As we ring in the new year, we’re celebrating the community cheer of our senior living clients! We hope these highlights of positive stories from the 2024 holiday season fill your cup of kindness and inspire you for 2025. Decking the halls at Radiant Senior Living Radiant Senior Living shared a bright and joyful video on social media from The Village Senior Living in Tacoma, Washington. Residents and team members decorated the “It Takes a Village” tree with ornaments from their personal collections, which Radiant describes as bringing their family traditions to life. “We believe in creating an atmosphere for our team that encourages them to bring their whole selves to work, and the ‘It Takes a Village’ tree demonstrates that value beautifully!” Singing joyous all together at Maplewood Senior Living Maplewood Senior Living communities host several festive gatherings, shared on social media including a tree-lighting ceremony at Maplewood at Orange and a piano performance at Maplewood at Princeton with an opportunity for everyone to join in singing. Making spirits bright at Sagora Senior Living At Sagora Senior Living, residents are treated to holiday-themed group events, festive dining experiences and holiday activities tailored to individual needs. Sagora shared a blog post about how Sagora celebrates and how others can make the holidays special for seniors. “At Sagora Senior Living, the holidays are a time to celebrate the spirit of community. Our dedicated team goes above and beyond to create festive experiences that bring residents together and make them feel at home.” Dressed in holiday style at Merrill Gardens Merrill Gardens chose to collect warm Christmas gifts for youth, as shared on social media: “We are honored to once again support Treehouse with the R.D. Merrill Holiday Hoodies Drive! We are gathering new hoodies for foster children and if you would like to help you can send hoodies to our office!” Happy New Year from team Yardi We hope this post gave you a spark of holiday magic, and we look forward to seeing what happy moments our clients and their communities share throughout 2025! If you’re looking to connect with us in the new year to learn more about how we support our clients, reach out...

It’s time for this year’s National Assisted Living Week (NALW), an annual recognition of assisted living communities and the individuals they serve. NALW was established by the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) in 1995 and each year, a special theme is announced. The 2024 theme — Inspiring Generations — encourages senior living staff, residents and families to share stories and wisdom with one another. We’ll share more on this year’s observance below, covering how our senior living clients are participating. Happy #NALW! Learn about National Assisted Living Week NALW seeks to recognize assisted living communities and highlight the important role they play. Specifically, their role in caring for America’s seniors and individuals with disabilities. The 2024 observance encourages communities around the country to offer events in honor of NALW — and to educate the public about the importance of long-term care.   Fortunately, NCAL provides a thorough planning guide each year to help communities drive these events forward. Check out the 2024 planning guide from NCAL! See how Yardi clients celebrated this year Pacifica Senior Living took to social media to spotlight NALW, including an announcement post shining light on the joys of community living. Pacifica also shared posts celebrating individual communities — complete with heartwarming photos — including Pacifica Encinitas, West Park and San Leandro.   At Benchmark Senior Living, a celebratory blog post was dedicated to NALW (plus a LinkedIn post sharing a snapshot). The blog post honors this year’s NALW theme with inspiring stories from Benchmark communities, all focused on residents. Maplewood Senior Living also posted on LinkedIn for NALW, sharing a strong message: associates are the heart of Maplewood communities, and their devotion to residents deserves recognition. “This week, we celebrate the exceptional dedication and compassion of our associates who make every community a vibrant, caring place for our residents,” shared Maplewood in the post. For Vitality Living, NALW is all about honoring the incredible bonds formed between residents, team members and volunteers. Their social media post encourages other communities to celebrate the connections they share — and notes appreciation for individuals across Vitality communities. Join the 2024 observance It’s never too late to celebrate assisted living communities and the residents they serve. Join the cause by reading more on National Assisted Living Week — and share your own stories on social media with the hashtag...

