Presbyterian Senior Living

By on May 23, 2013 in People

Carroll Village

Carroll Village

Presbyterian Senior Living communities were named among the Top Nursing Homes by U.S. News and World Report. Take a look inside of this award-winning nonprofit and into the future of senior housing.

Yardi client Presbyterian Senior Living traces its roots back to the humble town of Newville, Penn. It began in 1927 with the donation of a 91-acre field and farmhouse, later known as the Parker House. Nine women became Presbyterian Senior Living’s first tenants.

86 years later, the not-for-profit organization has blossomed into one of the nation’s most respected senior housing authorities. With headquarters in Dillsburg, Penn, the organization has spread to 35 locations throughout the mid-Atlantic and east coast regions, touching the lives of over 5,500 seniors.

Chrissi Gerbig, Assistant Controller for Affordable Housing, recalls the driving force behind the nonprofit. “The mission of Presbyterian Senior Living is to offer Christian understanding, compassion and a sense of belonging to promote wholeness of body, mind and spirit,” Chrissi says. “One of the things that make Presbyterian Senior Living different than other senior care providers is that no resident has ever been asked to leave our network of care because he or she outlived available resources.  In 2012, the caring support of our contributors enabled us to provide over $25 million in benevolent support.”

Presbyterian Senior Living’s top tier care is what makes the organization stand out among others in the industry. Their facilities have received CARF-CCAC Five-Year Accreditation, affiliation with AAHSA’s Quality First Initiative, and CMS Five-Star Ratings. Throughout the region, seniors have access to affordable housing, independent living, personal care, assisted living, skilled nursing and rehabilitation, adult day services, and at-home services.

Reaching such heights starts with a fire from within. The organization encourages an attitude of philanthropy: employees have contributed more than $90,000 to charities and logged more than 141,000 hours towards community outreach programs. This caring environment fosters further good works among residents. Those who are able also participate in community service, offering their time to volunteer in schools, venture forth on missions trips, and help those recovering from natural disasters.

Maintaining high standards has proven to be hard work but the staff of Presbyterian Senior Living is committed to achieving excellence. The team stays organized and in sync using Yardi Voyager, the industry leading web-based, management system for their HUD properties and LIHTC properties.  Chrissi is excited to introduce Yardi software to some newly-acquired properties over the next few months. “We are in the process of converting seven properties by May first.   At those sites prior to the conversion, all of the compliance functions were processed using spreadsheets or another system that was not fully-integrated with the financial system,” Chrissi explains. “We are excited to implement a system that fully integrates the compliance, affordable, and financial functions for the properties.  It will increase efficiency and allow for consistent reporting to upper management, as well as to other outside agencies, investors, etc.”

Yardi Voyager’s basic functionalities are being implemented with enthusiasm but the organization’s staff knows that there is more to the program beyond the surface. To reap the greatest benefits from Yardi software, Presbyterian Senior Living has four representatives attending the Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference (YASC), which concludes today in Washington, DC. Past conferences have helped the team familiarize themselves with Yardi tools and they are eager to learn more, such as the ins and outs of ad hoc reporting, custom analytics, compliance reporting, lease workflows, correcting tenant ledgers, submitting vouchers, and streamlining financial statements across all of the Presbyterian Senior Living’s affordable properties.

Valerie Fishel, Compliance Manager, is attending YASC again this year. “This year, I’m taking many of the HUD classes since I will be responsible for learning the compliance for two HUD properties,” she says. “Last year, I really liked the tax credit best practices—that’s a really great class. I learned so much and I was able to share that information with other staff members when we got back.” Valerie also benefited from the Tips and Tricks sessions. “I highly recommend the Tips and Tricks class. Those were also really informative.”

Upcoming dates for YASC conferences include Fall YASC 2013 in Anaheim, CA –on October 9-11, and Spring YASC 2014 in Washington, DC on May 28-30, 2014.