Season of Caring  

Valentine’s Day sparked a season of caring for our senior living clients, who have been sharing sweet stories on their blogs and social media platforms. That inspired us to highlight the stories here on The Balance Sheet — we hope you enjoy! Yardi senior living clients celebrate Valentine’s Day From prepping homemade cards to sharing their favorite memories, residents across Pacifica Senior Living communities have participated in a variety of Valentine’s Day activities. One community even crowned a Valentine’s king and queen — a couple who has been married for 65 years! You can read all about it in Pacifica’s recent blog post (and see the lovely photos they’ve shared). Next up is Watercrest Senior Living, who took to social media for sharing Valentine’s Day stories. Their endearing caption (featuring a wonderful message, “love knows no age at Watercrest”) was paired with photos of resident couples enjoying each other’s company, smiling at wedding photos and more. See the post to check out the photos — they’re bound to bring a smile to your face. There was no shortage of caring events at Brightview Senior Living this month, including a sweethearts dance, a parade and a gathering featuring a Valentine’s-themed slideshow. Shared by Argentum, the events shed light on Brightview’s commitment to showing the power of love at any age. Dori Ray, corporate director of vibrant living at Brightview, said the following: “It is more than valuable, it is vital to show that love is alive. Emotional connections and companionship don’t change just because someone is considered ‘old.’ For those living in a senior community it is not their last chapter — just the next one.” Also featured in Argentum’s article is Sagora Senior Living, who sparked happiness in their communities with a creative competition:...

Spreading Holiday Cheer

‘Tis the season to share sweet and uplifting holiday stories, and there’s no shortage available from our senior living clients! We absolutely love spotlighting their activities and celebrations each year — from Christmas caroling to decorating parties — to bring some holiday cheer to The Balance Sheet. Enjoy the roundup of stories below. Making seasons bright at Pacifica Senior Living Pictured in a recent LinkedIn post, residents across Pacifica Senior Living communities have been decking the halls with Christmas decorations! They’ve also been enjoying events like Pacifica’s Jingle Bell Brunch — a gathering packed with festive food, Christmas caroling and mingling among residents, families and staff. And speaking of staff, Pacifica’s culinary teams are bringing seasonal cheer to their communities through a holiday dessert competition. Each chef is recreating a special dish, sharing the traditions and stories that inspired it! You can read about their merry creations on Pacifica’s blog. Creating holiday magic at Brightview Senior Living At Brightview Senior Living, residents brought the magic of Christmas to life with a festive poem reading. You simply have to watch the video posted on their LinkedIn, which happens to include some residents dressed for the season (spoiler alert, it includes Santa and Mrs. Claus). Brightview Severna Park also had a special visit from Saint Nick during the community’s 10 year anniversary party! The photos shared on social media remind us that it’s truly the most wonderful time of the year. Walking in a winter wonderland at Watercrest Senior Living Watercrest Senior Living is no stranger to holiday magic, which we got to see in this collection of photos on LinkedIn. They’ve created glorious winter wonderlands across their communities with the help of residents and staff! Keeping up with the spirit of the season, they’ve also shared photos from their festival of trees event and a snapshot of residents making holiday-themed crafts. Decorating for the season at Maplewood Senior Living We loved seeing how Maplewood Senior Living created festive fun for residents this holiday season! That includes ornament and wreath-making at Maplewood Orange, pictured on social media. Residents got the chance to hang their creations on trees throughout the community, as well as on their apartment doors.   Happy holidays from team Yardi We hope you enjoyed the holiday highlight featuring our senior living clients. From all of us at Yardi, we wish you happy holidays and a wonderful new year! If you’re looking to connect with us in the new year and learn more about how we support our clients, reach out here....

Think Outside the Box Nov29

Think Outside the Box...

Unconventional resident events can add a fresh and exciting dimension to a property management company’s community-building effort. The benefits of stepping outside the traditional event model will help to retain residents and attract new ones. Unique gatherings can strengthen the sense of community among residents. Here are some types of think-outside-the-box events to explore over the holiday season. Spice up the community with Escape Room Challenges or Mystery Dinners. Transform common areas or vacant units into escape rooms where residents work together to solve puzzles and mysteries. Include a mystery dinner to solve the crime during the meal, then have residents go out and explore around the building. Add a scavenger hunt and have prizes at the end for the winners. Plants and Pets. Plants are so good for the environment and cleanse the air around them. Arrange a gardening event where residents exchange plants, seeds or gardening tips. Microgardening is popular in smaller apartments, so maybe provide a small basil plant to start residents out with. Don’t forget about the four-legged residents. Look for a local pet mobile photographer for the holidays so residents can get their holiday cards made. Culinary Adventures. Delve into the world of cooking classes as a resident event. Cooking classes can enhance residents’ culinary skills, foster connections and offer a fun and educational experience. Find a local chef or culinary expert to lead the classes and provide some sample recipes or themes for these classes. For example, set up some spaces in the common area to learn how to make fresh homemade pasta, which can be a romantic date night for those during Valentine’s Day. Another example would be to decorate holiday cookies together. Provide the cookies already baked, then have various colors of icing in pipping bags...

Senior Living Webinar...

The senior living industry is anything but static. Leaders are constantly challenged with new obstacles as the industry changes, prompting the need to get creative, develop unique strategies and keep a pulse on what disruption lies ahead.   To help you assess what change is coming in 2024 — and learn thoughtful ways to navigate it — Senior Housing News (SHN) is hosting an impactful roundtable webinar this month! The webinar will feature an amazing panel including three of this year’s Changemaker honorees as well as a special guest from team Yardi. We’re pleased to sponsor the webinar and bring you fresh perspectives from each contributor. Explore the key takeaways to expect and get the registration information below. Get the details and meet the Changemaker panelists Not familiar with the Changemakers series? You can learn more in our recent wrap-up post here on the blog, but in short, it’s an inspiring interview series honoring a batch of senior living trailblazers. Yardi and SHN have partnered each year for the last five years to recognize these individuals, gathering their stories and advice for all to enjoy.   With the 2023 Changemakers offering insights relevant to today’s operators, it’s only fitting they speak in the upcoming roundtable webinar. The webinar — Senior Living in Flux: C-Suite Changemakers Discuss a Transforming Industry — is set for October 18 from 1-2 p.m. CDT. In attending, you’ll have a front row seat to the panelists’ fresh ideas and viewpoints, learning exactly where they see the biggest potential for change in 2024. Get ready for insights from: Yardi client Earl Parker, Chief Executive Officer, Commonwealth Senior Living Yardi client Sarabeth Hanson, CEO and President, Harbor Retirement Associates (HRA) Sevy Petras, Chief Executive Officer, Priority Life Care Meet the special guest,...

