DALLAS — Active adult residents say they had plenty of reasons to move out of their prior homes, but they rank location and lifestyle change atop their list. That was the message from a panel of five existing active adult residents during a panel named “Live Interview of Active Adult Residents: What Motivated Them to Move in?” at France Media’s InterFace Active Adult Conference, held at the Dallas Marriott Downtown hotel in Dallas. This second annual event is the industry’s only in-person conference devoted entirely to the active adult/55+ niche. …
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ANNAPOLIS, Md. — While private-pay seniors housing occupancy saw a 20-basis-point increase in the first quarter of the year, the industry is still a long way from full COVID-19 recovery. In fact, occupancy is still 670 basis points below its pre-pandemic levels. That’s according to a blog post from Beth Mace, chief economist at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC), an Annapolis-based nonprofit firm that tracks industry data gathered from 31 primary metropolitan markets through its NIC MAP Vision product. Private-pay seniors housing comprises independent living, …
Senior Living is Still Searching for Answers to Worker Shortage, Says C-Suite Panel at Argentum Conference
MINNEAPOLIS — The worker shortage situation in seniors housing has improved marginally in recent months, but remains a “crisis,” said Tana Gall, president of Seattle-based Merrill Gardens, an owner-operator with a portfolio of 72 communities across 20 states. The veteran executive urged the industry to leave no stone unturned in its quest to find new employees, but discouraged the practice of operators poaching employees from competitors. “What’s interesting to me, and a bit of a silver lining, is that during the pandemic I don’t think we felt that [workforce housing …
Argentum’s Balda Highlights Forces Shaping Future of Seniors Housing; Hero Award Winners Honored
MINNEAPOLIS — People, trust and choice. James Balda, president and chief executive officer of Argentum, believes those three factors will play a crucial role in determining the overall success of the senior living industry going forward. “We must never forget that we are in the business of helping people, and specifically our job is to help people thrive. We do this by helping connect seniors to relationships and to create a sense of meaning and purpose. This is fundamentally why our communities are so effective. We don’t just focus on …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. News & World Report has published the inaugural edition of Best Senior Living, which expands the U.S. News rankings, ratings and data offerings. The new designations include Best Independent Living, Best Assisted Living, Best Memory Care and Best Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC). “Families have limited information when comparing providers of independent living, assisted living, memory care or continuing care,” says Ben Harder, managing editor and chief of health analysis at U.S. News. “The Best Senior Living ratings help to fill this informational gap with comprehensive …
Design, Technology Lead to Labor Savings in Senior Living Communities
Senior living communities, often strained by labor shortages, can benefit from design and technology strategies built to streamline how employees spend their time. While the focus in any construction, design or renovation project must be on resident needs first, an in-depth planning approach can benefit the community as a whole — especially staff. Technologies — including fall detection and prevention, real-time location systems (RTLSs) and strong Wi-Fi — are at the heart of making sure staff can focus on residents. Good technology design is an essential part of making sure …
Thought leader tries to move care of our seniors forward through various foundations and workplaces. By Jeff Shaw If you’re not familiar with Dr. Bill Thomas, you simply must not be paying attention. Whether it’s his TED Talks, movies, charitable foundations or his work with companies such as AARP (formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons) and Holiday Retirement, Thomas has made quite a name for himself in the seniors housing industry. Thomas currently serves as innovation officer at Lifespark, a Minneapolis-based “whole person senior services company.” He …
Lenders Reflect on COVID’s Impact, Address Interest Rates During InterFace Seniors Housing West
By Matt Valley Six lending professionals recently gathered on stage at the Omni Los Angeles to participate in a panel discussion that was both a two-year retrospective on COVID-19 and a deep dive into some of today’s hot-button issues affecting borrowers. “It’s been an interesting two years on the debt side, as it has been in other capacities. To me, one of the more interesting parts has been the contraction and subsequent expansion of capital flows in seniors housing debt and how that impacted large banks and small banks,” said …
How to Streamline Senior Living Community HR Processes
Cut Costs, Save Time and Recruit and Retain Good Workers The growth of the aging population is creating more demand for senior living options. But growing demand is colliding with a labor shortage, adding to the workload and strain on senior living communities. Scalable, streamlined HR infrastructure can help. Efficient and cost-effective solutions can cut expenses and reduce the amount of executive time spent on staffing issues. Enhanced back-office systems can also help boost recruitment and retention efforts. “Everything we do is designed and built around taking the burden off …
Employers Need to Rethink Benefits, Recruiting Amid Workforce Challenges, Webinar Panel Concludes
As seniors housing operators struggle with recruiting and retaining quality employees amid a nationwide labor shortage, the time has come to take a long, hard look at benefits, employee well-being and company culture. “The year ahead is likely to be one of re-establishing goals and work norms and business models and reinvigorating the workforce,” said Donna Meek, director at Paychex, a Rochester, New York-based provider of payroll, benefits, human resources and insurance services. “Businesses must master new obstacles, such as having a distinct, compelling employer brand and changing their employee …