Will my loved one be happier and healthier in senior living or at home? It’s a question many families are asking themselves now during the pandemic. They’ve seen headlines about case numbers, but they also know they can’t provide the care and attention needed by themselves. “If COVID has taught us anything, it has taught us that we are health care, but it doesn’t mean that we have to be health care in the traditional sense of a hospital or a nursing home,” said Brenda Bacon, president and CEO of Brandywine Living. “We have to be able to convince the public or customers that their loved one will be safe and secure in addition to being happy.” A former board chairman for Argentum, Bacon has a lot of insight into the challenges and opportunities of senior living. She’s taken that unique experience to Brandywine, where she strives to make their communities the right mix of “health care and hospitality and fun.” Bacon has been recognized by Senior Housing News as a Changemaker for her contributions to the industry, and during her interview, she opened up on the difficulties posed by the coronavirus – as well as her strategies for keeping it at bay. Check out these excerpts to see how Brandywine is keeping its residents happy and healthy. What needs to be done to achieve that safety and security you’re thinking about? Any operational changes you’re implementing at Brandywine? On April 4th, we instituted a rule that says “one job only.” In the healthcare industry, employees traditionally work in two or three different healthcare institutions; they’ll work a shift at a skilled nursing and then they’ll go to an assisted living or the hospital, the doctor’s office. Nurses and care managers tend to have...

Food continues to be a hot topic in senior living. Television personalities like Anthony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern ignited the modern “foodie” culture. Their meals dripped with excitement and worldliness. Under such influences, aging Boomers have high expectations for their dining options. Senior living experts will have to keep up with costs and trends to appease them. Rising Costs Food costs are at an historic high. Prices have risen an average 2.6 percent each year over the last 20 years. Long term, prices will continue to rise. A survey  by senior living association Argentum reveals that 51 percent of industry decision-makers agree that their average food costs increased in the past year. Organizations are seeking alternative methods improve cost efficiencies. Local Sourcing: Cost-Saving, Community Friendly Local food sources provided one way for 29 percent of organizations to cut costs. By decreasing storage and transportation expenses, locally-sourced foods can cost less. More than 75 percent of respondents currently offer locally-sourced produce. Nearly 55 percent offer locally sourced animal proteins. Local sourcing also appeals to the current trend in foodie culture that cherishes farm-to-table preparation. This more sustainable option promotes in-season, small batch fare. The quality of such local foods is more easily controlled and verified. Additionally, local sourcing reflects a growing concern for local economies. Nearly 25 percent of respondents that serve local produce do so to support other neighboring businesses. For 15 percent of senior living communities, locally-sourced goods are a point of differentiation against competitors. Stop Food Waste to Slash Costs Worldwide, over one-third of food  is wasted. Americans alone toss up to 40 percent of their food purchases into the trash. Decreasing food waste ensures that food fills bellies instead of trash cans. Nearly 40 percent of respondents are using food waste tracking to...

Without the right tools, running a senior living community is extremely challenging. Piles of paperwork can be overwhelming, and manual data entry can cause errors. When care staff get bogged down with administrative tasks, they have less time to spend with residents. In your back office, the accounting team spends time chasing down billing and cutting paper checks. These inefficiencies add up to become costly for your organization. But, here’s some great news: the Yardi Senior Living Suite is a single software platform that lets you connect, control, track and improve all aspects of your business. Watch a video about senior living software Here are three key ways the Yardi Senior Living Suite can transform your senior living operations: Centralize data to work more efficiently Lower your total cost of ownership, reduce paper and improve your bottom line by managing resident care, finance, operations and marketing with a single connected solution that begins with Yardi Voyager Senior Housing, a property management and accounting platform designed specifically for senior living. Having all of your operational and resident information centralized in one secure, cloud-hosted database with mobility enables complete oversight across your business, instant data access and more responsive care services. Optimize care and improve oversight Gain real-time executive healthcare oversight, keep resident health records free of errors, limit your liability and improve resident satisfaction with Yardi EHR, a full-service electronic health record solution specifically designed for the needs of senior living providers. Get advanced clinical reporting with detailed analytics and instant access to financial data. Customize your care billing options and provide flexible, individual rate plans. Allow caregivers to spend more time with residents and eliminate errors with simplified record keeping that includes easy information sharing at the point of care and a mobile app...

