It’s National Skilled Nursing Care Week (NSNCW)! Established by the American Health Care Association (ACHA) in 1967, this week-long observance recognizes the essential role of skilled nursing care centers in caring for America’s seniors and disabled population.    Skilled nursing care centers across the country are hosting events to mark the occasion, which runs through May 14. And this year’s theme — Creating and Nurturing Connections — is especially inspiring.   We’re here to share the meaning behind NSNCW and offer some ideas to celebrate. We hope you’ll join us in recognizing skilled nursing care centers, and their staff members, for all that they do to improve residents’ lives.   All about NSNCW Skilled nursing care centers and their staff are no stranger to dedication. They continuously strive to provide high-level care for their residents, no matter the circumstance. And we’ve seen just how committed they are throughout the last two years of the pandemic. They’ve worked to provide exceptional care without fail, protecting residents around the clock during periods of limited visitation and social distancing. Staff members became family members and friends when residents needed social connection more than ever. It’s why this year’s theme, developed by ACHA, is perfectly fitting. The focus of this year’s NSNCW is simple: celebrate the essential role that skilled nursing care centers and staff play in creating and nurturing connections for their residents. Learn more about the role of skilled nursing care centers and staff, as well as details on NSNCW 2022. ​How to celebrate Don’t miss your chance to celebrate NSNCW! Drawn from ACHA’s 2022 planning guide, we have a list of activities designed to help residents staff and families create new connections — and nurture existing ones. Working together, we encourage you to create and...

Senior living is an ever-changing industry. It’s important for software solutions to adapt, grow and advance to meet providers’ needs as they shift. That’s our approach here at Yardi — our team constantly works to gather client feedback and enhance tools in the Yardi Senior Living Suite. From adding new features to improving usability, we bundle everything into a fresh release for our senior living clients to enjoy. And you guessed it, we’re sharing the latest release with you today, packed with exciting new functionality. Keep reading for a look at what’s new in 7.16, including enhancements to Yardi Voyager Senior Housing, RentCafe Senior Living, EHR and eMAR.   Voyager Senior Housing Voyager Senior Housing, our comprehensive financial accounting tool, received multiple enhancements. Access a new reapply payments option, track payer type history and more. Assign maintenance tasks thanks to an updated unit make ready feature, plus utilize an editable service charge rate option and new import ETLs. Watch the overview video RentCafe Senior CRM Enjoy various new features in RentCafe Senior CRM, our mobile-friendly sales and marketing platform. Explore a new lead manager dashboard, lease signing updates and detailed move-in data based on physical or financial dates. Enjoy the ability to create bulk activities for a prospect — and see automatic updates to move-in, lead and tour goals based on occupancy budgets. Copy setup information with ease when adding a new community to your portfolio.  Watch the overview video EHR Our full-service electronic health record solution, Yardi EHR, is equipped with fresh functionality. Tap into a late entry feature in the wounds dashboard, as well as strikethrough functionality in both the wounds and behaviors dashboards. Schedules can now be defaulted like care plan actions for wound progress checks, and assessments can now be...

When one thinks about big sustainability impacts, agriculture, energy production and other brawny industries often come to mind. But the manufacture, transport and disposal of t-shirts, pajamas, blouses and other garments create a sizeable footprint too. In fact, garment production and transportation account for up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than the aviation and shipping sectors combined. Growing and dyeing clothing material consumes 93 billion metric tons of clean water globally each year, about half of what Americans drink annually. Scientists estimate that 35% of the microplastics in the world’s oceans, which can take hundreds of years to decompose, can be traced to textiles. Three-quarters of shirts and shoes end up burned or buried in landfills. Less than 1% of clothing is recycled into new garments and over 25% of returned items end up being thrown out. “Because it is hard to make a better performing or more efficient blouse, handbag, or pair of socks, to motivate consumption, the industry pushes change. Not better — just different, cheaper, or faster,” said Kenneth P. Pucker, former COO of footwear manufacturer Timberland, writing in Harvard Business Review in January. ‘The biggest issue’ for the industry Statistics like these are why Judith Magyar, a brand contributor to Forbes, describes sustainability as “arguably the biggest issue confronting fashion brands right now.” The industry, she says, “is waking up to the fact that decreasing its environmental impact will pay big dividends to both its constituent companies as well as society at large.” Rising environmental, social and governance scrutiny is one reason for this growing awareness. “Younger consumers value transparency, honesty and authenticity. Companies that are upfront with their products — everything from where and how they are manufactured to the materials used and the environmental impact — may...

