Vitality Living Success Story

“We use Yardi as our source of truth for everything.” That insight comes from Nick Byrd, chief financial officer at Vitality Living, in a recent interview discussing Vitality’s successes with the Yardi Senior Living Suite. With a focus on Yardi Voyager Senior Housing, the story spotlights the challenges Vitality faced prior to working with Yardi — and shares how they’ve found success since then.   Read the highlight below, then head to the success story to get all the insights: The Challenge: Manual Processes & Disparate Systems Vitality used to rely on manual processes and disparate systems — taking time away from priorities, generating errors and causing confusion among teams. From monthly ACH pulls to building financial reports, key tasks became increasingly arduous. Vitality searched for a dependable, integrated solution to serve as their source of truth and alleviate the challenges they were facing. The Solution: Yardi Voyager Senior Housing Designed for senior living providers of all types and sizes, Yardi Voyager Senior Housing delivers property management and financial accounting on a powerful, cloud-based platform. By adding solutions across the Yardi Senior Living Suite, operators take full control of the senior living spectrum from marketing to operations to care. The Story: Gaining One Source of Truth, Eliminating Errors & Saving Time Prior to implementing Voyager Senior Housing and accompanying tools in the Yardi Senior Living Suite, Vitality used a mix of siloed technology and manual processes. The lack of a single connected solution — built to unite all data and workflows in one place — meant Vitality didn’t have true visibility or a reliable method for retrieving important information. By moving forward with Yardi, Vitality now has a single source of truth — a solution that integrates all aspects of its business into one database. “When you’re running a report in Voyager, you’re getting real time data,” shares Byrd in the success story. “The system is integrated with all of these pieces which allows us to get a true picture.” With Voyager automating tasks Vitality previously did manually, errors have now been eliminated across the board. “When we would run our monthly ACH pulls in the old system, the community’s business director would have to prepare the file, send it to accounting and we would manually enter all the ACH transactions, and update the amounts,” explained Byrd. “You can only imagine what kind of errors that could create, and it created a ton.” Vitaly also said goodbye to time drainers when they partnered with Yardi. Since Voyager acts as their complete general ledger system, Vitality has drastically reduced time spent on key financial accounting tasks, allowing team members to shift and focus on other priorities. “We gained two days back just around the ACH process,” said Byrd. “It was a manual lift before, but now things are getting updated in real time.” Read the full success story Ready to see all the ways Vitality is finding success with Voyager Senior Housing? Read the full success story! If you have any questions for us — or you’d like to book a demo based on what you read — reach out to connect with our senior living...

Why You Need EHRs

Did you know nearly one-third of all U.S. adults take five or more medications regularly? It’s not surprising when you realize roughly 6,800 prescription medications — and countless over-the-counter drugs — are available across the nation. And with medication use growing due to the number of medications available, there’s an increased risk of medication-related errors, especially in senior living. This inspired us to put together a detailed white paper that highlights a solution for mitigating that risk: electronic health records (EHRs). Refreshed with statistics and a wealth of information, the white paper shares how senior living operators — and care staff — can prevent medication errors, enhance resident services and more. Medication errors: a macro view In the white paper — The Importance of EHRs in Senior Living — you’ll find a breakdown of the different types of medication errors, with a focus on adverse drug events (ADEs). Then you’ll see why seniors are the highest-risk age group for ADEs, with supporting research like the following:  More than four in ten older adults take five or more prescription medications, triple the rate from twenty years ago — making them more vulnerable to ADEs based on the sheer volume of medications they’re taking Older adults are twice as likely than younger people to visit the emergency room due to an ADE, and seven times more likely to be hospitalized after an ER visit as a result So, if ADEs are common among older adults, what can senior living operators do to help? How can they ensure residents stay safe and medication errors become a rare occurrence? The answer is simple: through the use of technology. More specifically, EHRs.   Technology: the key to oversight Historically, medication management involved reading pill bottles and relying on local...

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...