“We use our Yardi platform to accomplish everything. It works for us,” said Joenita Turner, senior application support specialist at Silver Sky Assisted Living. Silver Sky Assisted Living and Silver Sky at Deer Springs are Nevada HAND’s two communities for seniors who need some extra help. The communities offer comprehensive services including meals, onsite caregivers, 24-hour nursing and medical support along with a full calendar of activities. To ensure the most efficient operations so that its residents get the best care possible, Silver Sky relies on fully integrated and cloud-hosted software solutions from the Yardi Senior Living Suite including Yardi Voyager Senior Housing, RENTCafé Senior Living, Yardi Senior CRM and Yardi EHR along with Yardi Maintenance and Yardi eLearning. Turner started out as a property manager before switching over to her applications role at Silver Sky. “I know how things work from the front office to back end administration,” she said. The company recently went through a rebrand, which included adding RENTCafé Senior Living to offer a range of convenient online services to its residents and their families. Succeeding with online services RENTCafé Senior Living is built into the Voyager platform and through online portals it allows residents and their families to manage healthcare information, make payments, communicate with staff and submit service requests. “Out of state family members can log in to make payments, view health records and submit maintenance requests — which saves them time so that when they visit, they can focus on being with their loved ones. Our residents have been excited to enroll for online services, and we’re expecting an at least 80% adoption rate,” Turner said. Silver Sky’s staff is also enjoying the benefits of online services and electronic transactions. Turner added, “Our accountants love it, because it...

In a move intended to anticipate exponential growth in the industry, real estate development firm The Shelter Group, recently sold the entirety of its affordable housing portfolio to Enterprise Homes. Stating a desire to focus on the rapidly growing potential of the company’s senior housing properties, The Shelter Group’s executive vice president and CFO Jeffrey Hettleman told Senior Housing News the decision was also based on the company’s desire to remain “service oriented.” “As Brightview has grown, the two businesses have become different and really served different populations, “said Hettlemam. “Brightview had gotten so much larger, in terms of people, and it operates around the clock, and senior living is much more service intensive that the challenges of doing that well and maintaining our culture required us to really focus on that part of our business.” The Art of the Deal Though neither company disclosed the final purchase amount, the August 1st sale allows The Shelter Group to shift gears towards a complete senior housing portfolio. The switch makes sense given the current makeup of the company’s operations. Before the sale, only 175 employees manned The Shelter Group’s affordable housing portfolio, while almost 3,600 work under the Brightview banner. Enterprise Homes will absorb those 175 employees as well as 43 affordable housing properties located primarily in Maryland. With the purchase, Enterprise Homes will triple its holding by adding 4, 1543 affordable housing units to its portfolio. According to Jeff Kunitz, executive vice president of CBRE Affordable Housing (who worked on behalf of The Shelter Group during the transaction), the company specifically looked for a buyer willing to maintain the properties as affordable housing for low-income families. “It was very important for Shelter Group to find a buyer who would maintain the same high level of...

As healthcare technology continues to evolve, universities across the country are bringing senior housing on campus in order to create new models for healthy aging. Hosting seniors on site allows students and faculty to collect healthcare data on residents and use that information to develop proactive solutions to senior care. Highly popular, these university-affiliated retirement communities are a win-win for residents and academia. “There are opportunities in terms of an intergenerational setting as well as the financial health for the retirement community and the college,” Paula Panchuck, vice president and dean of Lasell Village, told Senior Housing News. “There are some beautiful synergies that bond us even more closely.” Symbiotic Studies Across the country, these programs combine continuing education with healthcare and gerontology coursework resulting in the ability to promote research and forge community connections. In many cases, residents are encouraged to participate in classes and other campus activities, while students gain invaluable access to the day-to-day routines of the aging population. Situated within the campus of Lasell College in Newton, Mass, Lasell Village mimics small town living with buildings, including a clock-towered Town Hall, stretching out over 13-acres. By bringing senior housing on campus, Lasell Village promotes retirement living comprised not just of continued care for aging adults, but of a “community with the cultural, social and recreational opportunities of lifelong learning.” Other senior-college partnerships not only welcome residents to explore university offerings, they also seize the opportunity to develop a curriculum focused on aging and senior care. Recognized as one of the Best Nursing Homes in 2016, Holy Cross Village at Notre Dame hosts a gerontology consortium and a four-year school with classes available to students and residents. “It’s a great symbiotic relationship because the students can work with our residents and...

