Honoring Earl Parker

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

Senior Living Stories...

Our senior living clients never fail to share sweet stories across their blogs and social media pages, so it’s only fitting that we reshare them here on The Balance Sheet! Spanning through spring and summer of this year, we’ve gathered a roundup of positive, uplifting stories to highlight our clients’ dedication to their community residents and staff (and their devotion to creating fun memories). We hope you enjoy! Life Care Services In an exciting LinkedIn post, Life Care Services (LCS) shared a trailer for their 2023 short film featuring several LCS residents. Created to celebrate over half a century of LCS history, “the film showcases the importance of finding passions later in life, cultivating relationships as we age, staying curious, and culminates with words of wisdom for us all,” says LCS on LinkedIn. The trailer, which you can find in the LinkedIn post, is an absolute must-watch! You’ll also find a short behind-the-scenes clip from the film shared in another LCS social media post, featuring an impressive piano rendition of Clair de Lune played by an LCS resident. Westmont Living This arts and crafts display at Westmont Living simply had to be shared, considering every piece was handmade by a community resident. Westmont posted a carousel of photos on their LinkedIn page showing residents posing with their creations (and browsing their fellow residents’ treasures). Be sure to visit Westmont’s LinkedIn to see more events and fun stories they’ve shared over the course of this year. Brightview Senior Living Brightview Senior Living recently shared a post with photos from their second annual “Bay Day” — an outdoor gathering where community residents and Brightview associates come together for a day in the sun. The photos shared show nothing but smiling faces. Brightview frequently shares community events...

Introducing Competitive Analysis

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

Introducing Rod Burkett

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

Navigating Pharmacy Partnerships

Today’s seniors have more clinical needs than ever before, which means medication management is more challenging than ever — and medication errors are more likely — in senior living communities. That is, when communities lack the integrated technology (such as Yardi EHR) needed to optimize coordination with pharmacies. Our latest white paper with Senior Housing News (SHN) covers more — exploring the vital connection between pharmacy and resident care and sharing why an integrated EHR solution is critical in optimizing pharmacy coordination. The resource was created to help operators navigate the ever-evolving world of senior living as it relates to medication management. We put together a highlight below with key points covered in the white paper, but we encourage you to read the resource in full for more insights! New white paper: Navigating pharmacy partnerships in senior living   While the need for pharmacy integration is related to a variety of factors, the pandemic has been the most significant. Specifically, since COVID-19 delayed many prospective senior living residents from moving into communities, a resident population already rife with clinical needs has grown more vulnerable. And with that higher acuity comes a host of new challenges in medication management, and thus the urgent need for pharmacy integration. That’s why we joined SHN to publish this pharmacy-focused white paper. It examines the medication-related challenges present in senior living today and guides operators on how to maximize pharmacy relationships and streamline medication management. It stresses the importance of implementing a single connected EHR solution. The white paper looks at: Key reasons operators are switching to digital record keeping Why electronic pharmacy coordination matters through 2023 and beyond Top benefits of a single connected pharmacy solution What makes Yardi software a differentiator Yardi EHR in action at Senior Lifestyle   In sharing the power of Yardi EHR, the white paper includes insights from Fil Southerland, our director of healthcare solutions, as well as Diane Dayne, director of clinical informatics at Senior Lifestyle — a dedicated Yardi client.   Read the entire white paper Be sure to read the white paper — Navigating the New World of Senior Living & Pharmacy Partnerships — for a closer look at Yardi EHR and its role in pharmacy coordination. If you have any questions for us about Yardi EHR or the Yardi Senior Living Suite in general, fill out the form listed here to schedule a personalized...

Meet Leigh Ann Barney...