Senior Living Video

Can one solution power multiple facets of an organization? The answer is yes for clients like Shannex, who uses the Yardi Senior Living Suite to save time, boost efficiency and optimize resident services. Take it from Heidi Leavitt-Hornmoen, director of business systems analysis at Shannex, who speaks to these successes in our newest testimonial video! It’s just under two and a half minutes but packed with valuable insights (including statistics) from Heidi. Read the quick snapshot below — or watch the video now. How Shannex boosts efficiency with the Yardi Senior Living Suite In choosing Yardi, Shannex had the goal of eliminating manual workflows and errors, centralizing data and boosting satisfaction among residents, as well as their family members. All these successes — plus more — were made possible when Shannex said yes to the Yardi Senior Living Suite.   “The time efficiencies we found were significant,” shares Heidi in the video. “We were able to reduce our [accounts payable] processes by 76%. We also found a 54% reduction in accounts receivable.” Describing the billing processes with Yardi as “amazing” — Heidi notes that with approximately 5,000 residents across their communities, these efficiencies have made a significant, positive impact. With less time spent on tasks that are now automated and streamlined with Yardi, Shannex can focus on serving residents. There’s more shared by Heidi in the video, so watch now to hear all the insights. The power of a single connected solution Not familiar with the Yardi Senior Living Suite? This integrated solution combines resident care, marketing, sales, finance, business intelligence, operations and more on a cloud-hosted, HIPAA and SOX-compliant software platform. Mobile, intuitive and efficient, this single connected solution has everything you need to manage your communities and drive growth. Learn more about...

See you at Argentum 2023

The Argentum Senior Living Executive Conference is nearly here — an annual gathering of industry professionals, operators, owners, executives and community leaders! You can find our senior living team in attendance throughout the three-day event, stationed at booth 3100 and ready to share the latest innovations in the Yardi Senior Living Suite.    With this can’t-be-missed opportunity on the horizon, here are the details to know: About the Argentum Senior Living Executive Conference The Argentum Senior Living Executive Conference & Expo, the official meeting of Argentum, is a must-attend event for senior living professionals. It offers the chance to connect with the leaders of today, discuss the challenges facing the industry and help shape what the future looks like. According to Argentum, no matter your role, title or job responsibilities, you will discover relevant sessions and education tracks designed for you at this year’s conference. Event details for Argentum 2023 Ready to see exactly what this year’s event has in store? View the details on Argentum’s site. We’ll share the high-level details here: Dates: May 8-10, 2023 Location: New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana In addition to our booth presence (details below), we’re excited to contribute to Argentum 2023 by sponsoring the registration. Once again, you can find important details and instructions to register on Argentum’s official conference page. Visit Team Yardi We know everyone wants to make the most out of Argentum 2023, and that requires networking and building connections as much as possible. Luckily, you’ll have the chance to meet with us — and thousands of your peers — throughout the three days. By meeting with us, you get a closer look at our evolving technology solutions designed specifically for senior living. You can find us at booth 3100 — we’ll be ready to show you all around the Yardi Senior Living Suite! From business intelligence to electronic health records, our amazing solutions unite on a single platform to help providers build success. You can get something on the books in advance by scheduling time to meet us at the conference, or simply stop by whenever you’d like. We look forward to connecting!  See you in May! We hope to see you at the 2023 Argentum Senior Living Executive Conference. If you have any questions for us prior to the three-day event, or you want to schedule a meeting time, don’t hesitate to reach...

Watch Now!

Eager to spend less time on manual processes and more time serving senior living residents? In the words of Joanie Williams, principal and chief financial officer at Watercrest Senior Living, “You need a system like Yardi.” That quote comes from our brand-new testimonial video which you guessed it, features Joanie Williams speaking about Watercrest’s successes with the Yardi Senior Living Suite. It’s a quick, informative video — only two minutes — so watch now to see Watercrest’s successes for yourself.   How Watercrest Senior Living thrives with Yardi With communities across independent living, assisted living and memory care, Watercrest Senior Living puts its focus on enhancing resident lives. That’s achieved with help from the Yardi Senior Living Suite, which replaces time-consuming tasks with integrated, automated workflows that allow Watercrest’s staff to shift their time toward what matters most — residents.   “There’s huge value because everything talks to one another, everything’s integrated,” shares Joanie in her testimonial.   To tease the video further, Joanie explains how that integration made Yardi stand out when it came time to select a technology partner — describing the choice as a “no-brainer.” She shares that when staff aren’t tied to manually building reports or inputting data, thanks to a platform that readily updates and centralizes information in one secure place, they can spend more time helping residents. And at the end of the day, that’s what Watercrest is empowered to do. With hours gained back from using Yardi software, time is now devoted to “making a better experience for our residents, and our associates,” notes Joanie.   We could tease the video further, but hearing directly from Watercrest is most impactful. Watch the two-minute video for more insights from Joanie.   More on the Yardi Senior Living Suite...

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...

Capturing Care Revenue...