Changemakers 2023 Concludes

It’s a wrap on the 2023 Changemakers series, which we’ve proudly sponsored for the fifth year in a row. We’re delighted to have joined Senior Housing News (SHN) throughout the series to present the class of honorees — nine in total — sharing their insightful interviews here on The Balance Sheet. To mark the conclusion of the series, SHN released a compilation of exclusive interview excerpts in a brand-new ebook. You can download the ebook today to access unseen stories, insights and advice from each Changemaker. Once again, congratulations to each and every Changemaker honoree — Yardi senior living clients included! Yardi clients named 2023 Changemakers With the ebook available now, it’s only fitting we recognize our senior living clients for their interview contributions — and celebrate them for their role in this year’s Changemakers series.   We’re so pleased to congratulate: Earl Parker of Commonwealth Senior Living Jodi Guffee of Radiant Senior Living Doug Dollenberg, Jr. of Brightview Senior Living Rod Burkett of Gardant Management Solutions Sarabeth Hanson of Harbor Retirement Associates Doris-Ellie Sullivan of Retirement Unlimited, Inc. About the series As the senior living industry navigates ever-changing challenges, owners, operators and executives are breaking the status quo to adapt and evolve. Leaders have created leaner operations, improved efficiency and transformed the way they do business entirely through technology adoption. Through it all, they continue to push the boundaries of what it means to be industry leaders and visionaries. Now sponsored by Yardi for the fifth consecutive year, the Changemakers series recognizes and celebrates the most innovative leaders in senior living today. Learn more about the annual interview series by SHN. Read this year’s Changemakers ebook We hope you’ve enjoyed the Changemakers series to date — we’ve certainly enjoyed sharing each honoree’s story with you. If you’re ready for bonus insights from this year’s Changemakers, explore the ebook. If you have any questions about how Yardi supports operators with our dynamic senior living software — don’t hesitate to schedule time to connect with...

National Assisted Living Week

National Assisted Living Week (NALW) is here! If you’re unfamiliar, NALW is an annual initiative established by the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) that celebrates assisted living communities and the individuals they serve. The week-long initiative encourages communities to offer events in observance of a specific theme — announced by NCAL each year — for residents, family members, staff and volunteers to enjoy. The inspiring theme for 2023 — Season of Reflection — is all about pausing to reflect on the important things in life, including the special bonds created within assisted living communities. And to no surprise, our Yardi senior living clients are doing just that — encouraging thoughtful reflection through a variety of creative events and heartfelt messages across social media. We’re pleased to share a snapshot of what these fantastic clients have done so far, and we applaud each and every community celebrating NALW this year. Not only do the celebrations spark an appreciation for residents, staff and more — but they also help spread awareness on the importance of assisted living in the U.S. Yardi clients celebrate National Assisted Living Week Thrive Senior Living took to social media in spirit of NALW, sharing an informative video with helpful tips for choosing the right community. They also posted a sweet thank you message on LinkedIn to recognize their associates for changing the lives of residents across Thrive communities. “Thank you to all our AL staff for the helping hands you provide,” wrote Thrive in the post.  Benchmark Senior Living joined the conversation with a thoughtful blog post focusing on the meaning behind NALW — and their devotion to this year’s theme. Sharing the blog post on LinkedIn, Benchmark wrote, “This year’s theme beautifully encapsulates what it means to feel gratitude for all we have and cherish each moment.” Read Benchmark’s blog post on NALW. Maplewood Senior Living also posted on social media in honor of NALW, sharing their excitement for the celebrations to come and noting the value of assisted living for today’s seniors. “We want to emphasize how assisted living can significantly contribute to seniors leading longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives,” shared Maplewood in the post. We can’t wait to see what else our clients have in store as NALW continues! Be sure to keep an eye on social media for additional posts. More about National Assisted Living Week Established by NCAL in 1995, National Assisted Living Week offers a unique opportunity to recognize the role of assisted living in caring for seniors, as well as individuals with disabilities. The annual observance encourages communities around the country to offer a variety of events and activities to celebrate the individuals they serve — and to help educate members of the public about this distinctive aspect of long term care.​​​​​​​​​​​ ​ Each year, NCAL releases a variety of resources to help communities prepare for the week-long observance, including an extensive planning guide with suggestions for activities, media tips and more. Enjoy #NALW! To join the celebration and help spread awareness, be sure to use #NALW on social media! The observance spans from September 10-16. And be sure to check out the #NALW page on LinkedIn to see what’s been shared so far.    From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to those across assisted living for all that you do — Yardi clients included. Not a client and curious to learn how we support communities with our dynamic solutions? Reach out to team...

Yardi Client Aegis Living

Creating environmentally conscious, sustainable buildings is more important than ever. Yardi client Aegis Living knows just how important, considering they’ve created the world’s “greenest” senior living community — Aegis Living Lake Union. Opened in 2022 and located in Seattle, Washington, Aegis Living Lake Union is completely emission-free, using no fossil fuels. Considering the dedication of Aegis Living in creating this spectacular community, we simply had to spread the word here on The Balance Sheet. A round of applause for Aegis Living in creating a sustainable place for residents to call home! Read more about the initiative at Aegis Living Lake Union below. Aegis Living creates world’s greenest senior living community Aegis Living Lake Union is no stranger to sustainability. Relayed by McKnight’s Senior Living, the community’s environmentally conscious design is a commendable achievement — and an inspiration to others in the industry. Impressively, standard electricity supports the entire 70,000-square-foot building at Aegis Living Lake Union, which offsets 105% of the structure’s total energy demand. The community implemented a variety of energy reduction measures to achieve this, including an onsite solar array and offsite solar energy farms. When compared with similar buildings, the community has reduced its total energy draw by 25%. “When we embarked on the journey to create the world’s greenest senior living building, our goal was to set a new standard for what is possible, bringing an equal commitment to sustainable buildings and exceptional senior living,” Aegis President Adam Clark shares with McKnight’s Senior Living. “We made this dream a reality and hope to be a model for others serving our rapidly growing aging population.” In terms of recognition (and well-deserved recognition at that), Aegis Living Lake Union is one of ten developments that’s been selected for the 2023 Urban Land Institute Americas Awards Of Excellence — and it’s the only senior living community to be recognized. It’s also the first assisted living community to meet the global green building standards set by the International Living Future Institute. About Aegis Living Aegis Living is a leader in senior assisted living and memory care. With more than 25 years of experience, Aegis is known for its deep expertise in supporting residents along the continuum of care, innovative programming, a focus on purpose-built design and an employee-centric culture. With every community, Aegis creates a living environment where residents can feel at home and inspired to live life to the fullest. The organization is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, and operates 36 communities in Washington, California, and Nevada. Connect with us Once again, congratulations to Aegis Living for this outstanding achievement. Be sure to read more about the environment-first approach at Aegis Living Lake Union via McKnight’s. If you’re wanting to know how we support clients like Aegis with our senior living management software, reach out to our team! We’d love to show you around the Yardi Senior Living...