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

Recognizing Sarabeth Hanson

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

Congrats To Yardi Clients

We’re delighted to share that several Yardi senior living clients earned a spot on the 2023-2024 Best Senior Living list! Presented by U.S. News & World Report and now in its second year, the Best Senior Living list features communities across independent living, assisted living, memory care and continuing care retirement. If the Best Senior Living list is new to you, at its core, the list is inspired by a mission to help seniors and their families navigate the challenging process of selecting a community. For the communities who earn a place on the list, U.S. News includes detailed profiles with ratings and testimonials to educate and provide visibility in the senior housing space. To all who earned a well-deserved spot on the list — including our amazing clients — congratulations from us at Yardi! Yardi clients earn a place on the 2023 Best Senior Living list To establish the Best Senior Living list for 2023, U.S. News evaluated nearly 4,000 communities nationwide, analyzing survey data from over 250,000 residents and their family members. The top-rated communities for each level of care were deemed Best Senior Living honorees in their prospective categories, and that included nearly 1,700 communities in total. For certain senior living organizations, a large batch of their communities were recognized on the list — Yardi clients included! Explore the U.S. News Best Senior Living list to browse the communities recognized.   Want to see how Yardi clients are finding success with our senior living solutions? Get in touch with us. More on the Best Senior Living list You may be wondering what the survey entails when U.S. News reaches out to these senior living communities. In partnership with Activated Insights, they ask residents and family members to rate their experience on things to help guide prospective residents in their search — such as kindness of staff and quality of care.   In addition to publishing ratings and testimonials for communities on the list, U.S. News also shares the benefits and costs of different living options for all to explore. This provides fantastic visibility into communities across the nation and ultimately helps seniors and their families make informed decisions when searching for a place to live. Congratulations from Yardi Choosing a senior living community for yourself or a loved one is a difficult process. But with resources like the Best Senior Living list, it can be less overwhelming. We’re happy to highlight this year’s Best Senior Living list honorees, including our fantastic senior living clients! Read more about the Best Senior Living list for 2023. Ready to learn more about our senior living management software? Check out this Senior Living Suite infographic. Have questions or ready for a personalized demo? Once again, we encourage you to reach out to our senior living team...

Success With Senior IQ

When exploring technology solutions for your business, there’s nothing better than viewing direct testimonials from professionals in your industry. We understand the value of seeing how a product functions through a current client’s eyes — which is why we love creating success stories for you to enjoy, including those that feature our senior living solutions. So we’re excited to share our brand-new piece that shares the power of Yardi Senior IQ through the eyes of Syndell Lawhon, vice president of wellness at Vitality Living! From covering Vitality’s journey prior to this single connected solution, to sharing the success the organization has found since implementing it, Lawhon brings a wealth of insights to the table in her interview. Don’t miss this one — read the highlight below then visit the Vitality Living success story to see more. The Challenge: Siloed Data Vitality’s data used to be scattered across siloed solutions, requiring leaders to pull information and generate reports manually. Not only were these processes time-consuming, but they also prevented Vitality from unlocking insights regarding occupancy, falls and more — since data lacked the organization and presentation needed to reveal important trends. Not to mention, Vitality’s data wasn’t being updated in real time. Leaders sought a business intelligence solution that would present up-to-date, business-wide data in a visual format — all in one place. The Solution: Yardi Senior IQ Yardi Senior IQ is a business intelligence solution that surfaces real-time data in attractive, sharable dashboards. Designed for senior living providers and drawing portfolio-wide data from Yardi Voyager Senior Housing, Senior IQ provides the insights needed to act confidently and make smarter, faster decisions. The Story: Visualizing Insights, Driving Informed Decisions, Empowering Staff & Streamlining Workflows Before Senior IQ, Vitality didn’t have a seamless method for capturing and gathering important data. “Prior to us coming to Yardi, with the system that we used before, we couldn’t pull any of that data,” shared Syndell Lawhon, vice president of wellness at Vitality. “We had to do things manually.” Manually pulling metrics and organizing insights, they were limited to sharing only numbers with staff, owners and investors. Now with Senior IQ, Vitality has a visual representation of the same information — via custom graphs and tables — housed in one secure location. “Nurses are very visual people,” explained Lawhon. “When they can see the numbers in a graph pulled right up in Senior IQ, it clicks so much faster. Numbers on a piece of paper are not as powerful.” With intuitive dashboards, graphs and tables revealing trends that Vitality wasn’t previously capturing, leaders are gaining insights that move the needle like never before. “A trend is telling you something,” shared Lawhon. “There’s so much information in Senior IQ that you can dig into. There’s always something we’re finding on a daily basis — something else we know we could use.” With the ability to access real-time data in Senior IQ, Vitality can now make informed decisions regarding occupancy, care, staffing and revenue. And by giving care staff the tools to visualize important trends — Senior IQ helps Vitality empower those individuals, which boosts retention as a result. “Senior IQ helps us with nurse retention,” said Lawhon. “When you start getting data and looking at the bigger picture — how you can make things better for the whole community — not only does it make you feel empowered, it also elevates your skill set.” Vitality also left data digging in the past when they implemented Senior IQ. Instead of searching through siloed solutions and manually compiling insights to send to owners and investors, Vitality now unlocks actionable information at the click of a button. “I can go in Senior IQ and in two seconds, I’m able to pop information right out for that community and send it right along,” shared Lawhon. Read the full interview with Vitality Living   The snapshot above doesn’t cover everything Lawhon...