In the face of crippling budget cuts, housing authorities rely on innovation, resourcefulness, and advanced software to stimulate growth. Carlos Pizarro serves as Vice President of Housing at Housing Authority of the City of Lakeland, Florida. His decade of experience in the private sector made him an unlikely candidate for the position. That experience, however, is the key to the housing authority’s success. “Public housing and section 8 must change,” reflects Pizarro.  “It needs the private sector and the public sector to work together to create something new. I don’t see the government able to support Section 8 and public housing forever. There has to be an effort between everybody.” Such industry changes are felt across the nation. Fort Smith Housing Authority in Arkansas has managed to ride the waves of these changes under the guidance of Rachel Brown, Section 8 Director. “You can’t depend on public housing funding anymore,” Brown says. “Public housing is going away. A lot of us are focused on converting public housing into RAD.” Fort Smith Housing Authority demolished 170 of its public housing units. The 288 remaining units were converted to Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) units. RAD, per the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, “allows public housing agencies to leverage public and private debt and equity in order to reinvest in the public housing stock.” The program is an effort to address a $25.6 billion dollar-backlog of public housing capital improvements. Blending funding options within a portfolio, and even within a single project, is one way that housing authorities stay afloat. Discovering untraditional sources of income is another. Innovative Incomes Both the City of Lakeland and Fort Smith housing authorities have created construction and development branches. “We got into developing properties, which is new for a housing...

By adopting an electronic health record platform with a centralized database, senior living provider Northbridge Companies lives up to its commitment of providing best quality of care to its residents. When Northbridge companies made the choice to transition from paper documentation to electronic health records, the company’s primary objective involved eliminating redundant tasks and improving staff productivity. As someone on the front lines during the company’s switch to Yardi EHR, Marcia Suddy saw firsthand how swiftly technology can improve the workplace. “One of the biggest changes with electronic records versus paper is that you can lay your hands on information very quickly,” she says. “That reduces the length of time needed to resolve issues and helps us provide the best quality of care to our residents.” Live Well, Love Life Founded in 2006, privately owned senior living provider with 15 communities servicing residents across New England, Northbridge Companies has made providing quality senior care a priority for over a decade. Northbridge Community provides its 850 residents with an environment designed to “encourage freedom, offer lifestyle choices, and provide the necessary services to live life to the fullest.” When Suddy began her nursing studies, she quickly realized she felt a connection to seniors. “While I was earning my administrator’s license and BC certification, I absolutely fell in love with senior care,” she says. “I don’t foresee ever doing anything else.” As Regional Director of Care Services for Northbridge, Suddy feels great satisfaction working for a company she describes as being “passionate about senior care.” “It’s such a relief to work for an organization that truly lives up to the values they advocate,” she says. “It’s not just the president of the company, but the associates, the investors, the families. Everyone is committed to providing the...

On March 29-30, Yardi hosted the second Yardi Senior Living Forum, focused specifically on the needs of our senior living clients,  in Santa Barbara, Calif. The two-day featured speakers, classes, roundtable discussions, computer lab time and more. In advance of that event, Ray Elliot, vice president of senior living, joined us to share insight on the Yardi Senior Living Suite. An end-to-end solution that tracks senior living residents throughout their housing journey, the suite includes Yardi EHR for health care records, numerous offerings from Yardi’s ancillary product line, and continues to expand. Senior living is a rapidly growing segment of the multifamily housing market, and Yardi is developing new and improved technology offerings that cater specifically to this client base. Read on for insight on the Yardi Senior Living Suite. What is your mission on the senior living team? Elliot: Our mission is to help senior living providers provide better care to their residents through software and technology. We aim to streamline both the property management and care services on a platform that is efficient, mobile and adaptable. What does the Yardi Senior Living Suite look like? Elliot: Our greatest strength s our single solution stack. I do not believe any other vendor can take you from the initial contact that starts the resident relationship, all the way through the resident lifecycle. RENTCafe Senior Living can be used to market the communities. Prospect and mass marketing is done in CRM. From there, our clients manage their communities, health care records, medical care and other resident services from a single database. RentCafe Senior Living augments the resident relationship by allowing the resident and family to make payments online and view care related information. Added together, this level of functionality is unique in the market space. Many other technology providers address just one segment of...