Meet With Yardi

With a variety of senior living events coming this fall, leaders have the chance to explore which technology solutions are driving the industry forward. We’ll be attending a handful to share what makes the Yardi Senior Living Suite — our integrated, one-stop-shop solution — stand apart from other technology in the senior living space. In that spirit, we’d love to connect with you if you’re attending any of the below opportunities! Read on for more details about our presence at each event. OHCA Annual Convention & Tradeshow Join your fellow senior living leaders at the Oregon Health Care Association Annual Convention and Tradeshow!You’ll find our senior living team at booth 309 — feel free to stop by anytime throughout the event, or schedule a meeting with us in advance. We’re excited to be the awards program co-sponsor as well. Date and location: September 19-20, 2023 Portland, Oregon BCSLA Annual Conference & Tradeshow Meet with us during the BC Senior Living Association Annual Conference and Tradeshow, an event centered around mental health and wellness, immigration, recruitment retention and leadership. You can schedule a meeting with team Yardi before the event, or simply come chat with us whenever you’d like. Date and location: September 24-26, 2023 Whistler, British Columbia NIC Data & Analytics Conference The upcoming NIC Data and Analytics Conference is the first of its kind for the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care (NIC), set to gather data and analytics leaders in senior living to discuss important industry trends. We’re pleased to be a sponsor for this one-of-a-kind experience and our team will be in attendance throughout the event. You can book time with us here if you’d like to schedule a meeting!   Date and location: September 27-28, 2023 Minneapolis, Minnesota...

Celebrating Doug Dollenberg, Jr.

“I don’t get excited about change, per se, but I’m very comfortable with change. I fundamentally believe that change is an important part of the formula for business success.” That quote comes from Doug Dollenberg, Jr. — the final honoree in the 2023 Changemakers series by Senior Housing News (SHN)! It’s been a pleasure to sponsor the series for the fifth consecutive year, we’ve loved celebrating each senior living visionary recognized.   Keep reading for a snapshot of Doug Dollenberg, Jr.’s interview, which is packed with insightful stories and advice. Yardi client Doug Dollenberg, Jr. named 2023 Changemaker For Doug Dollenberg, Jr., president and CEO at Brightview Senior Living — a dedicated Yardi client — change isn’t just inevitable, it’s necessary. Since joining Brightview in 2017, he’s led changes that have positively shaped the organization to be what it is today — and he’s learned valuable lessons through it all.   In his interview with SHN, Dollenberg shares why he thinks change is essential in the senior living industry, and explains the importance of driving collaborative change. He also shares how his experience at Brightview has reinforced his passion for people and culture — and speaks to the organization’s plans for the future.   SHN: What are some ways that you think the senior living industry needs to change in the next five years? Dollenberg: Staffing is one. Two, resident experience. Three, embracing technology and innovation. And four, rebounding margin. On the staffing front, turnover is a huge challenge in the senior living industry. It is in plenty of others, but especially in senior living. And we need to attract more people to the industry and help people realize that senior living is a great industry and a great place to build a career. There are tremendous career opportunities in our industry, and we’re only going to need more and more people over the next decade. There’s already something like a million people who know it’s a great industry, but we have to attract more people to it. I think it’s going to require creativity and innovation and change to get more people to enter our great industry. We also have to figure out ways for Brightview and for the industry as a whole to figure out how to increase retention. Another is resident experience. Our resident needs and desires are evolving, and we need to be focused on addressing that for the residents of today — and also the residents of the future. The baby boomers, they’re not really entering our communities in the next handful of years, but as you go out 5, 10, 15 years, we really have to be thinking about them. As we’re looking at today’s residents and future, we have to be looking at what are the changes that impact our operations and the communities we develop for the future. The third area that I mentioned is embracing technology, innovation and process improvement with the goal of driving efficiencies. I think that’s increasingly important in our industry, as we’re focused on margin. We have to search for and create efficiencies in our business, and so much of that is going to come back to those things that I mentioned: Technology, innovative and creative ideas, and process improvement. The fourth big change in my eyes is margin rebound. Ultimately, our industry needs to get back to the operating margins that we had pre-pandemic, whether that’s getting back to or near those pre-pandemic margins. That’s something that needs to happen, and that is the function of building occupancy, driving revenue, and managing costs. I feel the industry is working on that, which is a good thing. And personally, I feel really good about the progress that our Brightview team is making on that front. SHN: How do you think about timing so that Brightview can innovate without getting so far ahead of the market that...

Honoring Jodi Guffee

We hope you’ve enjoyed this year’s Changemakers series to date, a series full of inspiring interviews with leaders across the senior living industry. As sponsor for the fifth consecutive year, we’ve enjoyed sharing the interviews and highlighting how each honoree is building a better tomorrow. Today’s featured Changemaker is Jodi Guffee, owner and chief operating officer at Radiant Senior Living, one of our amazing senior living clients! Read on for a preview of Guffee’s interview, then head to the Changemakers site to read her full conversation with SHN. Yardi client Jodi Guffee named 2023 Changemaker With over 20 years of experience leading Radiant Senior Living, Jodi Guffee has spearheaded initiatives that have changed the organization’s operations for the better. While she’s faced challenges throughout her career, it hasn’t stopped her from pushing boundaries in order to make Radiant — and the industry as a whole — a better place. In her interview with SHN, Guffee shares what her journey has been like over the years — and reveals more about her initiatives at Radiant and what’s inspired them. She also shares her perspective on the senior living industry today (and her outlook on where it’s headed). SHN: As you look across the rest of the senior living industry, do you think that it’s changing fast enough to keep up with the times? Guffee: No. That’s a short answer, I know. There are several layers to that. Probably one of the biggest ones is funding: funding for staffing and funding for a generation that’s going to have a hard time paying for what we have to charge. We have a huge middle market segment that needs to be served, and we have models that are unaffordable for the most part. There are some genius people out there really doing some cutting-edge stuff that I’m really looking into. I think it’s fantastic, but I don’t think that there are enough companies that can pivot quickly enough for us to be able to serve this baby boomer “silver tsunami.” We just don’t have the people to take care of them, and the people who are going to need our services may or may not be able to afford them. Where are we going to see some government subsidies for lower-income, reimbursement rates? Our home offices are in Oregon. We have a very lucrative reimbursement rate for memory care, but not for assisted living. They aren’t very different [residents], but we have an extremely good reimbursement rate for memory care. We’re also pioneers here in Oregon. There are very few states that have good reimbursement for the private sector to be able to take some state or federal funding for residents that are low income because it’s not affordable. SHN: Can you talk about a time when you tried to execute a change and things didn’t go according to plan? How did you pivot, and what did you learn as a leader? Guffee: Gosh, there are so many. I’ll say that the ability to turn and pivot and see through different lenses is probably the key. [For example], when we were at the beginning of COVID and then in the middle of COVID and then coming out of it, we see the statistics are scary. We lost 40% of our women in the workforce. In our setting, that’s a lot of the people. They had to either stay home to take care of children who were online schooling, or they couldn’t afford childcare, so it was more affordable for them to stay home. That was and still is a very scary time in that everybody has a staffing shortage. What are we going to do about that? It kept me up at night for a long time. We were trying so many different things and being flexible, and things just weren’t working. We weren’t getting people back into the workforce. Our entire industry,...