How are today’s senior living operators building success and boosting their bottom line? In a recent article, Senior Housing News (SHN) highlights how some operators are getting creative to reach their goals — specifically, using technology to accurately capture care revenue. The article is packed with valuable insights, including those from our own senior director of sales, Richard Nix. Read the summary below then head to SHN to read the full post (requires SHN+ membership). Using technology to properly capture care revenue In today’s landscape, senior living organizations are facing margin compression and an ongoing staffing shortage. That means leaders are tasked with finding innovative ways to meet challenges head-on, with the goal of retaining care staff, boosting resident satisfaction and ultimately, growing their occupancy and increasing revenue. While operators have taken different approaches, one that has been particularly successful is learning to properly capture care revenue — and using technology to do so. Operators featured in the article explain their missteps prior to implementing the right tech solution, such as charging inaccurate rates. As these leaders have now discovered, integrated solutions like Yardi EHR have the power to eliminate those missteps entirely. How Yardi helps operators drive success To illustrate just how helpful technology can be in capturing care revenue, Richard Nix — our senior director of sales in senior living — joined SHN for an interview. His conversations are included in the SHN article, but we’ll summarize the key talking points. Nix shares that integration with an operator’s EHR platform helps reduce gaps in resident assessments, which improves their ability to get a holistic picture of a community’s resident care service lines — and identify where care billing could improve. “One of the biggest challenges to driving care revenue right now is...

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...

Manage Resident Vaccinations...

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenging journey for us all, including senior living providers and those within their communities. From identifying infections to meeting CDC guidelines to managing resident vaccinations — each challenge has required a creative solution to help communities stay safe. So as providers continue to navigate this era — and manage resident health in general — we’re focused on sharing all that our single connected solution does to help. It’s why we’ve put together resources like our vaccination infographic, which shares how Yardi EHR (our electronic health record solution) streamlines vaccine tracking and other key tasks. Ready to ease staff burden, improve resident health and keep your communities safe? Explore the infographic below to see how Yardi EHR does it all, helping you navigate COVID-19 and other infectious diseases: Stay informed with a comprehensive solution Yardi EHR is a full-service electronic health record solution for senior living providers. Built with several features that help you deliver the best care, this integrated solution offers an infection surveillance and immunization dashboard to help caregivers document — and monitor — essential information relating to COVID-19. Manage resident vaccinations Empower care staff Meet CDC guidelines Keep communities safe Learn how Yardi EHR benefits today’s providers With Yardi EHR, you’re equipped to schedule vaccinations, track appointments, record symptoms, chart collectively, monitor reactions and detect diseases — all from a single platform. Learn more about Yardi EHR. Start helping your residents today If you’re an existing Yardi EHR client, adding the infection surveillance and immunization dashboard couldn’t be easier. The implementation process is quick, efficient and seamless once you submit a case via Client Central (or by contacting your account manager). You’ll be set to manage initial vaccinations, track booster shots and more in no time....

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...

Meet Yardi Energy  

Did you know that by 2050, the total number of adults ages 65 and older is projected to rise to 85.7 million, roughly 20% of the U.S. population? Delivered by America’s Health Rankings, this data reveals the growth of the aging population (taking into account that we’re at 54 million seniors in the U.S. today). So how does this relate to senior living operators? Simply put, as the aging population continues to grow, the number of seniors residing in communities will likely increase. This affects more things than one, including energy consumption in these communities. More residents, expanding properties and increased services equals more energy use. And without technology built to monitor that consumption and identify areas for improvement, senior living operators face heightened costs. Fortunately, leading solutions like the Yardi Energy Suite equip you to reduce costs and enhance efficiency all while meeting state, county and local benchmarking regulations. We’re excited to show you around this single connected solution below, but you can view our Yardi Energy guide for even more insights. The rise in energy consumption As we’ve covered, with more seniors living in communities, energy consumption will naturally increase. But monitoring consumption — and strategizing ways to save energy and reduce costs — isn’t easy. That is, without technology to lend a hand. In fact, the average building wastes roughly one-third of the energy it consumes, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. This could be a result of not having the right solution in place to track consumption and identify savings opportunities. How to save Energy matters in senior living. With the right technology solution, you can save big time and boost efficiency all while meeting state, county and local benchmarking regulations (there are over 40 jurisdictions with mandatory...

