assistedlivingexe20110304-dl

COVER STORY:
Best of the Best
Awards
Winners set new best practices
benchmarks, developing programs
worth emulating.
PAGE 10
ALSO INSIDE:
23 Executive Focus Group
Regional sales pros weigh impact
of Internet on prospecting and lead
response.
27 Wellness Way of Life
Differentiating wellness programs
and measuring ROI no longer
optional.
32 Reading the MAP
Latest NIC MAP data points the
way to recovery.
36 From the Ground Up
Carlton Senior Living project
moves on to tricky elements of pre-
construction planning.
40 Interview: ALFA
Conference Speakers
Advice from noted business pros
Dan Coughlin and Jeff Jarvis.
Executive
Assisted Living
published by the assisted living federation of america
March/April 2011
B e s t p r a c t i c e s | s t r a t e g i c s o l u t i o n s | i n n o v a t i v e t h i n k i n g
ASSISTEDLIVINGEXECUTIVE|MARCH/APRIL2011|WWW.ALFA.ORG

— Jesse Achenbach | President | Providence Place Retirement Community
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Yardi Voyager software is the solution chosen by senior housing provider Providence Place Retirement Community.
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so the company can work efficiently and strategically. Providence Place is able to view real-time portfolio data on a
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accelerates workflows, Providence Place focuses their energy where it counts: increasing services to their residents.
Find out more about what Yardi Voyager can do for your business. Visit www.yardi.com/alfa89 or call (800) 866 -1144.
YARDI VOYAGER™
for Senior Housing
George M. Leader (Chairman) and Jesse Achenbach (President) Providence Place Retirement Community

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www.alfa.org | March/April 2011 | Assisted Living Executive 3
contents | March/April 2011
5 Top of Mind
Richard P. Grimes
ALFA President CEO
6 Need to Know
Industry news and
updates
9 ALFA for You
ALFA news and initiatives
52 People Places
Appointments and
developments
54 Compliance Corner
Documentation as
business necessity
56 Public Policy Brief
Advocacy Day recap
58 Ad Member Indices
Guide to advertisers and
members in this issue
59 Business Link
Products and services for
senior living
60 ExecutiveBookReview
This issue’s hot titles
Best Practices
Strategic Solutions
Innovative Thinking
Volume 18 | Number 2
Published by ALFA
2710
Executive
Assisted Living
R E L I A B L E R ES O U R C ES
features
10 Best of the Best Awards
By whitney redding
Our annual awards competition honoring
the best ideas in the senior living busi-
ness brings you 32 innovative solutions to
specific senior living challenges.
23 Executive Focus Group: Chasing Leads
By angela hickman brady
Five regional sales and marketing professionals sat down to
discuss leads and referral sources. All agreed: The Internet
has created a revolution in senior living lead development.
27 A Way of Life, Not an Amenity
By anya martin
Branding your business with a comprehensive wellness
program provides a strategic advantage in attracting and
retaining residents. But in the future, developing a culture
that promotes a total healthy lifestyle with more innovative
approaches may be a competitive necessity.
32 Bring It On
By robert g. Kramer and michael a. Hargrave
Revival of demand for senior living brings some pricing
power to providers, based on the latest data from NIC MAP.
But as always, it all depends on the dynamics of your market.
36 From the Ground Up: Project Flow
By adam stone
In our second installment of this year-long focus on a
Carlton Senior Living startup project, we follow the company
as it moves into preconstruction planning.
40 Interview: Dan Coughlin and Jeff Jarvis
By adam stone
Two 2011 ALFA Conference speakers discuss the changing
business environment, impact of emerging technologies,
and more.
best of the best
ALFA
2011
E X C E L L E N C E I N S E N I O R L I V I N G
PROGRAM TO WATCH
best of the best
ALFA
2011
PROGRAM TO SPOTLIGHT
best of the best
ALFA
2011
AWARD WINNING COMPANY
2011 ALFA Conference Expo Exhibitors
Guide. See page 44.