Honoring Earl Parker

If you’ve been following this year’s Changemakers series, sponsored by us and presented by Senior Housing News (SHN), you’ve seen the range of inspiring honorees recognized so far. Each leader has been selected based on their ability to spark innovation, drive positive change and strategize ways to make the senior living industry a better place. The next batch of three honorees is no different, which includes Earl Parker — an inspiring trailblazer and Yardi senior living client! We’re excited to share a snapshot of his interview below. Yardi client Earl Parker named 2023 Changemaker Earl Parker is the CEO of Commonwealth Senior Living, a Virginia-based organization with 37 senior living communities to date. With three decades of experience in the industry, Parker knows how to pivot and grow in order to keep pace with the ever-evolving nature of senior living. And with that knowledge and expertise, he’s reached innovative new heights during his time at Commonwealth. In his thorough interview with SHN as part of the Changemakers series, Parker shares how he’s leading important changes at Commonwealth today, and explains why he believes driving continuous improvement across their communities is essential.   SHN: Do you see yourself as a changemaker, and are you always excited to drive change? Parker: My first response was, no, I don’t see myself as that. My first reaction to that word, changemaker, is probably a dramatic, earth-shattering kind of change. But as I gave more thought to it, I could see it. My first mentor when I started working in hotels was a GM who I’m still in touch with, and they introduced me to the concept of continuous quality improvement and it’s been a key part of my life — work and personal — ever since then. It’s really a consistent leadership mindset that I have and try to bring to the organization, but it’s really continually focused on how we can try to make our communities a better place to live and a better place to work. I try to spend a lot of my time digging in on that, and I believe that if we can stay focused on that as an organization, that we can’t help but be successful. It’s a little bit of change every day, and ultimately that does create change. I certainly have changed a lot over the last 20-plus years. SHN: As you look across the rest of the senior living industry, do you think that it’s changing fast enough to keep up with the times? Parker: I may seem like a contrarian based on what a lot of I read other people saying, but I think it is. I think the industry evolves along with the demand. The markets that we’re in especially, we’re regularly engaging our residents, their families, associates, prospects, and getting feedback. I’ve been here at Commonwealth for 10 years, and there are many things that we’ve changed over the last 10 years: Dining, programming, physical plants, we’ve added hydroponic gardening, we’ve got a farm-to-table dining program, we’re using virtual reality with seniors. We’ve got robust Wi-Fi in all of our communities for residents and families to take part of. We have quartz countertops and stainless steel appliances. I think we have adapted and changed a lot over the last 10 years, and I think we’ll have to continue to do it. I’m not really sure what’s going on in San Francisco, or L.A., or New York City, but I think in the areas that we operate, we’ve changed a lot over the last 10 years, and I think we’ve got a product that’s appealing to the seniors and their adult children that are here today. We’ve all got to be responsible to continue to look at and monitor and evaluate where we think that demand is coming from in the future. As an industry, we’ve adapted pretty well. You could say...

Introducing Competitive Analysis

We’re constantly evolving our solutions in the Yardi Senior Living Suite, whether we’re enhancing workflows or creating new functionality altogether. And we recently released an exciting feature in RentCafe Senior CRM, our mobile-friendly sales and marketing solution — a feature called competitive analysis. Our senior living clients are seeing major successes with this dynamic new feature, but in case you haven’t explored it yet (or if you’re new to RentCafe Senior CRM), we thought we’d share what it does — and what the benefits are. Meet competitive analysis Senior living operators know all too well the importance of assessing competing communities. It’s crucial to understand why one community may be attracting new prospects more successfully, or even enticing your current residents to make a switch. Unfortunately, assessing this information is challenging when you don’t have the data you need — or if your data isn’t organized, easy to retrieve and error-free.   That’s where our competitive analysis feature comes in. We offer the ability to input the data you’ve collected on your competitors — including things like community amenities, care-level incentives and reputation — then view your own community’s attributes in comparison. All data is presented in an attractive, easy-to-analyze format. And once you’ve entered competitor data once, it stays fixed in one secure place, making it easy to access and edit in the future. Something particularly exciting with the competitive analysis functionality is the ability to track specific competitors in your lost lead analysis. This centralized, detailed information can help your future market efforts by highlighting what the major differences are between you and your competitors. The competitive analysis workflow is also completely configurable, allowing you to customize fields based on which categories you prefer to grade competitors on (we used client feedback to drive the customization options we created). Introducing self-competitor functionality Thought the functionality above was great? There’s more! RentCafe Senior CRM also gives you the option to view how your own communities stack up against each other. And rather than inputting data like you would for competitors, your own community’s data is automatically drawn from Yardi Voyager Senior Housing since RentCafe Senior CRM is a fully integrated solution. That means you’re always viewing the most up-to-date, accurate information when doing competitive analysis, and you’re not devoting hours to pulling information from multiple sources. However you choose to use competitive analysis, the feature helps you centralize important information, streamline reporting and compare communities with ease. With organized and centralized data at your fingertips, you’re equipped to make faster, informed decisions for your community’s benefit — decisions to help your community stand out from the crowd. Discover more and connect with our team If you’re new to RentCafe Senior CRM and would like a personalized demo, including a closer look at competitive analysis, reach out anytime. If you’d like to start with a high-level overview of the solution, explore our product...