It’s time to introduce the next batch of 2024 Changemakers — senior living visionaries who are shaping the industry as we know it. Senior Housing News (SHN) has conducted thorough interviews with each of this year’s honorees, including the honoree we’re spotlighting today: Franklin Farrow. As the CEO and co-founder of Morning Pointe Senior Living, a Yardi senior living client that’s been in the industry since 1996, Farrow knows all about driving impactful change. In his conversation with SHN, Farrow shares how the company’s start still impacts how it operates today — as well as how he envisions Morning Pointe evolving in the future. Hear from Changemaker Franklin Farrow SHN: How have you changed as a leader since starting in this industry? Farrow: Our company was co-founded by myself and Greg Vital, who’s the president, 27 years ago in 1996. We each brought attributes and experiences, time, and talent to the table. He’s 15 years older, and so he had a different network of people than I did at the time. We blended our talents and experiences to launch the company. At that time, I was more capable of tasks and completion of thoughts and ideas. He was the more entrepreneurial leader having been in the business world in advance of me. To answer the question, I’ve transitioned from being more of executing the completion of the ideas that were generated to more of generating ideas and having others follow through on them. It’s been a metamorphosis of me, and I think this is true for any young professional who grows through any industry, that they are advanced because of their capacity to complete projects and they start leading others to help them complete projects, and then, ultimately, they start thinking and leading concepts and philosophies for others to complete and finalize and implement. I’m playing more of a top senior manager, owner role, setting larger vision, setting larger goals, and then, because I was involved in tasks and details, I’m able to articulate to them what I think the scope and capacity of the project is and make sure they have the resources, but don’t have to physically roll up my sleeves as much, although I enjoy that part. Also I have to caution myself that my time is more valuable being visionary and thought leading than task completion. SHN: If you could turn the lens back at yourself, what sort of changemaker do you think you are? What area do you think you’re a changemaker in? Farrow: I would say if you were to interview my senior management team who hears me pontificate and try to set direction, I think they would tell you that I do try to think through the mind, eyes, and feelings of those who are sitting in various seats, the seat of a regional operator, the seat of a senior manager, or the seat of a business office manager, or even a resident care aide. I’m constantly trying to shape and form the way we conduct our business, and I often use the word psychology. I’m not a psychologist. However, I’m constantly thinking, “What motivates a regional vice president or what motivates a nurse on the floor? What environment are they looking to operate in? How do they want to be treated?” I’m also trying to weave in principles of standards of conduct, ethics, and standards of the golden rule of doing to others. Not only are we trying to operate from the viewpoint of those in the seat or hot seat of those various capacities and roles, I’m also trying to say, “Let’s just do things because we want to be decent, honest, and upright standing people too, not just the pure business robotics of things.” I host a standing Tuesday morning session, where anyone in the company who can get away for 15 minutes can come and listen to an...

May marks Older Americans Month, a nationwide observance led by the Administration for Community Living that we’re proud to join. As an annual occurrence, Older Americans Month (OAM) is a time to recognize seniors’ contributions, shed light on aging trends and reaffirm commitments to helping older adults thrive. We’re inspired by this year’s theme — Powered by Connection — and the thoughtful efforts by industry associations, as well as senior living communities across the nation. Read on for a highlight of the meaning behind the 2024 theme, tips for how to get involved and more! Celebrate Older Americans Month this year The 2024 OAM theme is all about keeping older adults connected. More specifically, it recognizes the impact connections have on seniors’ health and wellness — and brings awareness to the role we can all play in building those connections.   As part of the observance this year, the Administration for Community Living shared a list of ideas for participating, including suggestions for how to create connections and boost seniors’ physical, mental and emotional health. Their list is full of fun ideas like coordinating a class on topics seniors are interested in, hosting a musical event or even planning a game night. Read the full list of suggestions for participating in Older Americans Month. See how LeadingAge is getting involved   LeadingAge, an industry association committed to serving older adults, is taking part in OAM with their annual “Video Share Day.” Occurring on May 15, Video Share Day invites LeadingAge members to post PSAs with ideas for keeping older adults connected. They’ve thoughtfully created resources for members to utilize including sample videos, social media captions and more.   Read more about LeadingAge’s efforts for OAM — and keep an eye out for videos shared across social media! We’re loving this video LeadingAge posted on LinkedIn to commence Video Share Day.   Learn how Yardi powers connections in senior living We hope you’re encouraged to take part in this year’s OAM theme, Powered by Connection. Read more about the importance of OAM. If you’d like to learn how Yardi’s senior living technology solutions — including RentCafe Senior Living Portal and RentCafe Wellness — power connections for older adults, reach out to our...