The pandemic was a wakeup call, affecting families and businesses and putting pressure on all levels of government to quickly provide financial assistance. One key lesson: without the right technology tools, it’s impossible to effectively assist those struggling to keep households and businesses afloat. What is your organization’s strategy to assist those affected when the next crisis hits? If relief funds are again available from federal, state, or local sources, are you confident that your agency will be able to expediently reach affected households, efficiently qualify them and securely disburse funds? Here are four factors to consider if you’re developing an implementation strategy for a direct-to-beneficiary economic relief program: 1. Outreach is Key Financial assistance programs are extremely targeted in nature. You need to reach households in qualified crisis quickly and outreach to the affected community is the best strategy. To be successful, you need mobile-friendly software that staff can easily get into the hands of applicants. Relying solely on paper applications and fielding office visits will not be sufficient. Consider the Connecticut Department of Housing’s successful outreach efforts in marketing its $420 million emergency rental assistance program, Unite CT. The Unite CT bus is an outstanding example of using mobile technology to make it fast and easy for potential beneficiaries to learn about available funds and submit digital applications. 2. Offer Live Support Agencies that make it easy to apply for help are the most effective in assisting their communities. Live telephone support staff are critical in helping families and business owners navigate the application process and ensure they submit necessary information and documentation. Equally important is having trained caseworkers available to quickly and accurately review submitted assistance applications and approve the distribution of assistance. A strong technology platform will make the jobs...

How can senior living providers use business intelligence (BI) tools to elevate their communities? We have the answer for you, and it comes in the form of a brand-new case study. We sat down with Michael Schefter, chief financial officer at Cascadia Senior Living to learn how Yardi Senior IQ has changed the company’s day-to-day processes for the better. From streamlined operations to saved time — Cascadia is reaping the benefits of a single connected BI solution.   Here’s a quick snapshot of the case study, which covers exactly how Senior IQ helps Cascadia prosper. An introduction to Cascadia Senior Living  Cascadia Senior Living & Development is devoted to their residents. Founded in 2013 and based in the Pacific Northwest, Cascadia manages over 13 senior housing properties with a focus on independent living, assisted living, memory care and respite care. Cascadia believes it takes a group effort — residents, their families, their friends and the Cascadia staff — to create vibrant communities. Most importantly, they’re always striving to better their communities. With help from technology, Cascadia drills into individual communities to uncover specific details — finding new ways to improve residents’ quality of life. The challenge with siloed solutions & jeopardized data Before adopting a single connected solution, Cascadia was manually pulling data from disparate sources. Finance, accounting and operations teams were devoting hours to extracting raw data each month, searching for specific metrics, making calculations and transposing data into graphs and slide decks. Digging for specific answers was part of the job — but it wasn’t an efficient use of time. With rapidly expanding communities and a larger pool of metrics, time wasn’t the only issue. Data integrity became a primary concern. Cascadia faced increased discrepancies, manual errors and ultimately, jeopardized data. They...

Earth Day began on April 22, 1970, as a response to environmental deterioration. Inspired by the 1969 Santa Barbara offshore oil spill and other catastrophes, U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson (D-Wis.) teamed with Rep. Pete McCloskey (R-Calif.) and activist Denis Hayes to organize a series of college teach-ins. The inaugural event went far beyond campuses, drawing 20 million Americans – 10% of the population – to demonstrations and teach-ins at schools, parks and auditoriums. “Pogo” cartoonist Walt Kelly created a promotional poster. New York City Mayor John Lindsay closed Fifth Avenue to cars and gave an impassioned speech. President and Mrs. Nixon planted a tree on the White House grounds. April 22 became affixed on calendars as Earth Day. Happy earth day banner to celebrate environmental safety One of Earth Day’s enduring legacies is providing a common frame of reference for a disparate range of animal conservation groups, anti-pollution activists and others. “I think the most important thing that Earth Day did was to take all of those different threads and weave them together into this fabric of modern environmentalism, to help them understand that they were operating from similar sets of values,” says Hayes, who remains active in environmental causes. “Earth Day has grown into a secular holiday recognized by billions of people and which has no goal beyond building a better world,” Rolling Stone writer Jeff Goodell said in a 2020 profile of Hayes. This year on April 22, under the theme of “Invest in Our Planet,” millions of private citizens, business leaders, government officials, academics and students around the world will recognize “our collective responsibility and to help accelerate the transition to an equitable, prosperous green economy for all,” according to EARTHDAY.org, a nonprofit that arose from the initial event. EARTHDAY.org will...