Cover Image by: Ian McKinnell

Vi g i l I n t e g rat e d C a r e M a nag e m e n t S y s t e m
Vigil Offers Complete Solutions for the
Full Continuum of Care
• Wireless and Hard-Wired Nurse Call
• Award-winning, resident monitoring
for Dementia Care
• Sophisticated Reporting
Vigil’s fully-integrated systems, including nurse call and
dementia monitoring, provide tailored solutions for every
budget and care continuum.
Our innovative dementia system provides residents suffering
from dementia with a way to summon help without even
knowing they are doing so. Families see the difference and
chooseVigil enabled facilities for their loved ones.
The detailed reporting system facilitates risk management
and helps managers make objective staffing and operational
improvements. In short, theVigil System allows you to
provide better care at a lower cost.
Vigil’s product line includes:
Nurse Call,Wireless Emergency Call,Wireless pendants,Wireless Bed and
Wheelchair Monitoring as well as theVigil Dementia System.
“AtThe Chapel Grove Inn, we strive to fulfill the
individual living needs for each of our residents in a way
that promotes dignity and maximum independence.The
Vigil System is instrumental in helping us achieve this
goal. Its monitoring and call system allow us to attend to
our residents’ needs promptly, discreetly and individually,
enabling us to maintain our home-like environment.”
Bev Donaldson,The Chapel Grove Inn, Ohio
To find out more about what Vigil can offer your facility,
call 1-877-850-1122 or visit our website at www.vigil.com.