As the year begins and a new administration takes office, senior housing providers are gearing up for change. While a certain amount of anxiety is to be expected, according to George Yedinak from Senior Housing News, many of the developments that will take place over the next twelve months merely build upon preexisting circumstances. “While operators, owners, and others will be reacting to possibly dramatic changes,” he writes, “some senior living issues that have been top of mind for years show no signs of abating.” Occupancy and Oversupply According to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care, nursing home occupancy remained flat through the end of 2016 even as the number of units in development continued to rise. That trend will likely continue across all types of senior care well into 2017. With the pool of potential residents unable to match supply, even well-established providers may find themselves “protecting their turf.” “New supply could affect everything from rents to marketing budgets and wages,” writes Yedinak. “Developers looking to build, or buyers on the hunt for good opportunities, will feel even more pressure to judge the supply-demand forces in a given market.” Although consumer purchasing power has steadily increased over the last year, increasing pressure from new supply will undermine rent escalation. As a result, says Yedinak, any rent increases in competitive markets will likely hover around two to three percent rather than the standard three to four percent. “Getting rents right will be even more of a balancing act than usual in 2017,” he warns, adding that operators should be aware of the “steady drumbeat within the industry to cease discounting altogether and increase pricing transparency, to meet consumer expectations.” Staffing Shortfalls For the last few years, workforce woes have plagued senior...

Whether you are a director, care provider or sales and marketing professional, you won’t want to miss the Yardi Senior Living Forum. With an eye towards expanding training and networking opportunities for Yardi clients, Yardi launched the Yardi Senior Living Forum in 2016. After the resounding success of the inaugural event, a second Yardi Senior Living Forum has been scheduled March 29-30 in Santa Barbara, Ca. The smaller event offers a more focused presentation of Yardi products designed to meet the specialized needs of clients working in the senior living industry. Participants will get the opportunity to gain deeper insight into the Yardi Senior Living Suite, including Voyager Senior Housing, Yardi EHR, Senior CRM and RentCafe Senior Living. “Support is a focus for us,” Ray Elliott, Vice President of Senior Living, explained when the 2016 Senior Living Forum debuted. “That includes how we help the client to implement the product, and ongoing support afterward “We recognize that the senior living industry has unique training staffing needs.” A YASC Alternative Set against the backdrop of sunny Santa Barbara, the “American Riviera,” the primary goal of the Yardi Senior Living Forum is to create a one-of-kind educational and networking experience. While YASC will continue to be a valuable resource for Senior Living clients to attend classes on general functionality and ancillary modules, the conference now includes only a limited amount of Senior Living specific content. For expanded, detailed coverage of the products in the Senior Living Suite, the Forum is the best option. The forum will provide in-depth instruction by Yardi Senior Living technical staff, along with product roundtables and product roadmap sessions. The Forum will benefit operational staff, including executive directors and administrators, clinical directors and healthcare professionals, sales and marketing staff, and business managers. A full conference registration includes...