There’s no shortage of senior living events this year — but which are worth attending? How should providers fill their calendar for the remainder of 2022? While there are many trade shows packed with valuable takeaways, we’re here to share a few recommendations. These events offer opportunities to connect with experts, discover emerging solutions and ultimately, explore the future of the industry. You’ll find team Yardi in attendance at each, ready to greet you and answer questions about our senior living management software. Keep reading for a roundup of upcoming events to put on your radar. FALA Annual Conference & Tradeshow Happy 30 year anniversary to the Florida Assisted Living Association (FALA)! With decades of industry success, FALA’s Annual Conference & Tradeshow is a fantastic setting to learn tips for navigating an ever-changing industry. Whether you’re eager to network with other professionals, receive updates about the latest industry trends or connect with vendors who can help you deliver better care, this year’s conference has it all. You’ll find team Yardi at booth 423. We’ll show you how our single connected solution helps providers streamline operations and deliver excellent care. Schedule time to connect with us at the conference. Event details: Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Orlando, Florida May 31-June 2, 2022 CALA Spring Conference & Trade Show Join over 900 providers and top decision makers at the 2022 CALA Spring Conference & Trade Show, including CEOs, CFOs, COOs, executive directors, clinical staff, marketing professionals and more. You’ll tap into a wealth of resources and learn what’s driving the senior living industry forward. Be sure to meet our team at booth 52 where we’ll discuss how the Yardi Senior Living Suite works to empower staff, automate workflows and enhance resident satisfaction. Visit this page to schedule...

In 2019 we reported on Local Law 97, a key element of the Climate Mobilization Act enacted in New York City in May of that year. Described by the Urban Green Council as “the most ambitious climate legislation for buildings enacted by any city in the world,” Local Law 97 aims to drastically reduce carbon emissions from buildings, which account for more than 70% of the city’s emissions. With the 2024 initial compliance milestone on the horizon, the time seems right for a recap. The ordinance imposes stringent carbon emission limits for most commercial properties over 25,000 square feet. It will impact more than 57,000 buildings and mandate reductions of 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050 through caps, energy upgrades and retrofits. The first set of emissions caps carry stiff financial penalties for noncompliance – potentially millions of dollars in some cases. The first cap will go into effect in 2024. The city is responsible for setting new rules and regulations by the beginning of 2023. A new Office of Building Energy and Emissions Performance will clarify building categories, calculate emissions formulas before the first caps take effect and establish emissions limits for 2035-2039, 2040-2049 and beyond. The city also created a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program to help building owners finance energy retrofits and renewable energy projects, such as green roofs, solar energy systems, window insulation, upgraded HVAC systems, improvements to sealing and air ventilation. By the time the law’s tougher requirements take hold in 2030 and later, more labor- and capital-intensive upgrades will be necessary. Some easy fixes Some of the mandatory fixes are fairly easy, such as replacing incandescent light bulbs with LEDs, insulating heating pipes, covering or removing window air conditioner units in the winter, tuning and operating boilers correctly,...