Goodbye Disparate Systems

For senior living operators, using fully-integrated, all-inclusive software — as opposed to disparate systems — has major benefits. From gaining new efficiencies to improving resident care, the benefits are further enhanced when operators choose a solution designed for the unique needs of senior living. That describes the Yardi Senior Living Suite, which supports a multitude of today’s operators like Scottsdale-based Westminster Village. And to show you exactly how Yardi tools work to build success, we recently interviewed Dan Poteet, Westminster’s chief information officer. Continue reading to get top insights from Poteet, who shares what’s possible when you leave disparate systems in the past. We encourage you to read the success story in full, too! About Westminster Village Westminster Village is Scottsdale’s premier non-profit Life Plan community. Located in Scottsdale, Arizona, it was founded in 1988 by a group of friends and neighbors who envisioned a community where people could continue their accustomed lifestyles and be assured of lifelong health care. Their idea was to assure dignity and independent living for people in their later years. The Challenge: Siloed Solutions Before partnering with Yardi, Westminster Village was operating using siloed solutions and manual processes. That combination was time-consuming and susceptible to errors, which prevented staff from working as efficiently as possible. Westminster leaders sought a single connected solution to streamline workflows at every level — and enhance resident satisfaction. The Solution: Yardi Senior Living Suite The Yardi Senior Living Suite 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, the Yardi Senior Living Suite has everything you need to manage your communities and drive growth. The Story: Thriving With An Integrated Solution, Driving Efficiency & Enhancing Satisfaction Since moving forward with Yardi, Westminster now has one centralized system that offers everything needed to drive success. “This is a major improvement over having disparate systems not connected to each other,” explained Poteet. With RentCafe Senior CRM automating workflows, sales and marketing teams are equipped to work productively, stay informed and track leads with ease. “Having the ability to keep track of prospect touches and having auto-generated follow-up tasks has helped our marketing team stay better connected with prospects and the sales cycle,” shared Poteet. On the care side, Westminster saves time and reduces errors using Yardi EHR, since all resident data automatically flows over from Yardi Voyager Senior Housing. “Being able to do our home health billing and having it connected to Voyager is the most valuable feature,” said Poteet. With RentCafe Senior Living Portal and Yardi Payment Processing, residents and families access the convenience of online payments — which helps Westminster’s accounting team on the processing side. RentCafe Senior Living Portal also keeps residents, families and staff connected by displaying real-time updates relating to care, community activities and more. “The resident portal allows us to communicate and provide information to our residents and their families quickly and conveniently,” shared Poteet. Continue reading the Westminster Village success story Want to get in touch regarding the Yardi Senior Living Suite? Reach out to our team! We’re happy to answer questions or schedule a personalized demo at your...