It’s always a pleasure to spotlight stories from our wonderful senior living clients — we love sharing how they’re engaging residents, celebrating staff members and ultimately making a difference in their communities. In that spirit, we’ve compiled a roundup of recent finds from our clients’ blogs and social media pages. We hope you enjoy! Inspiring community art Watercrest Senior Living recently shared an array of photos from their community art shows, which they describe as “a celebration of creativity and community.” We wholeheartedly agree after seeing the amazing creations! Watercrest makes it an event to remember by inviting residents, families, associates and even local schools to participate. Explore the photos on their social media which showcase caricature drawings, hand-stitched blankets and more. Honoring Earth Day In honor of Earth Day, an annual event held on April 22, Pacifica Senior Living brought residents together to create delightful art projects — all out of recycled materials! In addition to sharing photos from the arts and crafts session, Pacifica also posted pictures of residents giving their community gardens extra love and care. Check out the photos Pacifica shared on LinkedIn. Volunteering with care As part of National Volunteer Awareness month, Maplewood Senior Living created a blog post highlighting volunteerism throughout their communities. The uplifting stories include residents volunteering — such as residents knitting baby clothes for mothers in need — to mentions of students and family members joining Maplewood for volunteer efforts. Thanks to those volunteering, residents are learning how to play musical instruments, write poetry and so much more.   Read Maplewood’s blog post to see the stories of volunteer initiatives across their communities in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Ohio! Celebrating 2024 Nurse’s Week Did you know National Nurse’s Week occurs each year from May 6-12? Our clients love the opportunity to thank and recognize their care staff, so it’s no surprise to see them celebrate Nurse’s Week with pride. Brightview Senior Living shared a social media post extending their appreciation for nurses, complete with a collage of charming photos of their staff. Sagora Senior Living did the same, posting a heartfelt thank you on LinkedIn directed at the nurses across their 64 communities. Thanks for reading! We appreciate our amazing clients for sharing all the above — there’s nothing better than seeing the inspiration and joy you spread in your communities. If those reading have any questions on how we support our clients with dynamic senior living solutions, reach out to book time with...

Did you know we offer a comprehensive community wellness solution for senior living? Meet RentCafe Wellness — which enables you to support your residents’ wellbeing with online activity calendars, attendance tracking, real-time information sharing and more. What makes RentCafe Wellness a differentiator? Integrated with key elements in the Yardi Senior Living Suite, RentCafe Wellness is a single connected solution that helps you manage your community wellness initiatives. From activity scheduling to creating custom event calendars, the dynamic online platform makes it easy to support residents’ health and wellbeing. Functionality in RentCafe Wellness equips you to:    Schedule activities. Maximize efficiency by scheduling and marketing wellness activities with the ability to flag registration as required or optional, create recurring activities and set registration fees. Need to make changes such as adding new activities or updating the location? Staff can make modifications directly in the platform, with updates automatically flowing into the RentCafe Senior Living Portal (when licensed) for residents and family members to see. Keep families connected. Help family members see which activities residents are attending directly in RentCafe Senior Living Portal. Information populates in the portal in real time, allowing families to monitor the wellbeing of their loved ones continuously. Want to set parameters on who can view resident data? Staff can securely control which family members may view and register for wellness activities on a resident’s behalf. Create digital calendars. Create and display customized, resident-facing calendars to announce upcoming wellness opportunities. Offer a single calendar per community or multiple calendars per community by care. Easily designate which details remain consistent and which vary month to month. For added convenience, you can publish your digital calendars for residents and families to see in RentCafe Senior Living Portal. Prefer to use paper? Quickly export calendars to Word or PDF documents to print and share across your community. Enable online payments. Allow residents and responsible parties to pay for wellness activities directly in RentCafe Wellness. When you license Yardi Payment Processing, activity charges are paid just like other community charges with a one-time monthly ACH, debit or credit card payment, or by setting up autopay. Reduce errors and save time by automating activity charge batches. Empower staff. Boost productivity among community staff by enabling the management of calendar content, design and publication, as well as activity registration and attendance tracking — all from a single platform. RentCafe Wellness simplifies staff workflows, saves time and presents an efficient method for sharing upcoming wellness opportunities. Intuitive dashboards and KPIs help staff track RSVPs and attendance, identify changes in resident behavior and forecast staffing needs. Ready to see more? If you’re looking for more information on RentCafe Wellness, check out our quick infographic. Have questions or ready to book a demo? Reach out to team...