Top Of Mind
Advocacy Fly-In: A Breath of Fresh Air
Crisis-ism … a condition in which you don’t know you’re in crisis because you’re always in
crisis, you’ve always been in crisis, and you’ve always gotten through, so what the heck.
Crisis-ism is the inability to apprehend that this time it’s different, that this time the crisis is
an actual crisis.—Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 24, 2011.
At this writing, Maginot lines are being drawn in all the states, most dramati-
cally in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Pennsylvania—and in Washington,
D.C. On one side are people who tell us they care very much about our nation’s fu-
ture. And on the other side are, well, people who tell us they care very much about
our nation’s future.
Both sides seem deeply entrenched, clutching their beliefs and political life-
experience in preparation for a long siege. And, so far, no one has dared venture into
the no-man’s land between the lines. THAT would require courage and leadership.
The net effect? Almost nothing is getting done to meet the challenges of the
greatest fiscal crisis in our nation’s history.
In the nation’s capitol, lobbyists and advocacy groups are daily trying to influ-
ence their elected representatives to protect or increase funding for their federally-
subsidized programs. While there is a lot of pressure on politicians to face the
crisis, there is also a lot of pressure on them to keep their heads down or just kick
the can down the road. You’ve always gotten through, so what the heck.
So ALFA’s Advocacy Day Fly-In last week (see page 56) must have felt like a
breath of fresh air to members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.
Leaders in the senior living industry converged on Capitol Hill—and they didn’t
have their hands out! They had a much more compelling message and a much
more positive story to tell.
During the Fly-In, 160 senior living executives visited more than half the offices
of the 535 elected representatives that make up the U.S. House and Senate. They
came from all over the country, representing 56 senior living companies serving
tens of thousands of seniors and their families. Their most important purpose was
educational. They wanted their elected officials to know what the senior living busi-
ness is all about, how our business takes care of our nation’s seniors, how Congress
can support the seniors in our care, and the importance of visiting ALFA members’
senior living communities in their own congressional district or state to see with
their own eyes.
Why are ALFA’s Advocacy Fly-Ins so extremely important? Because an informed
U.S. Congress won’t try to fix something that ain’t broke. The industry you’ve chosen
as your profession does an extraordinary job taking care of seniors. It is reflected in
satisfied residents, families, and employees. It is reflected in high rates of occupancy.
And it is reflected in how well the senior living business continues to weather the
fiscal storm.
To learn more about ALFA’s public policy programs at the federal level and in
your state, visit www.ALFA.org/policy.
Richard P. Grimes, rgrimes@alfa.org, is president/CEO of the
Assisted Living Federation of America, www.alfa.org, representing
professionally managed senior living communities and the
residents and families they serve.
executive publisher
Richard P. Grimes, ALFA President/CEO
rgrimes@alfa.org
twitter.com/rickgrimes
publisher
Debra J. Stratton
Editor
Lisa Junker
ljunker@strattonpublishing.com
Contributing EDITOR
Angela Hickman Brady
abrady@strattonpublishing.com
EDITORIAL/PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
TERESA TOBAT
ttobat@strattonpublishing.com
Contributing Writers
Anya Martin, Adam Stone,
WHITNEY REDDING
Art Director
janelle Welch
NATIONAL sales MANAGER
STEVE SCHWANZ
adinfo.alfa@foxrep.com, 800.440.0232
ADVERTISING SALES OFFICES
Sales Representatives
Atlanta 800.699.5475
Chicago 312.644.3888
Detroit 248.628.0511
New York 212.725.2106
Los Angeles 213.228.1250
Phoenix 480.538.5021
PUBLISHING OFFICES
Stratton Publishing Marketing Inc.
5285 Shawnee Road, Suite 510, Alexandria, VA 22312
703.914.9200; fax 703.914.6777
E-mail: editor@alfa.org
For circulation information, call 703.894.1805.
Insights and critical review provided by the
ALFA Operational Excellence Advisory Panel
Thomas W. Baker, SVP Sales Marketing, Country Meadows Retirement
Communities, Sales Marketing Executive Roundtable
Michelle Hamilton, SVP of Operations, Country Meadows Retirement
Communites, Regional Executives Roundtable
Chris Guay, Director of Operations, Emeritus Senior Living, Regional
Executives Roundtable
Scott Ranson, CIO, Brookdale Sevior Living, IT Executive Roundtable
Andrea Teichman, SVP General Counsel, Benchmark Assisted Living,
Government Relations Executive Roundtable
Guy Hemond, Director of Dining Services, Benchmark Assisted Living,
Dining Service Executive Roundtable
Judd Harper, COO, The Arbor Company, Operations Executive Roundtable
Elizabeth Wheatley, Corporate Director of Clinical Operations,
Five Star Senior Living, Clinical Quality Executive Roundtable
Budgie Amparo, EVP, Quality Services Risk Management,
Emeritus Senior Living, Clinical Quality Executive Roundtable
Thomas V. Croal, CFO, Silverado Senior Living, CFO Executive
Roundtable
Published by THE ASSISTED LIVING FEDERATION OF AMERICA,
Alexandria, Virginia. Assisted Living Executive (ISSN 1553-8281) is published
bimonthly, by the Assisted Living Federation of America, 1650 King
Street, Suite 602, Alexandria, Virginia 22314. Periodicals postage paid at
Alexandria, VA, and additional mailing offices. ALFA member companies
receive subscriptions for staff as part of their membership. Free controlled
subscriptions are also available to qualified individuals in the senior
living business. Senior living and other professionals who do not qualify
may purchase an annual subscription: $95 for individuals and $125 for
institutions. Go to www.alfa.org/subscribe for details.
POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO
Assisted Living Executive, 1650 King Street, Suite 602, Alexandria, Virginia
22314; 703/894-1805. Printed in USA. Copyright 2011. Prior to photocopying
items for educational classroom, internal, or personal use, please contact
the Copyright Clearance Center, Customer Service, 978.750.8400, 222
Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923 or check CCC Online at www.copyright.
com. Assisted Living Executive will not be responsible for the return of any
unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.
Copyright ©2011 Assisted Living Federation of America. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form—
print, electronic, or otherwise—without written permission from ALFA.