Start Your Digital Transformation

Ever heard the term digital transformation? According to a recent white paper by LeadingAge, the concept is critical for senior living operators to understand — as it offers a way to reimagine how they run their communities. There’s a lot covered in the resource, so we put together a quick summary below! Read on to learn what digital transformation means, why it matters in senior living and how you can maximize your potential with this information in mind. Digital transformation defined First things first, what is digital transformation? LeadingAge defines the term as follows: Digital transformation is the process and journey of using digital technologies to create new — or modify existing — organizational processes, culture and resident/staff experiences to meet changing business and market requirements. While technology platforms are a key element, digital transformation is more than installing a single solution. It begins and ends with how you think about, and engage with, residents and staff. In relation to senior living, LeadingAge says that digital transformation is critical to the future sustainability of operators. Why is digital transformation critical?   LeadingAge explains that various factors make digital transformation critical for today’s senior living organizations. One key factor is the industry-wide staffing shortage, which is driving the need to abandon manual processes and opt for digital workflows to ease staff burden. Looking at the big picture, shifting to a digital system helps operators boost productivity, reduce costs, improve resident and staff experiences and so much more. Especially when digital workflows unite on a single platform, like the Yardi Senior Living Suite. How can senior living operators navigate a digital transformation? The white paper — Digital Transformation in Aging Services — outlines how senior living organizations can transition to digital workflows with three key elements in mind. These elements (the three Ps) include people, process and platforms. Starting with people, LeadingAge states that a successful digital transformation is largely dependent on your existing personnel and stakeholders. You need to assess their digital skills and understanding, provide clarity on what role they’ll play in adopting new technology and decide what training is needed. Outside of internal people like staff, the white paper reveals that external people — such as family members and volunteers — also play an important role in digital transformation. Next up is process, more specifically identifying, analyzing and improving existing processes. The white paper shares how taking a closer look at processes helps operators eliminate weak points in their current operations, as well as: Improve productivity, efficiency, utilization and quality Reduce operational budget by effectively using assets and resources Eliminate waste and duplication of tasks Reduce friction in business processes Improve the staff and resident experience Reduce process completion time LeadingAge also shares a few questions operators can ask themselves when looking at processes, such as: How can we employ digital technology to standardize and automate processes that are repetitive and redundant? How can digital technology help us organize data to provide faster, more accurate and more predictive views on our business? How do we leverage digital technology to generate and act on meaningful customer insights that can help improve our services? The last element introduced is platforms, otherwise referred to as technology. Simply put, the platform/technology element provides the actual tools that operators need to go digital.   Yardi senior living solutions When it comes to the third element outlined by LeadingAge, the technology itself, it’s important to find a solution that’s built for the unique needs of senior living. Also, one that offers tools that integrate with one another to ensure you maximize efficiency at the highest level. The Yardi Senior Living Suite does it all, combining everything you need on a cloud-based, centralized platform. It’s built for operators of all types and sizes and includes tools for financials, marketing, care and more. Explore the Yardi Senior Living Suite. Read the white paper If you’re ready...

Watch On-Demand Webinars

We all learn best in different ways, whether it’s by reading a post like this one, exploring visual resources like an infographic or watching a short video. It’s why our senior living team seeks to bring a variety of resources to the table (including all of the above) when demonstrating functionality in the Yardi Senior Living Suite. As such, we’re excited to share our senior living webinars today, which offer the opportunity to explore our solutions via on-demand videos. They’re quick, informative and packed with what operators need to know. And since they’re on-demand, you can watch at your convenience! Simply fill out the short registration form and voila, you’re set to view the webinar when your schedule allows. Ready to start watching? See below to find the Senior Living Suite webinars we’ve worked to bring you: Yardi Voyager Senior Housing Create a foundation for success with an online, mobile-friendly platform for property management and finance. Designed for providers of all types and sizes, Yardi Voyager Senior Housing is a complete accounting system that integrates with solutions for every aspect of senior living. Join our senior living webinar to learn how Voyager helps you: Simplify accounting with a full general ledger system Improve transparency through centralized record keeping Enhance staff productivity with automated tasks and workflows Scale your operations by adding solutions for marketing, care and more Register for the Voyager Senior Housing webinar. Yardi Senior IQ Operational and financial data alone doesn’t cut costs, increase revenue, balance risk or optimize resident care. Actionable insight does, and that’s where Yardi Senior IQ comes in. Join this senior living webinar to learn how our dynamic business intelligence solution drives smarter, faster decisions for single communities or an entire portfolio. We’ll show you how Yardi Senior IQ: Uncovers new insights from internal benchmarks and industry comparisons Satisfies investors, board members and senior leadership with real-time data Helps staff focus on resident care by eliminating spreadsheets, siloed databases and other inefficient operations Empowers teams with role-based, customizable dashboards that display metrics that matter to them Register for the Yardi Senior IQ webinar. Yardi EHR Drive superior resident care with efficient record keeping and medication management. Yardi EHR offers the convenience of mobile, electronic assessments, care planning, incident tracking and more. Watch our senior living webinar to learn how Yardi EHR helps: Simplify charting to increase time for resident care Capture all care costs from assessments Cut medication administration costs and processing times Comply with government reporting regulations Register for the Yardi EHR webinar. Yardi eMAR How can senior living providers and pharmacies work together efficiently? With an effective electronic medication management solution! Yardi eMAR streamlines caregiver tasks by consolidating medication management, health records and finance in one single database. Register for this senior living webinar to see how Yardi eMAR enables you to: Pass medications securely across your communities Build stronger bonds and increase resident satisfaction Reduce paper documentation and cut associated processing time Eliminate risks by digitizing the medication management process Register for the Yardi eMAR webinar. RentCafe Senior Living Set your communities apart by offering residents and their families the ability to stay connected. RentCafe Senior Living is an online portal for managing payments, reviewing health and wellness records, communicating with caregivers and submitting service requests whenever, wherever. Join our senior living webinar to learn how RentCafe Senior Living works to: Increase cash flow with online payment options Enable fast and easy maintenance requests Drive resident engagement through community calendars Collect confidential feedback from residents and families Register for the RentCafe Senior Living webinar. RentCafe Senior CRM Nurture leads and maximize occupancy with a powerful customer relationship management solution for senior living. RentCafe Senior CRM offers instant visibility into sales and marketing activities, with prospect information flowing from sales counselors to caregivers to finance and billing staff. Watch this senior living webinar to discover how RentCafe Senior CRM allows you...

