Yardi Senior Forum

Insight from Argentum CEO

By Leah Etling on Apr 25, 2018 in News

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Yardi Senior Living Forum kicked off two days of classes and networking with an insightful presentation from Argentum President and CEO James Balda, who revealed two of the most pressing challenges facing the senior living industry.

Argentum, the leading trade organization for senior living, was formerly called the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA). The organization recently changed its name to reflect the evolving nature of the industry, Balda shared. Senior living communities now encompass multiple lifestyles and care standards, which require a broader definition than simply “assisted living.”

Argentum, which means silver in Latin, is intended to reflect the clientele the industry serves as well as the organization’s intent to set leading standards for senior living communities across the nation. With the “silver tsunami” of aging Baby Boomers set to have a major impact over the next decade, there will be an increased focus on senior housing and care.

But right now, the industry faces two major challenges, Balda revealed: labor shortfalls and declining occupancy.

“We are struggling everywhere, in all markets around the country, to find talent,” he said. The industry currently employs around 1 million people, but in the next 7 years will need to hire 1.2 million more. Around 900,000 of those will be replacements for existing staff due to the industry’s high turnover rate in a tight labor market. The additional 300,000 will be new hires to meet the needs of aging Baby Boomers.

“Senior living isn’t really seen as a career path. Nobody is waking up in the morning as a kid and saying ‘I want to go into senior living for my career,’” Balda said. But the good news is that senior living does have a compelling mission as an industry and features ample opportunities for advancement. Many current executives began their career paths as frontline caregivers and then moved into the management ranks.

To help combat the challenges, Argentum plans programming on recruitment that will be introduced at its upcoming conference in San Diego, set for May 14-16 in San Diego. Learn more here.

The other current challenge faced by the senior living industry is low occupancy numbers. Development of senior living facilities in anticipation of the silver tsunami is already well underway, but because those future residents haven’t yet begun leaving their homes, supply is up while the number of prospects is down. There are currently around 10,000 senior living providers in the U.S.

According to Argentum, compared to ten years ago, seniors typically enter a residential facility later in life, well into their 80s, and stay for an average of 22 months. Meanwhile, communities are facing greater responsibilities for providing resident medical care.

When coupled with the staffing challenges, the situation sounds daunting, but Balda advocates that technology providers like Yardi are developing solutions that will help.

“We are going to need to use technology as a means to become more productive and more efficient,” he said. “I’m talking about information technology, platforms that will enable your caregivers to spend more time with the resident.”

Yardi’s Senior Living software suite is equipped to handle all stages of the resident journey, from marketing and CRM, to resident care and medical tracking, to family communication and accounting. Learn more here.

The Yardi Senior Forum continues through Thursday evening at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort in Santa Barbara. Follow the conversation online and post your own updates using the hashtag #YardiForum.