SENIOR LIVING
OPTIONS FOR OLDER ADULTS Deciding about senior living options, for yourself or a loved one, is described as one of the most difficult decisions a person will make. As the number of U.S. seniors increases, so do the choices—and the COVID-19 pandemic has made the process even more complex. Three Chicago-based senior living executives shared their current insights with Crain’s Content Studio. ANDREW AGINS is senior vice president – asset management for Anthology Senior Living, which operates 21 independent living, assisted living and memory support residences throughout the Midwest, Texas and Connecticut. He oversees investment and management strategies across all properties. He holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and previously worked in commercial real estate.
contribute and we can accomplish far more together.
turnover, which of course helps reduce the pressure on recruiting.
Kelly Hutchison: Home Instead provides caregivers that go into private homes. Their assistance allows seniors to remain independent and safe in their own home, surrounded by their own possessions and memories. Our services support seniors so they can perform activities of daily living. We provide different levels of service and flexible schedules.
NADIA GEIGLER is CEO of The Admiral at the Lake, a continuing care and lifecare community on Chicago’s North Side for residents 62 years and older. She joined The Admiral in 2016 as COO, after working in aging services since 1999. A licensed nursing home administrator, she holds a master’s degree in nonprofit administration from North Park University.
Andrew Agins: Anthology Senior Living is a developer, owner and operator of senior living communities across the United States. We specialize in independent living, assisted living and memory care communities. As a truly vertically integrated organization, we operate with deep expertise in the senior living space. For example, when we design a new community, we have team members from our construction, clinical, marketing and programming departments sit around a table to collaborate on the optimal unit mix, preferred amenity spaces and building footprint. We invest in our communities for the long term, using high-end materials and bestin-class technology. These upfront investments enhance our resident and team member experiences. We started operating our first communities in mid-2019. Today, Anthology operates 21 communities, with several new openings planned for the end of 2020 and early 2021. We’re growing quickly but thoughtfully.
Agins: Our top priority is always the safety and well-being of our residents and team members. Since the pandemic began, we’ve put in place comprehensive COVID-19 safety measures, and made free, onsite testing available for all residents and team members. We increased hourly pay and benefits for our staff, to aid their personal financial security. We partnered with peer operators to purchase bulk orders of PPE. These efforts helped mitigate the threat of COVID-19 within our communities. To foster resident engagement, we’ve been promoting safe social interaction. For example, we ordered Amazon Echo Dots for residents to facilitate community-wide games, trivia and announcements. We organized socially distanced activities such as fitness classes, book clubs and contests on our golf simulators. We also have been working with our culinary team to create safe dining options.
KELLY HUTCHISON is the 16-year owner/operator of the Elk Grove Village franchise office of Home Instead Senior Care, the world’s leading provider of personalized in-home care. His office serves seniors throughout Cook and DuPage counties. He holds an MBA from the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business and previously worked as a management consultant in the health care industry. What role does your organization play in the senior living space? Nadia Geigler: The Admiral at the Lake is a vibrant community of adults 62 and older who believe in leading full and authentic lives of purpose. Our community offers a
What’s the most pressing issue for your organization currently, and how are you addressing it?
“THE MOST PRESSING ISSUE WE HAVE RIGHT NOW IS IN HOW WE POSITION THE ORGANIZATION FOR WHATEVER THE ‘NEW NORMAL’ WILL BE IN THE WAKE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.” —NADIA GEIGLER, THE ADMIRAL AT THE LAKE full continuum of care and services as well as amenities and programs to support abundant living. We believe our role in the senior living space is to create an engaged and expansive community of residents, staff, family and community members because every person has something to
Hutchison: Our most pressing issue is a shortage of professional, caring applicants to join our staff. The COVID-19 pandemic made recruiting harder. We have new and innovative ways to attract and recruit applicants, as well as to retain the tenured staff. I’m happy to say we have very low
Geigler: The most pressing issue we have right now is in how we position the organization for whatever the “new normal” will be in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the course of this year, our organization and its members have proactively embraced and driven change designed to care for the community. We’re still practicing these skills and have included dreaming for our future and the new ways we might live out our mission and purpose. What are some recent regulatory changes, and how are they impacting your business? Geigler: Changes to regulations and guidance from various regulatory bodies has been a huge part of this year. Because we’ve remained close to public health experts throughout the course of the pandemic, our organization has been positively impacted. We were able to make informed decisions and act in the best interest of the community because we were educated and remained agile. For example, current regulations have allowances for safe practices around gatherings, dining and other services which our community is enjoying. Hutchison: The Family First Coronavirus Response Act, the first COVID-19 relief package passed by the U.S. Congress, was great for
Home Instead. It gave us the flexibility to retain workers with emergency paid sick leave when they were impacted by quarantines, experienced COVID-19 symptoms or other restrictions. Because we’re a laborintensive service, changes made by local, state and federal policy makers have a direct and immediate impact on the business, our employees and our senior clients. Agins: Each of the 11 states we operate in have different guidelines for performing resident care, and for addressing COVID-19. Therefore, the regulatory environment can be quite challenging to navigate. Fortunately, we have a brilliant legal team that evaluates all regulatory changes. Additionally, earlier this year,
Hutchison: We immediately closed the office. Now we use VOIP telephony and Zoom to conduct administrative functions. Managers conduct briefings each morning. These are essential virtual meetings and focus on setting priorities and communicating with managers. One big accomplishment was converting our entire in-person recruiting process to an online process. Going virtual with a document-intensive process was tough, but our HR team innovated. We got the right tools in place and made necessary process adjustments. What are you doing to keep your staff—and clients—safe amidst the pandemic?
“FROM THE BEGINNING WE KNEW GOOD COMMUNICATION WITH EMPLOYEES AND CLIENTS ABOUT COVID-19 RISKS WAS ESSENTIAL.” —KELLY HUTCHISON, HOME INSTEAD SENIOR CARE Anthology hired a consultant who has experience writing and executing infection control policies for a large health care system. Together, we work to deliver the best health care practices to our residents. Since the pandemic began, what changes have you made to your operations, services or other? Geigler: During the pandemic we made a number of changes to our operations to ensure we could provide quality services and access to amenities that met the individual needs of residents whenever possible. We offered room service both for dining as well as entertainment— books, movies, puzzles, etc.— assistance with grocery shopping, private transportation to medical appointments, support in connecting with friends and family members virtually and other activities. For staff, we offered convenience boxes of fresh produce, dairy, bread and other items to keep them from having to go to the grocery store. We also provided free meals, snacks and beverages, hero pay and other activities to show our deep appreciation for the many sacrifices being made to provide top-quality care and support to our residents.
Hutchison: The first mad scramble was to secure PPE. In March there was nothing! We used everything from OfferUp to industrial supply giants to Home Depot to secure PPE. We also developed our own staffing rules and procedures that isolate, track and trace. From the beginning we knew good communication with employees and clients about COVID-19 risks was essential. We serve seniors, and COVID-19 is more lethal for seniors. The early focus on stakeholder education helped. Clients and families were willing to make necessary adjustments to say, isolate due to a potential exposure, when they knew we were working hard to protect them from a communicable virus. We also provided additional training to our caregivers and employees. Agins: We perform health screens of our residents twice a day, and screen all staff prior to every shift. All team members wear PPE when in the community. In early May, we formed partnerships with several labs to offer free, ongoing testing to all community members. We’ve changed the way we interact with prospective residents, adopting technology traditionally used in highend multifamily space to develop virtual tours, where prospective residents can view our buildings and