‘Tis the season to share sweet and uplifting holiday stories, and there’s no shortage available from our senior living clients! We absolutely love spotlighting their activities and celebrations each year — from Christmas caroling to decorating parties — to bring some holiday cheer to The Balance Sheet. Enjoy the roundup of stories below. Making seasons bright at Pacifica Senior Living Pictured in a recent LinkedIn post, residents across Pacifica Senior Living communities have been decking the halls with Christmas decorations! They’ve also been enjoying events like Pacifica’s Jingle Bell Brunch — a gathering packed with festive food, Christmas caroling and mingling among residents, families and staff. And speaking of staff, Pacifica’s culinary teams are bringing seasonal cheer to their communities through a holiday dessert competition. Each chef is recreating a special dish, sharing the traditions and stories that inspired it! You can read about their merry creations on Pacifica’s blog. Creating holiday magic at Brightview Senior Living At Brightview Senior Living, residents brought the magic of Christmas to life with a festive poem reading. You simply have to watch the video posted on their LinkedIn, which happens to include some residents dressed for the season (spoiler alert, it includes Santa and Mrs. Claus). Brightview Severna Park also had a special visit from Saint Nick during the community’s 10 year anniversary party! The photos shared on social media remind us that it’s truly the most wonderful time of the year. Walking in a winter wonderland at Watercrest Senior Living Watercrest Senior Living is no stranger to holiday magic, which we got to see in this collection of photos on LinkedIn. They’ve created glorious winter wonderlands across their communities with the help of residents and staff! Keeping up with the spirit of the season, they’ve also shared photos from their festival of trees event and a snapshot of residents making holiday-themed crafts. Decorating for the season at Maplewood Senior Living We loved seeing how Maplewood Senior Living created festive fun for residents this holiday season! That includes ornament and wreath-making at Maplewood Orange, pictured on social media. Residents got the chance to hang their creations on trees throughout the community, as well as on their apartment doors.   Happy holidays from team Yardi We hope you enjoyed the holiday highlight featuring our senior living clients. From all of us at Yardi, we wish you happy holidays and a wonderful new year! If you’re looking to connect with us in the new year and learn more about how we support our clients, reach out here....