With 40% of the U.S. west of the continental divide classified as being in “exceptional drought” and two-thirds of the world’s population facing water shortages by 2025, an old tactic is getting a fresh look. Authorities around the world are increasingly employing artificial weather modification to spur more rainfall. That usually means seeding clouds, which involves using aircraft or drones to add small particles of silver iodide, whose structure is similar to ice, to clouds. Water droplets cluster around the particles, and when enough droplets combine, they become heavy enough to fall to the ground as precipitation. Another technique, hygroscopic seeding, uses salt to encourage water droplets to collide and produce rain in warm clouds. The practice doesn’t create clouds but maximizes rain from naturally occurring ones. “With drought still a major concern, cloud seeding is an encouraged technology for Wyoming to use based on our drought contingency plan,” says Julie Gondzar, an official in the state’s water development office. “It is an inexpensive way to help add water to our basins, in small, incremental amounts over long periods of time.” “Rain enhancement has the potential to offer a more cost effective, sustainable and much less environmentally damaging option than other solutions, such as desalination” that relies on energy-intensive thermal desalination plants and produces waste that can damage marine ecosystems, adds Alya Al Mazroui, director of the United Arab Emirates’ Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science. Induced rain carries benefits, risks The practice of cloud seeding dates to the 1940s. Today, more than 50 countries around the world have weather modification programs. China reportedly cleared the skies by shooting salt-filled bullets into clouds ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2017 alone, the UAE, which gets about 4 inches of rain annually, carried out 242...

Affordable housing providers and public housing agencies across the country are celebrating Fair Housing throughout the month of April, led by HUD’s annual commemoration of the Fair Housing Act. What better time to look at how a smart approach to delivering service to the community can make a positive impact and promote equality? Reducing use of paper forms and in-person meetings with applicants, residents and participants is a smart strategy for affordable housing providers and PHAs to minimize exposure to fair housing claims. That’s because digital apps that qualify households for assistance eliminate the possibility of housing specialists unlawfully influencing the submission of an application or steering applicants to certain properties. Here are three ways to leverage digital affordable housing workflows to help keep in fair housing compliance. Stay Non-Partial While it is natural for employees to want to help customers, a hands-off approach is often better for everyone. Fair housing laws dictate that households are free to seek residency wherever they like. Neighborhoods or city districts cannot lawfully be unwelcoming, inaccessible or unavailable to households because specific demographic criteria. The most basic way to make sure affordable housing applicants have the freedom to consider a property for residence is to leave the decision up to them. Housing specialists should not be part of the process of deciding what neighborhood would be best for a prospective renter, lest you expose your organization to the perception of steering applicants to properties. Publicizing available units on the web ensures everyone has equal access to your list of properties and vacant units. There’s no need for your team to tell applicants about one property or the other because your applicants can see all vacancies online without need for assistance. Eliminate the Language Barrier Housing providers must accommodate...

How can property owners meet the growing demand for environmental, social and governance performance accountability from residents, tenants and investors? Yardi client representatives who lead ESG reporting for their organizations and an official from GRESB, the ESG benchmark for real estate assets, recently offered some insight. Juliette Apicella, director of sustainability for Atlanta-based apartment owner and manager Gables Residential Services, was one of three industry experts who appeared on a YASC Global panel. “More investors are interested in details about our ESG policies and achievements,” she said. That prompted the company to use ESG as “a tool that helps us monitor our assets’ environmental performance as a driver of returns.” Gables has stepped up its recruitment of employees, partners and residents in the effort to incorporate environmental priorities into its operations. Another panelist, Jennifer Plesnicar, vice president for Chicago-area industrial developer and manager CenterPoint Properties Trust, sounded a similar note: “ESG is becoming more important each year” among multiple company stakeholders. “How a company responds to ESG expectations can impact operations ranging from borrowing rates to talent attraction and tenant retention,” she said. The widespread attention to ESG is “pushing the real estate industry forward,” said the third panelist, Dan Winters, head of Americas for GRESB, which collects and validates data and disseminates it to more than 150 institutional real estate investors around the world. “Getting accurate ESG data, rolling it up to the portfolio level and sharing it with the industry increases insight for a company, which appeals to its institutional investors, and also provides better outcomes for GRESB participants.” Overcoming data gathering challenges All panelists agreed that the principal challenge to managing an organization’s ESG performance is gathering, tracking and disseminating the consumption data necessary to formulate ESG actions. “A lot of...