Food trucks provide the perfect vehicle for senior living communities looking to increase brand awareness and improve the resident experience. With a sense of celebration and a tang of the exotic, food trucks do more than sling tacos – they bring people together. Over the last few years, these compact purveyors of tasty treats have taken over parking lots and commandeered fairgrounds. Now senior living providers are getting in on the fun. For communities looking to attract new prospects and enhance the resident experience, food trucks are an easy way to update dining options and lure prospects. That’s because dining rates high when it comes to assessing the resident experience. As the introduction to the latest report from Senior Housing News on senior living dining trends explains, “Dining drives senior living businesses – there’s no question about it.” Connecting the Community For many senior living residents meals provide a critical link. In the dining hall, seniors interact with each other, staving off isolation and providing an antidote to loneliness. Holidays, special events – even just Sunday breakfast – all offer the opportunity to foster a sense of community. As a  2010 report from Unidine reiterates, “Senior dining programs facilitate social interaction, support medical care as well as health and wellness objectives and provide a critical link to the lives and communities of residents.” Expanding Experiences Because of senior’s unique nutritional needs, meal planning at most communities is complex. Everything from ingredients to taste to medication side effects must be taken into consideration. Dietary restrictions and weight management are equally important. With so much micromanagement, there’s little room for spontaneity. Adding food trucks to the rotation allows communities to provide a little variety while still keeping a close eye on the menu. “I see no...

The senior living industry needs 1.2 million new employees by 2025 in order to meet demand, and that means finding new ways to connect with job-hunting millennials. That “silver tsunami” set to transform the senior living industry will not only change the way providers reach out to residents and provide care, it will also impact staffing and employment outreach. A recent study conducted by Argentum indicates that the senior living industry will have to increase staff by 1.2 million within the next ten years. While some of these new hires will be professionals already working in the industry, a significant portion of potential prospects will be millennials. So how can a senior living provider successfully connect with these young, tech-savvy job seekers? The answer lies in leveraging the latest technology to cultivate a ubiquitous web presence based on partnerships, networking, and a clear articulation of the non-income benefits of committing to a career in senior living. The College Connection According to a recent Senior Housing News report, most college grads conduct their career search through a university program. As a result, the report urges senior living providers to nurture affiliations with local colleges to heighten awareness of career potential within the senior living industry. “We’re facing some real leadership challenges,” Kevin Heffner, director of external relations at the University of Maryland in Baltimore County (UMBC)/ Erickson School, told Senior Housing News. “Some of the titans of the industry are retiring. We’re doing the best we can to develop leaders to fill that void. Providing the opportunity for continued education, in the form of a master’s program or internal certification program, would also make a potential employer stand out from the pack. Not only will these incentives lure ambitious recruits, it also provides potential employees with...

For many senior citizens, the choice to move into assisted living begins the moment staying at home becomes dangerous. Tripping over carpet or a tumbling down a flight of stairs can no longer be dispatched with an ice pack or a trip to urgent care. For adults 65 and older, these incidents often result in broken bones, head injuries or even death. But what if a fall could be predicted and prevented? That’s the hope behind a new sensor system developed by the Sinclair School of Nursing and the College of Engineering at the University of Missouri. Through a combination of onsite monitoring and data analysis, the sensors record the gait and speed of residents. That information can then be used to forecast when a fall might be imminent helping care providers take action before calamity. “Assessment of these functions through the use of sensor technology is improving coordinated health care for older adults,” Marjorie Skubic, director of the MU Center for Eldercare and Rehabilitation Technology, tells Engineering.com in a recent interview about the sensor system. Watchers on the Wall The sensor project is part of ongoing research currently underway at TigerPlace, a Missouri retirement community that promotes “aging-in-place.” Part of a collaboration between Americare Corporation and the University of Missouri, TigerPlace’s main objective is to “maximize the independence of residents while supporting research.” The facility has been using the sensors as part of ongoing research to study how early detection of “changes in function” can be used to target health problems before they become critical. As part of that process, the project’s In-home Monitoring System (IMS). IMS wirelessly records and shares motion data and images collected by sensors placed throughout the home. If significant changes in activity are detected, the system can send...