It’s a wrap on the 2023 Changemakers series, which we’ve proudly sponsored for the fifth year in a row. We’re delighted to have joined Senior Housing News (SHN) throughout the series to present the class of honorees — nine in total — sharing their insightful interviews here on The Balance Sheet. To mark the conclusion of the series, SHN released a compilation of exclusive interview excerpts in a brand-new ebook. You can download the ebook today to access unseen stories, insights and advice from each Changemaker. Once again, congratulations to each and every Changemaker honoree — Yardi senior living clients included! Yardi clients named 2023 Changemakers With the ebook available now, it’s only fitting we recognize our senior living clients for their interview contributions — and celebrate them for their role in this year’s Changemakers series.   We’re so pleased to congratulate: Earl Parker of Commonwealth Senior Living Jodi Guffee of Radiant Senior Living Doug Dollenberg, Jr. of Brightview Senior Living Rod Burkett of Gardant Management Solutions Sarabeth Hanson of Harbor Retirement Associates Doris-Ellie Sullivan of Retirement Unlimited, Inc. About the series As the senior living industry navigates ever-changing challenges, owners, operators and executives are breaking the status quo to adapt and evolve. Leaders have created leaner operations, improved efficiency and transformed the way they do business entirely through technology adoption. Through it all, they continue to push the boundaries of what it means to be industry leaders and visionaries. Now sponsored by Yardi for the fifth consecutive year, the Changemakers series recognizes and celebrates the most innovative leaders in senior living today. Learn more about the annual interview series by SHN. Read this year’s Changemakers ebook We hope you’ve enjoyed the Changemakers series to date — we’ve certainly enjoyed sharing each honoree’s story with you. If you’re ready for bonus insights from this year’s Changemakers, explore the ebook. If you have any questions about how Yardi supports operators with our dynamic senior living software — don’t hesitate to schedule time to connect with...

National Assisted Living Week (NALW) is here! If you’re unfamiliar, NALW is an annual initiative established by the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) that celebrates assisted living communities and the individuals they serve. The week-long initiative encourages communities to offer events in observance of a specific theme — announced by NCAL each year — for residents, family members, staff and volunteers to enjoy. The inspiring theme for 2023 — Season of Reflection — is all about pausing to reflect on the important things in life, including the special bonds created within assisted living communities. And to no surprise, our Yardi senior living clients are doing just that — encouraging thoughtful reflection through a variety of creative events and heartfelt messages across social media. We’re pleased to share a snapshot of what these fantastic clients have done so far, and we applaud each and every community celebrating NALW this year. Not only do the celebrations spark an appreciation for residents, staff and more — but they also help spread awareness on the importance of assisted living in the U.S. Yardi clients celebrate National Assisted Living Week Thrive Senior Living took to social media in spirit of NALW, sharing an informative video with helpful tips for choosing the right community. They also posted a sweet thank you message on LinkedIn to recognize their associates for changing the lives of residents across Thrive communities. “Thank you to all our AL staff for the helping hands you provide,” wrote Thrive in the post.  Benchmark Senior Living joined the conversation with a thoughtful blog post focusing on the meaning behind NALW — and their devotion to this year’s theme. Sharing the blog post on LinkedIn, Benchmark wrote, “This year’s theme beautifully encapsulates what it means to feel gratitude for all we have and cherish each moment.” Read Benchmark’s blog post on NALW. Maplewood Senior Living also posted on social media in honor of NALW, sharing their excitement for the celebrations to come and noting the value of assisted living for today’s seniors. “We want to emphasize how assisted living can significantly contribute to seniors leading longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives,” shared Maplewood in the post. We can’t wait to see what else our clients have in store as NALW continues! Be sure to keep an eye on social media for additional posts. More about National Assisted Living Week Established by NCAL in 1995, National Assisted Living Week offers a unique opportunity to recognize the role of assisted living in caring for seniors, as well as individuals with disabilities. The annual observance encourages communities around the country to offer a variety of events and activities to celebrate the individuals they serve — and to help educate members of the public about this distinctive aspect of long term care.​​​​​​​​​​​ ​ Each year, NCAL releases a variety of resources to help communities prepare for the week-long observance, including an extensive planning guide with suggestions for activities, media tips and more. Enjoy #NALW! To join the celebration and help spread awareness, be sure to use #NALW on social media! The observance spans from September 10-16. And be sure to check out the #NALW page on LinkedIn to see what’s been shared so far.    From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to those across assisted living for all that you do — Yardi clients included. Not a client and curious to learn how we support communities with our dynamic solutions? Reach out to team...