Unlock Evolving Functionality

Did you know 65% of sales professionals use CRM? And out of companies using mobile CRM, 65% achieved sales quota compared to 22% of those without mobile CRM? Case in point, with the right CRM solution, senior living operators are equipped to advance sales and marketing efforts in more ways than one. But it’s important to find a solution built for the unique needs of senior living — one equipped with tools that evolve as the industry does. Fortunately, we have just the solution in mind. Meet RentCafe Senior CRM, our mobile-friendly single connected solution. Read on to see what this one-of-a-kind platform offers today’s senior living operators. The sales and marketing tools you need There’s so much functionality to cover when it comes to RentCafe Senior CRM, but at a glance, the solution helps you: Configure and automate the sales process to guide your unique selling approach View real-time census data, occupancy status, unit rates and amenity offerings Eliminate duplicate data entry with a united leasing and move-in workflow Lead with confidence using a platform integrated with multiple elements of the Yardi Senior Living Suite Generate, complete and upload documents to RentCafe Senior Living Portal, where residents and family members can sign electronically Reduce risks with a solution that is HIPAA and SOX compliant Access visual reporting with configurable, group-based dashboards and a wide selection of KPIs Drive efficiency with a convenient mobile app built for iOS and Android devices Enjoy the convenience of Yardi as your single support avenue Offer residents a seamless move-in journey RentCafe Senior CRM doesn’t simply help you during the early stages of the sales cycle. It offers tools to power the cycle from start to finish, including the time leading up to move-in (once a prospect commits to your community). At that stage, you access:   Up-to-date resident assessments A seamless leasing workflow equipped with rates, specials/discounts and approvals Easy-to-generate electronic leases The automatic attachment of documents to the resident record in Voyager Senior Housing And more! Evolving functionality like no other platform What else makes RentCafe Senior CRM a differentiator? To add to everything already mentioned, RentCafe Senior CRM offers: Inbound and outbound calling, texting and emailing Duration and engagement tracking Triggered activity follow-up Predictive analytics Automated prospect and referral correspondence Event management Third party API integrations Lead scoring An integrated solution built for senior living Of course, one of the biggest benefits of RentCafe Senior CRM is its ability to integrate with key elements of your business. While other CRM solutions may offer a few valuable features, they don’t always integrate with EHRs, financial platforms and everything in-between. As part of the Yardi Senior Living Suite, RentCafe Senior CRM connects with everything you need — saving time, eliminating errors and ensuring your teams have up-to-date information at all times.     Level up with RentCafe Senior CRM Wondering how else RentCafe Senior CRM helps operators reach new heights? Reach out to book a quick, personalized demo. And in the meantime, feel free to explore our RentCafe Senior CRM infographic!...

Meet Dan Madsen

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

Explore New Functionality

The newest improvements in the Yardi Senior Living Suite are here! This release (7.18) includes enhancements in RentCafe Senior CRM, Yardi EHR and eMAR. As always, each enhancement was powered by feedback from our amazing senior living clients.  To learn about what’s new and improved in 7.18, read the highlights below. We’re also sharing links to informative webinars, crafted for clients, which explain the new functionality in detail. For a complete list of new features documentation, clients can also visit the help center in Client Central and select new features. What’s new in RentCafe Senior CRM RentCafe Senior CRM, our mobile-friendly CRM solution, is packed with fresh functionality courtesy of the 7.18 release. From simplified workflows to completely new features, the enhancements equip you to: Track your competitive analysis with new options to create custom configurations that automatically save for future use Store marketing collateral in one centralized location, the document center, allowing staff to quickly grab attachments to email to prospects Enjoy expanded options for automated correspondences including those produced by birthdays, anniversaries, email templates, lead status and prospect status change — plus apply filters to individual rows to ensure you send the prospect’s preferred correspondence type Sync your Outlook calendar with your RentCafe Senior CRM calendar, enabling items to instantly populate in Outlook as they’re updated in RentCafe Senior CRM Build savable templates that automatically generate common tasks, conducted before or after an event, to avoid starting from scratch when creating future events Access a simplified digital signature invitation that enables copying and pasting a verification pin sent via email, or via SMS mobile phone when you have RentCafe Conversations Watch the RentCafe Senior CRM New Features Webinar. Watch the RentCafe Senior CRM Set Up New Features Webinar. What’s new in Yardi EHR and eMAR Now for Yardi EHR and Yardi eMAR, solutions built to help you enhance care at every level, here’s what’s possible thanks to the 7.18 release: Benefit from a redesigned service plan screen that clearly presents every action, making it easier to manage plans and identify what’s missing prior to activation Utilize new order direction templates that allow you to set the direction for an order with the click of a single button Enjoy an updated variable/sliding scale feature that auto-selects the correct quantity based on the vital information entered Save time with new bulk charting options in Care Stream that allow staff to chart multiple medications at one time, and apply specific notes to everything at once Streamline assessments with enhanced dynamic profile sections, which enable staff to update the resident’s profile while performing an assessment Watch the Yardi EHR New Features Webinar. Watch the Yardi EHR Set Up New Features Webinar. Have questions? If you have any questions about what’s offered with the 7.18 release, visit the help center in Client Central. If you’re new to Yardi senior living solutions and want more information on the success they create, get in touch with...

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...

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...