Introducing Rod Burkett

“I think as human beings, we have some built-in resistance to change. I think as businesses, we owe it to our customers to never become extinct. We have to change and be both proactive and reactive to all that internal and external forces that impact our business.” Yardi client Rod Burkett — a 2023 Changemaker — recently spoke these words in an in-depth interview with Senior Housing News (SHN). Burkett’s interview, much like all the interviews in the annual Changemakers series, features motivational stories, insights and advice applicable to senior living. We’re pleased to share a highlight of Burkett’s interview below, but you can head to his full interview with SHN for more insights. Yardi client Rod Burkett named 2023 Changemaker As chairman of Gardant Management Solutions, the 25th largest senior living operator in the country, Rod Burkett is an expert when it comes to driving strategic, effective change. He’s led the organization since its founding in 1999, and through his interview with SHN, Burkett shares what he’s learned along the way. SHN: Can you talk about a time when you tried to execute a change and things didn’t go according to plan? How did you pivot, and what did you learn as a leader? Burkett: Yes. The one example that really jumps out at me is maybe like a lot of management companies, as we got bigger, we added more resources. Like most companies, we have a regional approach, with regional ops, regional marketing, regional clinical, and so forth. We added all these resources as subject matter experts. The whole intention is to create more resources, more support for our communities but I think we didn’t create clarity because where is the decision being made? Are these people that are here to help? Are they making the decision? Is the local ED making the decision? Was all with good intentions, but the unintended consequences of confusion in decision-making. We talked about empowering that decision to be made at the local level. We talked about a good game. That was the change is to not let the gray area, lack of clarity who’s truly making the decision. We talked about it, but the talk didn’t work. I think where we failed was we didn’t truly embed that in our culture and so as we added more people, I think it just, we very often weren’t on the same team. It was them and us, corporate versus at the community level. We really had to take a step back and pivot and we truly had to embed this in our culture and it’s still a work in progress. We’ve been working at it for a couple of years. When I’m dealing with this local community, I’m on their team and we’ve created questions that we pose to all of our staff at every staff meeting. Little wristbands that talk about being on the community team. Regardless of how I identify myself, especially what subject matter expert I am, when I’m working with that local community, I’m on their team. Not only did we talk about it, we truly had to make it embedded in our culture and have each individual talk about it and what it meant to them. I would say that’s the one that really we spent the most energy and time truly making a change where we would create the decision-making at the local community level and have our staff truly saying, “We’re here to support you.” You’re the ones on the ground at the local community, and it’s taken a lot of effort to create that change. SHN: What is a word of advice for managing resistance to change? Burkett: I think as human beings, we have some built-in resistance to change. I think as businesses, we owe it to our customers to never become extinct. We have to change and be both proactive and reactive...

Meet Leigh Ann Barney...

Make way for another senior living Changemaker — Leigh Ann Barney, president and CEO of Trilogy Health Services. As a 2023 honoree in the esteemed series, Barney joined Senior Housing News (SHN) to discuss her experiences in the industry, her lessons learned and her best-kept advice for serving the next generation of seniors. We’re pleased to continue sharing interviews like Barney’s, proudly sponsoring the Changemakers series for the fifth year in a row. Read more about the Changemakers initiative for 2023. Leigh Ann Barney named 2023 Changemaker In navigating the many challenges the senior living industry has faced, Leigh Ann Barney has developed thoughtful strategies for how to pivot, change and grow. And according to her detailed interview with SHN, Barney believes more challenges and changes are on the horizon.   SHN: What are some ways that you think the senior living industry needs to change in the next five years? Barney: I think a lot of operators are thinking about this right now. Being in the industry for a long time, we all see the shift in clinical needs. People do not want to go into the highest level of healthcare setting if they don’t have to. Senior housing is becoming more clinically focused, and I wouldn’t say even as much from a treatment standpoint although that is part of what we do. It’s also the wellness component. People want us to be kept well as long as possible. They’re much more focused on that. I think as senior housing operators, we’re going to be offering clinical services to help people remain independent. We will try to keep people living the lifestyle they want they want to live for as long as possible, whether that’s independent living or assisted living or whatever meets...

Recognizing Sarabeth Hanson

We’re excited to announce the next batch of 2023 Changemakers — innovative trailblazers in senior living — which includes three new honorees! If you haven’t seen our previous posts this year, in short, Changemakers is an inspiring interview series produced by Senior Housing News that we’re sponsoring for the fifth consecutive year. The Changemaker we’re featuring today is Sarabeth Hanson, CEO and president of Harbor Retirement Associates (HRA), an amazing Yardi senior living client. Enjoy a snapshot of Hanson’s interview below. Yardi client Sarabeth Hanson named 2023 Changemaker With dedicated experience as a leader at HRA, Sarabeth Hanson has driven positive change across the organization’s 36 communities. Currently operating as CEO and president, she brings over 20 years of senior living experience — and a passion for helping older adults — to her work today. In her interview with SHN, Hanson shares what her journey has looked like over the last several years — and shares what she’s focusing on looking ahead. SHN: How have you changed as a leader since starting in this industry? Hanson: I’ve changed so many ways since starting in the senior living industry, especially since I started in the senior living industry as a recent college graduate who went to school to teach elementary education in the second grade, and found that there was something missing in my fulfillment in that process and stumbled into a therapeutic recreation director position at a not-for-profit skilled nursing assisted living community, where I learned that I was called to serve seniors. I learned the beauty in seniors and really started to lead immediately following that process because that wasn’t a leadership process. I was a team of one, but quickly learned that you don’t have to be assigned to be a leader to be a natural leader. Quickly found that if I had good ideas and was willing to share them, that I could lead efforts that would really change the lives of seniors. SHN: Obviously, we at SHN think of you as a changemaker, but do you see yourself that way — are you always excited to drive change? Hanson: I am proud of HRA and the company that we have become because we’re a little disruptive in the industry. I would say that it excites me to make change in a positive way. You know what, if I sat next to you, Nick on an airplane, and you asked me what I did for a living, I would no longer tell you that I’m in senior living. I would tell you that I’m in the hospitality industry serving seniors. The difference there is when I said I’m in senior living, people wrinkle their nose like, “Oh, thanks so much. Oh, what a hard job.” But when I say it the other way around, they say, “Tell me more.” I want people to know more because we are no longer, at Harbor Retirement Associates, we’re no longer what people think of when they think of retirement living or senior living. We are truly focused on exceptional experiences. That is created through leading with hospitality and not leading with things that are expected like great care and medications given at the right time, but by exceeding their expectations through a hospitality approach and offering choice to our residents in a very safe environment. SHN: As you look across the rest of the senior living industry, do you think that it’s changing fast enough to keep up with the times? Hanson: Covid-19, I think threw a little bit of a monkey wrench into probably some growth because the industry, like everything else got sequestered and had to work through a very high-level clinical model. What we found through that exercise is that we are more clinically capable than we ever thought we were before and that we had ever expected to be. We always were a residential model,...