Ready to explore our Yardi EHR mobile apps? Each app — Care Stream and EHR Assessments — has undergone a fresh round of enhancements built to help senior living staff succeed. Keep reading to learn about the latest functionality in both apps: New functionality & expanded compatibility in Care Stream Thanks to Care Stream’s 1.29 update and release, senior care staff can now utilize a simplified task workflow. Shown as either their resident or task summary view, the enhanced workflow displays upcoming tasks using clear, pre-configured icons — all crafted to help staff streamline daily responsibilities and deliver better care. When caregivers enter the task summary view, they’ll see a resident photo, an icon related to a particular task and a color-coded icon representing the level of assistance needed. So if a resident is due for a bath that day, caregivers will see a bath icon in conjunction with a green icon representing minimal assistance, a yellow icon for moderate assistance or a red icon indicating extensive assistance. This means staff members see exactly how to care for each resident — and how much assistance is needed — at a glance. For staff with vision impairments or non-English speakers, these icons are especially beneficial. In addition to viewing their entire task list, staff can also use the icons to filter by individual task for added convenience and time savings. And that’s not all — the Care Stream app also received a compatibility update. Windows 10 users can now download Care Stream directly to their laptop or tablet, rather than utilizing the desktop version. This allows more staff, across varying communities, to utilize the app and access its benefits. Ready to see more? Be sure to download the Yardi EHR Care Stream app on the...

When it comes to viewing clinical data, senior living providers need a solution that paints the full picture. How many resident falls occurred during a particular shift this week? What percentage of residents are vaccinated against COVID-19? Thanks to the latest Senior IQ update — 1.18 to be exact — these answers are available at the click of a button.   That’s right, this business intelligence solution now draws clinical data directly from Yardi EHR and presents it in brand-new dashboards. You can track clinical trends, identify residents at risk, pinpoint problems and improve protocols — all from a single platform. No more digging for answers or making best guesses. With Senior IQ, you’re enabled to make smarter, faster decisions based on actionable information. Ready to see more? Let’s get right to it. See below for a highlight of the new dashboards and enhancements in Senior IQ: Analyze resident falls Courtesy of the new clinical falls dashboard, Senior IQ clients now have access to detailed fall metrics. Here you’ll see fall rates by month, check whether repeat falls are occurring, view falls categorized by time of day and more. With clear, valuable information presented in the dashboard, you’re equipped to tie falls back to staffing, identify protocol problems and ultimately uncover what’s jeopardizing resident safety. And these detailed fall reports help you develop action plans to prevent future incidents. Streamline reporting   Ready to simplify your reporting process? With Senior IQ, you’ll tap into insightful data that’s automatically updated from the previous day. Each dashboard’s data points were carefully selected by Yardi’s clinical and compliance team to help you track quality measures and performance metrics. Track vaccinations We know the importance of vaccination tracking, especially in communities today. Luckily, the new clinical vaccination dashboard...

Are you a right-brained creative or a left-brained pragmatic? And when it comes to property marketing, which is better? That is the subject up for discussion at the Apartment Innovation and Marketing Conference (AIM) this year. For years, there has been a belief that people favor one side of the brain or the other. The theory goes that people with right-brain dominance tend to be imaginative while those with left-brain dominance are inclined to be logical. Recent research shows that the brain is not nearly as dichotomous as previously thought. In fact, many talents are strongest when both halves of the brain collaborate. “The pop psychology notion of a left brain and a right brain doesn’t capture their intimate working relationship,” science writer Carl Zimmer explained in an article for Discover magazine. That said, the popularity of the theory still holds out. People love to find out which is the dominant side of their brain. So why not take a quiz? Then get marketing tips geared toward each talent and learn how to marry the two for property marketing success at AIM 2022. Right-brained or left-brained? Take the quiz. Tips for right-brained marketers Right-brained marketers are intuitive and expressive with a strong interest in storytelling and visuals. Use your creativity to build a strong brand on social media. Focus on creating a compelling visual library that tells the story of your community.Stay up to speed on design trends in different industries — including fashion, interior and tech — then challenge the larger marketing team to incorporate them into initiatives collateral and website updates. Tips for left-brained marketers Left-brained marketers are planned and orderly with a strong interest in results and analytics. Take charge of your company’s paid search campaigns. Compile performance data or use...

