbers more than 120 buildings with a gross value of about $2 billion.

In this episode of Transform, hear from Scott White, Invesque’s chairman and CEO. Learn:

- How the Commonwealth deal came together, and why Invesque wanted to own an operating company

- Why White thinks the industry’s workforce crisis is going to get worse before it gets better

- How industry leaders sometimes focus too much on short-term problems rather than taking a long-term perspective

On Nov. 21, Buckner Retirement Services held the official grand opening for Ventana, a $240 million, high-rise continuing care retirement community in Dallas. Even as Buckner is launching this new addition to its portfolio, the organization closing on the sale of its historic East Dallas campus, originally opened in 1954.

In this episode of Transform, hear from Charlie Wilson, a senior Vice President with Buckner International, who leads the nonprofit’s retirement services business. Learn:

— How Ventana is partnering with a high-profile chef, a large health system, and a wellness pioneer

— Why Buckner sold its East Dallas property with an eye toward the future

— Why nonprofits need to find ways to “compartmentalize their risk” and explore more diverse financing options to gain scale and innovate

New Perspective Senior Living has its work cut out to accomplish ambitious goals, and it has a new CEO leading the way.

The Minnetonka, Minnesota-based senior living provider has set a goal of serving 10,000 older adults by 2025, and accordingly ramped up its pipeline in recent months. New Perspective also named Ryan Novaczyk as its new CEO earlier this year.

Novaczyk talked about his current plans for the company in the Senior Housing News podcast, Transform.

In this episode, learn about:

- How New Perspective plans to serve 10,000 older adults by 2025

- Why growth is at the forefront of Novaczyk's business strategy

- The company's beginnings in the basement of the Novaczyk family home

- What New Perspective plans to do in the face of strong supply and labor headwinds