Meet Dan Madsen

Ready to hear from another 2023 Changemaker? Say hello to Dan Madsen, chairman and CEO of Seattle-based Leisure Care. We’re loving highlighting this year’s honorees — an empowering group of senior living leaders — as the series’ sponsor for the fifth consecutive year. Dan Madsen named 2023 Changemaker From spending 32 years in the senior living industry, Madsen is well-versed when it comes to taking risks, developing new strategies and driving change. In his interview with Senior Housing News (SHN), Madsen talks about his lessons learned over the years, as well as what he’s focusing on looking ahead. Read on for a highlight of Madsen’s interview: SHN: How have you changed as a leader since starting in this industry? Madsen: It was 32 years ago, or almost 33, I guess, and I’ve learned tons. Every year I continue to grow and learn as a leader, gaining a lot of empathy and understanding for people and their behaviors. One of the greatest things I think I learned was the tolerance of — mine as well, that all people have seasons. We have such longevity in our company that people have really good years, and then they have life that happens as well, and to continue to support them is really, really important. SHN: Can you talk about a time when you tried to execute a change and things didn’t go according to plan? How did you pivot, and what did you learn as a leader? Madsen: I think that it’s more internal than external. We continue to innovate, and it’s the acceptance in the field sometimes even at the general manager level to really support that change. That’s because it is general managers in the field in those positions who are dealing with their current...

Recognizing Doris-Ellie Sullivan

“Change is always tough, even when it’s good for you.” Those words come from Doris-Ellie Sullivan, a 2023 Changemaker and dedicated Yardi senior living client! As president of Retirement Unlimited, Inc. — a 21-community organization with living options across Virginia and Florida — Sullivan knows a thing or two about skilled, innovative leadership. We’re proud to join Senior Housing News (SHN) in recognizing Sullivan as the Changemaker she is — spotlighting her extraordinary advice and insights (gathered in a detailed interview). It’s an honor to be part of this special series, sharing inspiration from leaders like Sullivan, as sponsor for the fifth year in a row.    Yardi client Doris-Ellie Sullivan named 2023 Changemaker Through her conversation with SHN as part of this year’s Changemakers series, Doris-Ellie Sullivan shares how her background has shaped her leadership style today. Coming to the senior living industry by way of the U.S. Armed Services, where she was a nurse, Sullivan’s career has been guided by a passion for service and a dedication to helping others. Keep reading for a look at her insightful interview: SHN: How have you changed as a leader since starting in this industry? Sullivan: I came into senior living from the military, so that was quite a big difference. Empathy and servant leadership is definitely at the core of my leadership style. The discipline and systems came across from the military, but I think it was more of the residents-centered focus – believing in the mission. Of course, our mission at Retirement Unlimited is to provide a lifestyle that our residents have earned and deserve. I think it’s a different mission. I think that you have to evolve, and that’s what sets me apart is evolving and always being open to learning. SHN: How do you think about timing, so that your company can innovate without getting so far ahead of the market that a new idea doesn’t work? Sullivan: We launched the MyRUI app in 2019 before the pandemic. We also partnered up with a lot of companies to prepare for the pandemic, not knowing that the pandemic was coming. I don’t think you can ever be early. I think innovation equates to adoption: What is the adoption at the community level? What is the adoption at the resident and family level? What is the adoption to the general public? I think that if you can create adoption and not distraction in anything that you’re innovating, whether it’s AI or ChatGPT or some new software product or some hardware or some new system. One of the things that we’ve learned with the MyRUI app — and with any innovation that we’ve put out there — is that it’s not a one-time, “Let’s have this big party and launch it.” It’s every three months, you have to almost do a soft launch to keep the adoption rates going. More showing us as shoulder-to-shoulder versus telling people that it’s going to make your lives easier, that is a big difference that we have at RUI. SHN: Can you talk about how you see the need for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the industry, and what you are doing to drive change in this regard? Sullivan: I am a female of Asian descent and started this business in the 1990s. I and several other women out there had the great opportunity of being on an all-female panel a month ago with some other pioneers like Shelley Edsen from Sonata Senior Living and Sevy Petras from Priority Life Care. It’s just important to find the right candidate for the position. If everybody has that focus and they’re looking for the right candidate with no judgment, I think that that blossoms into opportunity. As I said, we looked for the right candidates and created a very diverse home office, a very diverse community operations side, and a very diverse region. That comes...

Introducing Changemakers 2023...

The annual Changemakers series has officially begun! This year is particularly exciting for us at Yardi, as it’s our fifth consecutive year as sponsor. The series celebrates the most innovative and dynamic leaders in the industry today — recognizing those who have created leaner operations, improved efficiency and transformed the way they do business. From technology and staffing to mergers and acquisitions, these Changemakers are taking risks and embracing innovation, and you get an inside look at their stories through exclusive interviews. We’re proud to join Senior Housing News (SHN) in presenting the 2023 Changemakers class — a group of dynamic leaders who are breaking the status quo and driving positive change today. With that, meet the first Changemaker: Sevy Petras, CEO and co-founder of Priority Life Care. Through her in-depth interview with SHN, Petras talks about her background in senior living and the ways she believes the industry is evolving. Enjoy the following snapshot before heading to her full interview (linked below): Sevy Petras named 2023 Changemaker   SHN: What are some ways you think senior living needs to change in the next five years? Petras: I feel that senior housing right now is in a bit of an enlightenment period. We’ve been around for 40 years now. We’ve been around long enough to have a decent data set. The reason I feel that it’s enlightenment is because we’re really trying to utilize science and automation to figure out how we can take that data and really apply it to be forward-thinking and proactive. Now, whether it’s active adult, independent assisted living or in your individual home, the consumer or resident family members are able to decide where they want to have that care delivered to them. That is a swift change. Part...

Interoperability In Senior Living

Ready to succeed with an interoperable platform for senior living? Our newest infographic shares how you can optimize connections, streamline workflows and maximize resident safety with Yardi EHR, our interoperable electronic health record solution designed for senior living. With verified interface partners, Yardi EHR securely collects and transfers resident data around the clock. Defining interoperability Interoperability allows information systems to seamlessly exchange data with one another. In senior living, interoperable EHRs help operators: Access real-time health information Save time across teams Eliminate data-entry errors Support resident safety Enhance operations and care Connect the entire care team in and out of the community How do EHRs differ from EMRs? Familiar with EHRs, not EMRs? Or vice versa? Here’s the difference between the two: An EHR (electronic health record) such as Yardi EHR is a digital record of a resident’s chart — plus much more — stored in a dynamic online platform. EHRs connect all aspects of care by allowing multiple providers to access real-time resident data, submit updates and communicate from anywhere. An EMR (electronic medical record), on the other hand, is a digital record of a resident’s chart stored in a computer and accessible by a single provider. Interoperability in action Taking a look at exactly how things work with Yardi EHR, this full-service solution channels interoperability through verified interface partners. Not only does data automatically flow to and from Yardi EHR, support teams actively monitor to ensure the highest level of accuracy — equipping you to deliver the best care. Explore Yardi EHR interface partners You can connect Yardi EHR to all outside providers, HIEs and health systems via Kno2, a health information platform that offers access to unlimited cloud faxing, direct secure messaging and referral networks. Depending on your license, additional features available may include Kno2-to-Kno2 messaging, online identify verification, Kno2 and national provider directories, message handling, unstructured document QC tools, configuration/interoperability settings, third-party and esign connector capabilities, third-party proprietary referral network connections, HIE connector (submission only, or submission & query), Kno2 Conversations, query initiator/respond and 360X. Onto the next interface partner: You can instantly transfer EMR data — captured from supported equipment — to Yardi EHR through DS smart, a simplified connectivity solution built to capture, protect and connect resident information. Learn more about what’s possible with DS smart. Note that Yardi EHR supports a wide variety of additional health interfaces including a nurse call system, dietary management platform, infection control solution and more. Learn more about Yardi EHR We encourage you to learn more by exploring all Yardi EHR interface partners. Want a more detailed tour of Yardi EHR? Head to the infographic and select “get in touch” to schedule a personalized...