You never want things to go wrong, but when they do, you want to be prepared. In many cases, property management tech can help. When news broke of a resident in distress and it seemed like they could injure themselves or others within a quiet New Jersey apartment community, police were quick to arrive on scene to alleviate the situation.   But things escalated when the issue couldn’t get resolved. As police arrived to assist, residents in the apartment complex were asked to shelter in place. “We had to immediately communicate to our residents not to leave their apartments due to the fact that police were active on the property,” said Jack Linefsky, vice president of Value Companies. Value Companies owns more than 3,200 multifamily units in New Jersey and New York. They’ve been a Yardi customer for over 30 years, but they’ve never had to use Yardi technology the way they used it that day. As law enforcement entered the premises, Linefsky and the Value Companies team took advantage of RentCafe to communicate with residents and help authorities. First, they leveraged the RentCafe resident portal to quickly get a message out to residents.  “We were able to send voice messages, text messages and emails to all residents,” Linefsky said. “We crafted it on the go and made sure everyone was aware of what was happening.” When authorities needed a visual guide to help navigate the property, Linefsky knew exactly how to assist. “The police needed our floor plans, so I was able to easily pull it up on our RentCafe website,” Linefsky continued. “I just showed them the plans on my phone, and they were able to take action.” After an hours-long standoff, the situation was resolved peacefully. Linefsky and his team then used...

Looking for your next senior living event? We’ve got you covered. The annual ASCHA Convention & Trade Show is coming up on April 11-13 and it’s a great opportunity to connect with colleagues, discuss industry trends and see what’s new with Yardi solutions.   Keep reading to see the event details. ASCHA Trade Show set for April The ASCHA Convention & Trade Show is bound to be an interactive event. This year, ASCHA is gathering 400 senior and community housing organization leaders to discuss strategies for the industry’s future. You can check out the full event agenda for more information, but know that discussions will focus on taking the housing sector to The Next Level. And ASCHA is offering fun, strategic sessions for you to join forces with trailblazers from all levels and places. Get ready to network, view insightful presentations, enter giveaways and more. ASCHA 2022 will take place on April 11-13 at the WinSport in Alberta, Calgary. And if you’re unfamiliar with ASCHA, the Alberta Seniors & Community Housing Association, here’s a quick introduction: ASCHA advocates on behalf of its members who provide housing options for Albertans. They’re a member-driven association acting as a center of excellence for education, best practices and member resources — all to assist seniors and community housing operators. Over 100 member organizations serve approximately 60,000 Albertans in seniors and community housing settings. Note that to attend ASCHA 2022, proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours is required. Find Yardi at Booth 7 Each year, we get excited to see the lineup of senior living events and the opportunities they provide. And ASCHA 2022 is one we’re looking forward to! You can find Paul Alexa-Janzen, our senior account executive in senior living and product...

Yardi sought insight into a key office property management trend – flexible workspace arrangements – from a panel of clients at YASC Global. The three panelists, including Yael Urman, chief information officer for New York City-based commercial property developer Silverstein Properties, spelled out why the changing landscape requires greater flexibility. The days of the simple 15-year-lease-and-renew are over, Urman said, having been superseded by demands for work arrangement flexibility that can encompass everything from personalized work area coloring and furnishings to private offices. “We’re in the productivity, flexibility and well-being business now, not just providing four walls,” Urman said. “Our priority now is to offer any option that enables cooperation and enhances productivity for our clients.” Panelist Willie Gutierrez, COO/CFO of Premier Workspaces, an Irvine, Calif., coworking company that owns and leases flex office space, agreed that “it’s the experience, not the four walls” that matters for tenants in today’s office work environment. Gutierrez, whose company’s offerings include offices and conference rooms for as little as an hour, added that private offices for small and medium size businesses is Premier’s most popular offering. The third panelist, Brandon Van Orden, senior vice president and CIO for Atlanta office REIT Cousins Properties, senses a desire among workers to “get back in the office, collaborate in person and enjoy the social aspects of work. They still want big conference rooms for in-person meetings.” Accordingly, Van Orden and his Cousins colleagues describe their offerings as “flexible,” rather than “hybrid,” which implies that some workers remain permanently remote while others are permanently in the office. Cousins is also piloting technologies that create a seamless visitor experience that extends from the parking deck to the building entrance to the office, Van Orden said. Another key trend noted by the panelists...