Creating environmentally conscious, sustainable buildings is more important than ever. Yardi client Aegis Living knows just how important, considering they’ve created the world’s “greenest” senior living community — Aegis Living Lake Union. Opened in 2022 and located in Seattle, Washington, Aegis Living Lake Union is completely emission-free, using no fossil fuels. Considering the dedication of Aegis Living in creating this spectacular community, we simply had to spread the word here on The Balance Sheet. A round of applause for Aegis Living in creating a sustainable place for residents to call home! Read more about the initiative at Aegis Living Lake Union below. Aegis Living creates world’s greenest senior living community Aegis Living Lake Union is no stranger to sustainability. Relayed by McKnight’s Senior Living, the community’s environmentally conscious design is a commendable achievement — and an inspiration to others in the industry. Impressively, standard electricity supports the entire 70,000-square-foot building at Aegis Living Lake Union, which offsets 105% of the structure’s total energy demand. The community implemented a variety of energy reduction measures to achieve this, including an onsite solar array and offsite solar energy farms. When compared with similar buildings, the community has reduced its total energy draw by 25%. “When we embarked on the journey to create the world’s greenest senior living building, our goal was to set a new standard for what is possible, bringing an equal commitment to sustainable buildings and exceptional senior living,” Aegis President Adam Clark shares with McKnight’s Senior Living. “We made this dream a reality and hope to be a model for others serving our rapidly growing aging population.” In terms of recognition (and well-deserved recognition at that), Aegis Living Lake Union is one of ten developments that’s been selected for the 2023 Urban Land Institute Americas Awards Of Excellence — and it’s the only senior living community to be recognized. It’s also the first assisted living community to meet the global green building standards set by the International Living Future Institute. About Aegis Living Aegis Living is a leader in senior assisted living and memory care. With more than 25 years of experience, Aegis is known for its deep expertise in supporting residents along the continuum of care, innovative programming, a focus on purpose-built design and an employee-centric culture. With every community, Aegis creates a living environment where residents can feel at home and inspired to live life to the fullest. The organization is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, and operates 36 communities in Washington, California, and Nevada. Connect with us Once again, congratulations to Aegis Living for this outstanding achievement. Be sure to read more about the environment-first approach at Aegis Living Lake Union via McKnight’s. If you’re wanting to know how we support clients like Aegis with our senior living management software, reach out to our team! We’d love to show you around the Yardi Senior Living...

“I don’t get excited about change, per se, but I’m very comfortable with change. I fundamentally believe that change is an important part of the formula for business success.” That quote comes from Doug Dollenberg, Jr. — the final honoree in the 2023 Changemakers series by Senior Housing News (SHN)! It’s been a pleasure to sponsor the series for the fifth consecutive year, we’ve loved celebrating each senior living visionary recognized.   Keep reading for a snapshot of Doug Dollenberg, Jr.’s interview, which is packed with insightful stories and advice. Yardi client Doug Dollenberg, Jr. named 2023 Changemaker For Doug Dollenberg, Jr., president and CEO at Brightview Senior Living — a dedicated Yardi client — change isn’t just inevitable, it’s necessary. Since joining Brightview in 2017, he’s led changes that have positively shaped the organization to be what it is today — and he’s learned valuable lessons through it all.   In his interview with SHN, Dollenberg shares why he thinks change is essential in the senior living industry, and explains the importance of driving collaborative change. He also shares how his experience at Brightview has reinforced his passion for people and culture — and speaks to the organization’s plans for the future.   SHN: What are some ways that you think the senior living industry needs to change in the next five years? Dollenberg: Staffing is one. Two, resident experience. Three, embracing technology and innovation. And four, rebounding margin. On the staffing front, turnover is a huge challenge in the senior living industry. It is in plenty of others, but especially in senior living. And we need to attract more people to the industry and help people realize that senior living is a great industry and a great place to build a career. There are tremendous career opportunities in our industry, and we’re only going to need more and more people over the next decade. There’s already something like a million people who know it’s a great industry, but we have to attract more people to it. I think it’s going to require creativity and innovation and change