Enhancing RentCafe Wellness

We’re excited to share all that’s new and improved in RentCafe Wellness, our senior living solution for managing wellness programs. At a glance, RentCafe Wellness helps you create online activity calendars, track resident attendance and so much more. Ready to explore the enhancements — all inspired by client feedback? See below for an overview of how RentCafe Wellness looks today: A glance at RentCafe Wellness RentCafe Wellness (part of the Yardi Senior Living Suite) gives you the tools to effectively manage your community wellness initiatives. With this dynamic solution, you can: Schedule activities Create digital calendars Enable online payments Keep families connected Empower staff How the solution looks today There are several enhancements to cover, but first things first, we’d like to thank our wonderful senior living clients for their thoughtful feedback on RentCafe Wellness. It’s helped us create a refreshed solution packed with new features and improved usability. Here’s a look at the latest functionality in RentCafe Wellness: Starting with digital calendars, which staff can easily create in RentCafe Wellness, there are evolved features like the ability to build reusable design templates. Calendar design templates can be used by a single community or several! Staff can also copy an existing calendar design with a single click to create a new variation. Once your calendar (or multiple calendars) is created, you can easily designate it by care level or zone. Want your calendars printed to disperse across the community? No problem! Staff can quickly print daily, weekly or monthly calendars by downloading them as PDFs or word documents. When it comes to scheduling and marketing activities, we’ve made it easier than ever. Staff can create multiple templates as the starting point for scheduling dozens of activities, whether they’re one-time or recurring. Speaking of those recurring activities, staff can save time by creating a series that auto-populates in any given calendar for upcoming months (setting a single date, a date range or for all future instances). They can transfer the previous month’s resident registrations into an upcoming calendar, too. Additional functionality includes the ability to set activity registration as optional or required, guests allowed or prospective residents welcomed, to name a few. You can also create monthly paid activities, allowing you to expand your organization’s revenue streams. Whether you host something offsite or invite local experts to provide paid services in your community, setting and collecting fees is straightforward. Every enhanced feature for managing activities helps staff reduce their administrative work — leading to more time spent engaging with residents. Benefits of a single connected solution We’ve covered snazzy features like building calendars and setting up activities, but another big differentiator with RentCafe Wellness is that it exists on a single, integrated platform. You’re gaining a complete wellness and activity management solution that connects with key elements of the Yardi Senior Living Suite. Thanks to direct integration with Voyager Senior Housing (which populates resident lists and property records), RentCafe Wellness automatically updates occupancy details when new residents move in, and when former residents move out. This real-time information sharing allows staff to easily manage resident registration, attendance and more. A connection with Yardi Payment Processing simplifies the entire workflow for paid activities. Activity charges are paid just like other community charges with a one-time monthly ACH, debit or credit card payment, or via autopay. Payments you collect — and your payments to vendors — will come through as part of the monthly payer statement. Residents and family members can conveniently submit their online payments via RentCafe Senior Living Portal. In addition to offering the convenience of online payments, RentCafe Senior Living Portal allows family members to see which activities residents are attending, and you have the option to allow family members to register for activities on a resident’s behalf. This helps families stay in the loop regarding their loved one’s health and wellbeing. As an added bonus, residents and families...

2023 Events & Tradeshows

Wanting to fill your calendar with impactful senior living events? We have a roundup of recommendations that span throughout 2023, all of which offer a chance to network with senior living professionals.    Keep reading for the list of events we recommend exploring this year:   OLTCA/ORCA Together We Care Convention & Tradeshow First up is the OLTCA/ORCA Together We Care Convention & Tradeshow, taking place March 27-29 in Toronto. This in-person convention connects long term care and retirement community professionals, sparking conversations that are sure to challenge and inform all attendees. You can visit team Yardi at booth 308 — we’ll be excited to meet you and share more about the Yardi Senior Living Suite. Ready to get something on the books in advance? Schedule time to meet us at OLTCA/ORCA 2023. Texas Assisted Living Association Annual Conference & Tradeshow Save the date for the Texas Assisted Living Association Annual Conference & Tradeshow in Round Rock, Texas, on April 5-7. You’ll connect with assisted living leaders to share ideas, talk about industry updates and bond over lessons learned through recent challenges. Our team will be in attendance at booth 310 if you’d like to schedule time to connect! Argentum Senior Living Executive Conference The Argentum Senior Living Executive Conference is coming up as well, an annual gathering of thousands of senior living professionals, operators, owners, executives and community leaders. Set for May 8-10 in New Orleans, Louisiana, the conference is an empowering and educational experience. Not only are we sponsoring the registration, we’ll also have a presence at booth 3100. Reach out to get a meeting scheduled with team Yardi. Florida Senior Living Association Annual Conference Looking for a summer event? Head to the Florida Senior Living Association Annual Conference on June 25-28 in Boca Raton, Florida, for a chance to network with likeminded leaders. You can meet us at booth 38, but feel free to plan a meeting with us in advance. California Assisted Living Association Spring Conference & Trade Show  We can’t forget the annual California Assisted Living Association Spring Conference & Trade Show, which features engaging, interactive learning sessions. This year’s Spring conference takes place June 5-7 in Sacramento, California. We’re pleased to sponsor the awards luncheon — and connect with attendees at booth 213! Be sure to stop by or contact us to connect prior to the show. California Assisted Living Association Fall Conference & Tradeshow If you plan to attend the CALA Spring Conference, make sure to mark your calendar for the California Assisted Living Association Fall Conference & Tradeshow too, taking place in Palm Springs, California, on November 6-8. We’ll have more details as the event gets closer, but we’re excited to sponsor the awards luncheon for this one. Oregon Healthcare Association Annual Convention & Trade Show Let’s talk about the Oregon Healthcare Association Annual Convention & Trade Show, which is hosted in Portland, Oregon. You can join professionals across the industry for an in-depth learning experience on September 19-20. We’re a proud co-sponsor of the awards program for this event. More details to come! See you at senior living events throughout 2023! Be sure to check our Yardi events page for the full list of events we’re attending this year. If you have questions in the meantime about our senior living management software, or you’re ready to schedule time to connect, don’t hesitate to reach out via the meeting links shared...