Your Business Intelligence Guide

You’ve likely heard the term business intelligence (BI) before, but have you explored the capabilities of BI tools for senior living? Our newest ebook guides you through it, offering concrete ways senior living operators can use BI tools to their advantage. We cover the top benefits of BI software and features to look for when selecting a solution, then share how Yardi Senior IQ stands out from the crowd. Be sure to download a free copy of the ebook for all the insights! Why should you use business intelligence? Given the tech-driven world we’re in today, it’s no surprise that 80% of organizations are using BI software, according to a 2022 Gartner survey. But beyond simply being in a technology era, leaders are choosing to implement BI solutions based on the ability to unlock critical data — all at the click of a button. That real-time data enables smarter, faster decision-making. As outlined in the ebook, business intelligence helps senior living operators (and other leaders alike) enable data visualization, streamline decisions and educate staff at all levels. That includes managers across marketing, operations and care, not just C-suite executives. You can read the ebook for more details on what BI tools have to offer. The big takeaway is that business intelligence opens doors that manual data processes can’t — helping operators drive growth in their communities. Selecting the solution for you How does one sort through different business intelligence solutions? It’s important to find a transparent vendor who shares exactly what their solution does to help operators succeed. You should be looking for ease of use, customization options and a wide range of capabilities when vetting BI solutions. Check out the ebook for a list of what to look for beyond those must-haves. Say hello to Yardi Senior IQ We can’t go through the benefits of business intelligence without a solution to demonstrate. With that, say hello to Senior IQ! Senior IQ is a cloud-based, integrated business intelligence solution hosted in the Yardi Senior Living Suite. As a BI solution built for the unique needs of senior living, Senior IQ offers real-time data that’s relevant to you. There’s a range of things that make Senior IQ a differentiator, but to name a few, Senior IQ offers: Attractive, customizable dashboards 640+ pre-configured KPIs Internal benchmarks and NIC industry comparison data Portfolio-wide insights plus drill down capabilities HIPAA and SOX compliant workflows Head over to the ebook for the full list, as well as an inside look at dashboards and KPIs being created in Senior IQ today. See what Yardi clients are saying “Yardi Senior IQ is fantastic because it establishes orderly workflows and creates new reports from existing ones, complete with custom dashboards,” shares Michael Bowles, project coordinator at Dial Senior Living. “Investors can get very specific information on demand without having to wait for us to send it.” You’ll find a few more testimonials like this one in the ebook. Getting started with Senior IQ Curious about the implementation process with Senior IQ? Let’s just say you’re not building charts from the ground up. Data is automatically pulled from tools in the Yardi Senior Living Suite — from financials to marketing to care — and populated in Senior IQ. Implementing Senior IQ can be achieved in just two weeks, much less than the median implementation timeline for BI software (approximately four months, according to BI-Survey). Read the ebook While snapshots like this are great, we encourage you to read the ebook for a closer look at business intelligence tools! If you have any questions about Senior IQ, visit page 14 of the ebook to book a personalized demo with team...