Transform - Senior Housing News

Stephanie Harris thought she would end up working in politics and eventually running for office. But then she got a job working for a senior living turnaround business and realized the industry was her calling.

Now, Harris is CEO of Arrow Senior Living, and she is putting her deep background in senior living turnarounds to work while leading the St. Louis-based operator through the Covid-19 pandemic and into the uncertain future.

In this episode of Transform, learn:

-- How Arrow Senior Living achieves middle-market margins in excess of 30% to 40%

-- What Harris believes is the right unit mix for a middle-market senior living community

-- How slow-moving "green banana" leads have been key to Arrow's occupancy recovery

Nine months ago, Transforming Age and Sustainable Housing for Ageless Generations (SHAG) announced plans to affiliate. Now with 39 communities, the nonprofit is on the cusp of some big changes.

Helping to lead that charge is Senior Vice President of Development Jay Woolford. Looking ahead, he sees the national senior housing nonprofit putting an even greater emphasis on serving older adults in intergenerational communities suitable for low- and moderate-income residents. The nonprofit is also due to announce the formation of a new property management company.

In this episode of Transform, learn:

-- How Transforming Age plans to serve more moderate-income older adults

-- Why the nonprofit is focusing on co-locating senior housing with other organizations and uses

-- How the newly combined is growing in 2022

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

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

This episode of Transform is sponsored by CDW Healthcare. The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a wider adoption of technology in the senior living industry. While that could lead to new disruption from tech giants like Google or Amazon, LCS Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Frank Vedder believes it could bring new opportunities to the industry, too.

In this episode of Transform, learn:

- What LCS did during the pandemic to keep residents and families connected and engaged

- How technology can help address ongoing staffing challenges

- The state of senior living cybersecurity

- Why Vedder sees data analytics as crucial to the future of senior living operations

Staffing is currently among the senior living industry's biggest challenges -- but Glenn Barclay, CEO of QSL Management and principal of its parent company, QSL, has a plan.

Barclay and his team are rolling out a new position called “retention specialist” aimed at keeping more workers past the 90-day mark. The position significantly reduced turnover in the community where it was piloted, and QSL is in the midst of rolling it out to all of the company’s 10 communities.

In this episode of Transform, learn:

- How QSL is confronting the senior living staffing crisis

- What QSL did to keep residents safe at a community in Louisiana during Hurricane Ida

- Why QSL is one of two senior living companies with communities carrying The Blake brand

- Where Barclay sees the biggest opportunities for growth outside of primary markets

2Life Communities President and CEO Amy Schectman knows too well how easy it is for middle-income older adults to fall between the cracks.

That's why she and 2Life have come up with a new senior housing concept aimed at filling the middle-market "abyss." The concept, called Opus, is meant to reduce senior housing rates for older adults through a mix of volunteerism, centralized locations and partnerships with other health and senior care providers.

In this episode of Transform, learn:

- Why 2Life is branching out beyond affordable senior housing to serve the middle market

- What Schectman believes it will take to significantly lower senior housing rent below market rates and how Opus will work

- Why partnerships may be the key to keeping middle-market care costs low

- How 2Life balances mission and margin in the age of Covid-19

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

Florida is the current epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., but that has not translated into a lingering occupancy loss for Westminster Communities of Florida. In fact, the organization is maintaining an occupancy rate at around 91% amid those challenges.

CEO Terry Rogers says the key to the organization's ability to maintain stable occupancy is the fact that, in many residents' eyes, the provider's communities are safer than the places where they live. And while the spread of the delta variant does concern Rogers, he also sees other tailwinds that could counteract its challenges.

In this episode of Transform, learn:

- How Westminster Communities of Florida is working to keep residents safe as the delta variant spreads throughout the state

- Why Rogers is exploring branching out into Minka homes or active adult communities

- What Rogers thinks is the next chapter in the senior living industry's ongoing recovery

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