Thanks to detailed accounting options and superior customer support, Sentio Healthcare Properties continues to expand its use of Yardi Voyager across its property portfolio. As a REIT specializing in senior living, Sentio Healthcare Properties oversees a diverse portfolio ranging from medical office buildings to senior housing, including independent living, assisted living and memory care facilities. At the company’s Orlando headquarters, about 20 employees work with third party operators at 34 properties located in 16 states. “REITS are not the easiest structure to understand,” admits Julia Avallone, Manager of Property Level Accounting and Asset Management (CPA) at Sentio Healthcare Properties. “I’ve been at Sentio nearly three years, and I’m still wrapping my brain around all the accounting complexities. That being said, I think it’s rare to find an accounting role where you feel that you are making a positive contribution to somebody’s  life. I feel that my role at Sentio is mission driven and contributes, albeit in a small way, to the quality of life the residents in our facilities enjoy.” Making the Switch to Senior Living Avallone began her career in public accounting mainly for real estate clients. Eventually, Avallone decided to transition into another industry, and one of her managers recommended Sentio. “My husband was also in public accounting, and it was too much to both work in the (same) industry,” explains Avallone. “I was looking for a change, and one of my managers knew the controller at Sentio. It was a good fit.” Avallone used to handle accounting for approximately half of Sentio’s portfolio, but is in the process of transitioning to an asset management role. Because Sentio’s properties are located in a variety of different markets, each community comes with its own advantages and challenges. For example, Texas recently moved to...

Adoption of electronic health records in assisted living is a disruptive change worth implementing declares Senior Housing Business magazine.  As Eric Taub points out in a recent article for Senior Business News, assisted living communities have dragged their feet for too long, many still stubbornly relying on paper notes and other “low-fi.” record keeping. While these facilities have been able to limp along so far, Taub argues that “going high-tech is no longer an option. It’s not a case of simply providing a perk for residents but rather becoming a necessity to stay financially viable.” “That’s because the model of the assisted living industry is changing,” he writes, “Moving from a social framework with a medical conscience to a medical model with a social conscience.” The first step, according to Taub, involves adopting EHR and EMR systems, but implementation should follow a thorough understanding of the processes, procedures and costs. “While EMRs may be an obvious solution to more accurately tracking resident health and coordinating care with other providers, the implementation of such a systems is not,” explains Taub. “Assisted living communities face significant obstacles in switching their pen-and-paper based medical records to an electronic version.” “Change is hard,” admits Taub, “especially one as fundamental as introducing technology to a formerly analog world.” Tom McDermott, Vice President of Sales for Yardi Senior Living agrees, telling Taub that for many senior living communities, technology is not a priority. “Most people would rather get a root canal than change software,” he says, pointing out that facility managers and administrators often juggle many duties and  struggle to prioritize their strategies. Nevertheless, Taub believes resistance is futile – soon assisted living communities will have no choice. “Baby boomers will demand it,” Life Care Services’ EMR director for Life Care Services Susan Adams, tells Taub. “I...

While senior living options continue to expand and improve, older adults with limited resources often find themselves without affordable alternatives. For decades, Rona Barrett made a name for herself covering celebrity news – and plenty of gossip – for a myriad of publications and television networks. What began as a prescient vision of the future of celebrity marketing soon grew into a syndicated column, a highly celebrated memoir, and a stint on Good Morning America. But Barrett abandoned the gossip mill long ago, and has recently set her sights on helping provide affordable housing for senior citizens. Barrett admits to in an interview with Buzzfeed that her time in the spotlight took its toll. After years of dodging misogyny, anti-Semitism, and simple lack of vision, Barrett ditched the press corps and headed to the Santa Ynez Valley. “The day I left Hollywood, I canceled all my subscriptions: Variety, Hollywood Reporter, Ad Age, everything to do with the entertainment industry. I left it all behind. I came up over the pass here to the Santa Ynez Valley, and I thought, Oh my god, this is exactly where I want to be.” These days, Barrett spends her time and (formidable) energy advocating for The Golden Inn & Village, a “first-of-its-kind” mixed-use development comprised of low-income housing for seniors and local families. The Golden Inn and Village includes 150 affordable units, 60 of which are earmarked for low-income seniors and 60 assigned to memory care and assisted living. An additional 27 rental apartments will be made available to employees and their families. Funded primarily through Barrett’s foundation, the project also received $23 million in tax credits, which will help with a portion of the projects equity funding. Barrett herself has helped raise more than $4.2 million for the project through her...