to get more people to enter our great industry. We also have to figure out ways for Brightview and for the industry as a whole to figure out how to increase retention. Another is resident experience. Our resident needs and desires are evolving, and we need to be focused on addressing that for the residents of today — and also the residents of the future. The baby boomers, they’re not really entering our communities in the next handful of years, but as you go out 5, 10, 15 years, we really have to be thinking about them. As we’re looking at today’s residents and future, we have to be looking at what are the changes that impact our operations and the communities we develop for the future. The third area that I mentioned is embracing technology, innovation and process improvement with the goal of driving efficiencies. I think that’s increasingly important in our industry, as we’re focused on margin. We have to search for and create efficiencies in our business, and so much of that is going to come back to those things that I mentioned: Technology, innovative and creative ideas, and process improvement. The fourth big change in my eyes is margin rebound. Ultimately, our industry needs to get back to the operating margins that we had pre-pandemic, whether that’s getting back to or near those pre-pandemic margins. That’s something that needs to happen, and that is the function of building occupancy, driving revenue, and managing costs. I feel the industry is working on that, which is a good thing. And personally, I feel really good about the progress that our Brightview team is making on that front. SHN: How do you think about timing so that Brightview can innovate without getting so far ahead of the market that...

We hope you’ve enjoyed this year’s Changemakers series to date, a series full of inspiring interviews with leaders across the senior living industry. As sponsor for the fifth consecutive year, we’ve enjoyed sharing the interviews and highlighting how each honoree is building a better tomorrow. Today’s featured Changemaker is Jodi Guffee, owner and chief operating officer at Radiant Senior Living, one of our amazing senior living clients! Read on for a preview of Guffee’s interview, then head to the Changemakers site to read her full conversation with SHN. Yardi client Jodi Guffee named 2023 Changemaker With over 20 years of experience leading Radiant Senior Living, Jodi Guffee has spearheaded initiatives that have changed the organization’s operations for the better. While she’s faced challenges throughout her career, it hasn’t stopped her from pushing boundaries in order to make Radiant — and the industry as a whole — a better place. In her interview with SHN, Guffee shares what her journey has been like over the years — and reveals more about her initiatives at Radiant and what’s inspired them. She also shares her perspective on the senior living industry today (and her outlook on where it’s headed). 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? Guffee: No. That’s a short answer, I know. There are several layers to that. Probably one of the biggest ones is funding: funding for staffing and funding for a generation that’s going to have a hard time paying for what we have to charge. We have a huge middle market segment that needs to be served, and we have models that are unaffordable for the most part. There are some genius people out there really doing some cutting-edge stuff that I’m really looking into. I think it’s fantastic, but I don’t think that there are enough companies that can pivot quickly enough for us to be able to serve this baby boomer “silver tsunami.” We just don’t have the people to take care of them, and the people who are going to need our services may or may not be able to afford them. Where are we going to see some government subsidies for lower-income, reimbursement rates? Our home offices are in Oregon. We have a very lucrative reimbursement rate for memory care, but not for assisted living. They aren’t very different [residents], but we have an extremely good reimbursement rate for memory care. We’re also pioneers here in Oregon. There are very few states that have good reimbursement for the private sector to be able to take some state or federal funding for residents that are low income because it’s not affordable. 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? Guffee: Gosh, there are so many. I’ll say that the ability to turn and pivot and see through different lenses is probably the key. [For example], when we were at the beginning of COVID and then in the middle of COVID and then coming out of it, we see the statistics are scary. We lost 40% of our women in the workforce. In our setting, that’s a lot of the people. They had to either stay home to take care of children who were online schooling, or they couldn’t afford childcare, so it was more affordable for them to stay home. That was and still is a very scary time in that everybody has a staffing shortage. What are we going to do about that? It kept me up at night for a long time. We were trying so many different things and being flexible, and things just weren’t working. We weren’t getting people back into the workforce. Our entire industry,...