Investing in EHRs

It’s no secret that technology use is growing exponentially. Tech solutions are transforming the way various industries operate — including senior living — from EHRs to business intelligence tools. This ties into a recent Ziegler study, which examines 150 senior living organizations to learn how they’re using technology moving into 2023. With input gathered from CFOs, the study shares which solutions these organizations are implementing to meet today’s challenges. Read on for a quick snapshot of the study’s findings: Ziegler study reveals investments in EHRs The study — Ziegler CFO Hotline — gathers survey responses from CFOs across senior living. Ziegler presented various technologies relevant to the industry, and respondents were asked to identify which they’ve invested in over the last 12 months. Interestingly, the responses show a return to priorities of years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the top investments revealed was electronic health records — with 54% of respondents claiming they’ve invested in EHRs in the past year. When asked what they planned to invest in for the next 12 months, 31% of respondents pointed to EHRs as well. It’s no surprise given the major benefits EHRs bring to senior living organizations such as easing staff burden, empowering caregivers, mitigating risk, eliminating manual data-entry and more. Read the Ziegler study to gain further insights. Finding the EHR solution for you We know the world of technology is vast. Senior living organizations are faced with solutions left and right, and it can be challenging to determine how one differs from the next. That’s why we’ve created several resources that delve into our own solution, Yardi EHR, to show what makes it unique. At a glance, Yardi EHR is a full-service electronic health record solution that combines clinical intake processing, assessments, interoperability...

Celebrating Resident Artists

We couldn’t pass up the chance to feature a cool initiative from one of our senior living clients, an initiative focused on bringing residents’ passions to light. Shout out to Maplewood Senior Living for their blog series that highlights how residents are finding purpose and joy — including their recent post spotlighting their art-loving residents. Spotlighting Maplewood’s resident artists As mentioned in their post, Maplewood didn’t have to look far to find resident artists. From participating in daily art activities within their community to sparking creativity on their own, these residents bring some amazing designs to the table. Starting with Maplewood at Weston resident Judith Kohn, a talented individual who claims art rescued her during a difficult season of life. Inviting creations are spread across her apartment with pieces hung on walls, sitting on the furniture and even propped on the floors. With her strong love for art, it’s no surprise Judith has become one of Maplewood at Weston’s most active ambassadors. She’s been spreading her knowledge by teaching a monthly art class for other residents since moving to the community in July of 2022. At Maplewood’s newest community in New Jersey, Maplewood at Princeton, you’ll find resident Rosalyn Mass, who’s held a lifelong passion for the arts. She taught painting and drawing for seventeen years directly out of her home, working with children from different backgrounds and cultures. She later worked with a local library to have her students’ work exhibited, too. Quite impressively, Rosalyn never had any formal training — simply a natural talent and dedication to channeling her inner artist. Head to Maplewood’s blog post to see photos of both Judith and Rosalyn’s art pieces!   Celebrating our senior living clients It’s always fun to share something joyful from our senior living clients and the residents they serve. We applaud Maplewood for celebrating their residents’ creativity — we love featuring initiatives like their blog series here on The Balance Sheet. Have questions about how Yardi works with clients like Maplewood? Get in touch with our senior living team...

EPCS In Senior Living...

“In the midst of a growing drug overdose crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians’ use of prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) and electronic prescribing of controlled substances (EPCS) technology is critical to improving opioid prescribing practices, informing treatment decisions and supporting safe and effective patient care. Recent efforts, such as mandating use of EPCS technology and integrating PDMPs into electronic health record (EHR) systems, aim to improve prescribing practices.” That information comes from a recent post by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), which covers the importance of EPCS technology and PDMPs in today’s world. With relevance to the senior living industry, we’re highlighting the article’s key points and sharing how our EHR solution fits into the picture. Tracking the progress of PDMPs and EPCS technology Health care providers have historically relied on paper-based processes to prescribe controlled substances. But as shared by the ONC, we’ve made a lot of progress in shifting toward electronic prescribing in recent years. Reports show substantial growth in the use of EPCS systems due to DEA regulations — and state-mandated EPCS laws — with 71% of physician prescribers having used EPCS technology in 2021. Looking at PDMPs, there’s been a significant increase in usage as well. The article relays that one-third of prescribers now access a PDMP through their EHR system, compared to one-fifth in 2019. What are the benefits? So what are the benefits of electronic prescribing workflows? You can read the full article for all the insights, but in summary, the benefits of using EPCS technology and PDMPs is promising. Not only do these digital systems prevent data-entry errors, which in turn enhances resident safety, they also save time, streamline workflows and more. The largest benefit may be how they reduce...

Seniors Celebrate Love  ...

Love was in the air across senior living communities this Valentine’s Day, including the communities of our amazing clients! So if you’re a fan of heartwarming stories, you’re in the right place. We hope you’ll take a moment to see how these communities made this love-filled day special. Valentine’s Day in senior living We’re loving how our senior living clients celebrated Valentine’s Day this year, whether they organized festive activities or celebrated resident lovebirds. From blogs to social media posts highlighting charming moments, we’re happy to be resharing it all:  Pacifica Senior Living put together a blog post sharing how their communities celebrated Valentine’s Day — and they spotlighted the relationships their residents cherish. Take Joyce and Joanne from their Laguna Hills community, two sisters who have maintained a loving relationship since their early days. From attending nursing school together to now residing in the same Pacifica apartment, these two lovely ladies enjoy spending quality time together each day. Read the Pacifica post to learn about Joyce and Joanne, plus see more Valentine’s stories featuring Pacifica residents. At Maplewood Senior Living, one resident couple brought the Valentine’s Day spirit by reflecting on their lifetime of love. Residing in Maplewood at Princeton, residents Vicki and Marty have been together “forever” (as quoted by Vicki in Maplewood’s blog post). The post delves into their journey individually and as a couple — sharing everything that led them through decades of love. Read Maplewood’s post for all the feels, and to see then-and-now photos of Vicki and Marty.   Continuing with the theme of long-lasting love, check out this video featuring Benchmark Senior Living residents. As shared on Benchmark’s LinkedIn, the video shows how residents Dave and Pauline celebrated 25 years together by renewing their vows. The two...