While international markets reel in the aftermath of the Brexit vote, U.S. REITs and senior housing providers are well poised to not only survive, but thrive. It will be months before the international markets begin to feel the effects of the Brexit vote, and probably years before any real assessments can be made on the economic and political impacts of Britain’s decision to exit the European Union. With uncertainty and fear looming, Senior Housing News (SHN) presents a mostly reassuring profile explaining how the U.S. senior housing market can weather the storm. The bottom line: U.S. senior living providers will not only survive, but perhaps even thrive thanks to a mix of strong portfolios, stable property values, and domestic insularity. Evolving Circumstances There’s plenty to worry about in terms of Britain’s separation from the E.U. Many predicted complete economic Armageddon and while the U.S. stock market did experience a round of sell-offs and tanking stock values, overall international markets seem to be holding steady. Additionally, some REITS with senior housing in their portfolio actually performed quite well, with both Ventas and HCP ending the day on an upswing. Although a weakened British pound may introduce another layer of caution, slower expansion does not necessarily translate to catastrophe. In fact, many U.S. REITS may capitalize on the opportunity presented by a more favorable exchange rate by increasing property acquisitions in the U.K. “[Brexit] will give them more of the field to themselves because the levered investors are going to find debt financing somewhat difficult in the next couple of quarters,”  Keith Harris, London-based executive director for specialist markets at CBRE Limited, tells SHN. “…I think the international investor who can take a long view on currency hedging is going to be fine. If anything, the...

For the Shelter Group’s LaTonya Lawson-Jones, Yardi’s suite of products provides enhanced operational efficiency and a personalized customer experience. “Time is money.” It’s an old saying, but for LaTonya Lawson-Jones, effective time management is key to a robust bottom line. As Business Systems Manager for the Shelter Group, LaTonya helps oversee a robust portfolio of 50 affordable housing properties, including 35 senior housing communities. LaTonya supervises a team tasked with tracking expenditures and providing support for a variety of electronic medication administration ad electronic health records applications. Multiple Tasks, One Solution With a roster of multifamily and senior living communities valued at $2 billion, the Shelter Group’s affordable and senior living properties cover a vast swath of the eastern seaboard, including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. In order to coordinate its multi-state operations, the Shelter Group relies on a whole host of Yardi products. “On the affordable side we use Yardi for our entire workload, from the prospect to resident screening to move in,” explains LaTonya. “On the senior housing side, we also use Yardi for marketing and in the business office for billing, managing services, and for all of our reporting needs.” With Yardi Voyager Affordable Housing doing a majority of the heavy lifting, LaTonya is eager to incorporate CRM, EHR, and EMR. “We are looking forward to using these products,” admits LaTonya. “We are working towards getting all of our employees on eLearning, and I found out that will be out soon, so I’m excited. We really can’t wait for the implementation to start.” No More Paperwork Most business managers agree the invoice process can be time-consuming and fraught with error. Submittals and approvals create lag, and hours are wasted tracking expenses and waiting for the right signature. Three...

In the trillion-dollar healthcare real estate market, success is often measured by continued revenue growth and steady asset appreciation, but Ventas is taking a more holistic approach. Ventas Inc., an S&P 500 company, is considered one of the nation’s leading real estate health-care investment trusts (REIT). With a market value of $18 billion, the company’s property portfolio includes everything from acute care hospitals and skilled nursing facilities to senior housing communities. In 2014, the company decided to initiate a series of building improvements designed to reduce energy use and water consumption while also managing and lowering utility costs. The retrofit projects may have been conceived with an eye on the bottom line, but saving money was not the only goal. As  Brian Fry, director of asset management at Ventas, recently explained to Senior Housing News, the company looks at this commitment to increased building efficiency “through a bit of a different lens than just dollars and cents.” According to Fry, who heads up Ventas sustainability projects, the ultimate objective is “improving building quality and promoting healthier living and care environment.” Saving Energy, Water and Cash Last year, the company committed $3.8 million for building rehabilitation and structural improvements at several of its senior housing communities. So far, the company has focused on properties in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The improvements have included replacement of lighting and electrical fixtures, along with upgrades to plumbing and other improvements. The upgraded facilities have already experienced a reduction in energy and water consumption, and the utility costs have decreased as well. But even more importantly for this publicly traded company beholden to stockholder expectations, the ROI on these sustainability projects has been exceptional. In fact, Fry predicts company’s 2014 sustainability projects will provide payback in less...