SEBASTIAN, Fla. — Watercrest Senior Living Group has promoted James Brassard to executive director of Pelican Landing Assisted Living and Memory Care in Sebastian. The former executive director, Michelle Miller, was recently promoted to regional director of clinical operations. Brassard joined the Watercrest family in 2019 as director of sales at Palm Bay Memory Care, and was later promoted to executive director there. Brassard has extensive expertise in senior living start-ups and turn-around communities. A recipient of the FALA Sales and Marketing Director of the Year award, he has multi-site …
ASHLAND CITY, Tenn., and KENNESAW, Ga. — Veritas Senior Living, an operator based in Tennessee, has added Vantage Pointe Village in Ashland City and Gaines Park Senior Living in Kennesaw into its portfolio. The new communities will bring Veritas’s total number of communities to six. The operator has added three communities in 2021 so far. “We’re experiencing tremendous and fast-paced growth despite our careful navigation of COVID,” says Matthew Fox, Veritas founder and CEO.
EAST AMHERST, N.Y. — Sunshine Retirement Living has hired Marion “Mimi” Piciullo as the new executive director of Juniper Glen Assisted Living and Memory Care in the Buffalo suburb of East Amherst. Piciullo is responsible for all day-to-day management and operations of the community, including financials, marketing, government and community relations. She will also oversee all health and safety programs, including new heightened procedures and protocols to prevent and mitigate COVID-19 infection, which includes a pioneering technology called Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization that eliminates 99.4 percent of the SARS-COVID-2 virus that …
ATLANTA — Even before the pandemic struck the United States in early 2020, rising labor costs were putting downward pressure on margins for seniors housing owners and operators. The public health and economic crises stemming from COVID-19 have only amplified the problem, say seniors housing professionals. In an industry where residents overwhelmingly belong to one of the most COVID-19-susceptible demographics, seniors housing operators are now wrestling with the question of whether to require staffers to get vaccinated. At the same time, they are battling widespread wage increases brought on by …
ATLANTA — Isaakson Living has hired Brandon O’Ree as the new executive director of The Terraces at Peachtree Hills Place, an assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing and short-term rehabilitation community in Atlanta’s upscale Buckhead neighborhood. O’Ree will be responsible for daily operations, including management, staffing and regulatory compliance of the 85-unit community. O’Ree has previously led teams at continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) and senior healthcare facilities throughout the Southeast, including recently directing the daily operations for three properties encompassing 111 independent living apartments, 131 assisted living apartments and …
Are owners replacing third-party operators at a faster rate than in the past and, if so, what’s driving the trend? Consider multiple factors By Wendy Nowokunski Co-Founder, President Northbridge Companies There has been an uptick in replacing third-party management companies. The questions that need to be asked are: Why and at what cost? Oftentimes, investors and owners attribute non-performance of an asset or assets solely to the operator without asking critical questions. Is it a market issue, the product itself, the labor market, or does the on-site management need …
Affordable HousingAssisted LivingContent PartnersFeaturesIndependent LivingIndustry ContentOperationsPeopleTechnology
Using Technology to Address Challenges Exposed by COVID
COVID-19 made clear the need to overhaul technology capabilities in senior living facilities everywhere. The next wave of senior care’s tech evolution will encompass what the pandemic highlighted: a need for technologies that not only enhance residents’ physical safety, but their holistic wellbeing as well. The pandemic also brought to light a renewed focus on the importance of integrated technologies that improve staff efficiencies. As we explore the next generation of senior living’s technology evolution, it’s important to remember the foundation to all technology advancements: reliable Wi-Fi. The ability to …
Hiring and retaining good employees was already one of seniors housing operators’ top challenges before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Despite the many new problems that the outbreak presented, many in the seniors housing industry saw a potential silver lining: With so many losing jobs in the hospitality sector, among others, would this be a chance for operators to snatch up those workers? Unfortunately, it appears that did not come to fruition. “When the pandemic started and there were so many layoffs in the hospitality industry, I thought ‘Here we go. …
MODESTO, Calif. — JCH Senior Housing Investment has arranged the triple-net lease of a 68-unit, 120-bed assisted living and memory care community in Modesto, approximately 80 miles south of Sacramento. The team at JCH led a marketing campaign for the landlords, a family-owned owner-operator that is seeking retirement. Throughout the pandemic, the facility struggled to maintain census and keep up with new requirements from licensing, ultimately leading to a licensing revocation hearing. A local operator seeking to convert the building to an adult residential facility was the successful bidder. The …
ELK GROVE, Calif. — Koelsch Communities has named Irene Charnell as executive director of The Park at Laguna Springs, a 129-unit independent living community in the Sacramento suburb of Elk Grove. Charnell brings more than 15 years of senior living experience to the community. She started as an active living director at a retirement community and has held a variety of positions within the industry including activity director, director of resident services and marketing director, and previously served as executive director of another community in California. Koelsch also hired Terrie …