I n d u s t r y u p d a t e s | al f a n e w s
NEED
to know
I n d u s t r y NEWS u p d a t e s
6 Assisted Living Executive | March/April 2011 | www.alfa.org
Health Spending
Remains Steady
At a time when the economy was
faltering, national health spend-
ing grew 4 percent in 2009, accord-
ing to the National Health Expenditures
2009 Highlights report issued by CMS.
The data indicates that even during
economic downturns, consumers are
willing to pay for quality care. With a
total of $2.5 trillion spent on health
care, the 4 percent growth is down
from 4.7 percent in 2008. But health
care accounted for a significant share
of a shrinking economy, with 17.6
percent of the nation’s gross domestic
product in 2009.
Today, 5.3 million Americans have
Alzheimer’s disease, according to
the Alzheimer’s Association, mak-
ing it the seventh-leading cause of
death in this country. Several recent
discoveries are offering new hope to
the individuals and families impacted
by the disease:
• A blood test to screen for antibod-
ies may one day be used to detect
Alzheimer’s, says a research study
published in the January 7 issue of
the scientific journal Cell. Detecting
Alzheimer’s using antibodies would
be a simpler, less invasive method of
detecting the disease, according to
researchers.
• Understanding a protein that builds
up in the brains of Alzheimer’s suf-
ferers that they cannot later get rid of
may yield clues as to how Alzheim-
er’s disease wreaks havoc, according
to a study in published in the journal
Science. A protein called amyloid-beta
(A-beta) is thought to disrupt normal
brain functions. In some rare forms of
Alzheimer’s, genetic mutations dra-
matically increase the production of
the A-beta protein, although this is not
always seen in the most common forms
of Alzheimer’s.
• A common gene that destroys brain
cells in individuals with Alzheimer’s
disease and those suffering from Down
syndrome was identified by research-
ers at the University of British Colum-
bia and the Vancouver Coastal Health
Research Institute. This discovery will
allow researchers to create a new drug
that could obstruct the progression of
dementia in seniors.
• Using alternative methods with
Alzheimer’s patients has been shown to
minimize symptoms of the disease and
create positive emotional experiences
for those seniors, the New York Times re-
cently reported. Scientific studies as well
as anecdotal evidence indicate that using
food, schedules, art, music, and exercise
to create a pleasing environment can
minimize the symptoms of Alzheimer’s
and dementia. New research suggests
that behavioral problems often arise
from feelings of sadness and anxiety. Al-
lowing residents to take part in individu-
alized activities that remind them of life
before Alzheimer’s can create feelings of
well-being.
Latest Alzheimer’s Research Makes Strides
Scientific studies as well as
anecdotal evidence indicate
that using food,schedules,
art,music,and exercise to
create a pleasing environ-
ment can minimize the
symptoms of Alzheimer’s
and dementia.
Corrections/Clarifications
The “Women in Leadership” article
in the January/February 2011
issue included incorrect information
about Sue Farrow, CEO of Integral
Senior Living. Farrow actually worked
previously as an accountant and
relocated to San Diego prior to her
marriage. Additionally, Transamerica
was a $40+ billion company when
she joined it.
The article also included incorrect
information regarding Brenda Ba-
con’s company. Bacon now operates
19 mostly assisted living communi-
ties, which represent several hundred
million dollars in investment.

Acommon misconception exists
regarding the volume of construc-
tion currently in the marketplace,
with many believing there is a dearth
of construction due to the difficult
financing environment. However, as of
third-quarter 2010, 85 assisted living
properties were under construction
in the top 100 metropolitan markets,
representing 2 percent of the existing
unit inventory.
The construction volume has actually
increased slightly since first-quarter 2010
and appears to be stabilizing. Surprising
to some, 57 of these properties are new
properties, with an average size of 83
Providers Continue
to Build 4%
3%
2%
1%
0%
1Q 2Q 2Q2Q3Q 3Q 3Q4Q 4Q1Q 1Q
2008 2009 2010
units. The remaining 28 properties are
undergoing additions, and have on aver-
age 37 units under construction.
The properties under construction
are scattered throughout 45 different
metropolitan markets, with 19 of these
markets having more than one property
under construction.
Construction vs. Existing Inventory for Assisted Living Properties; MAP100
Source:NICMAPDataAnalysisService

NEED
to know
I n d u s t r y NEWS u p d a t e s
From laptops and tablets to smartphones, the Web is going
increasingly mobile.
What’s Clicking
According to a recent comprehensive study by Morgan Stanley analysts, mobile Web
use is on a meteoric rise. Based on the current rate of change and adoption, the mobile
Web will be bigger than desktop Internet use by 2015, with more than 60 percent of
mobile handsets having mobile Web browsers.
Riding this same wave: Local search on mobile devices. According to Google, local
search on mobile devices already indexes at approximately two to three times higher
than desktops.
Seniors and boomers, who account for a whopping 23 percent of the U.S. population,
exhibit slow technology adoption rates; they must see the benefits before they sign on.
But similar to their adoption of social media, this age group may start slow but eventu-
ally post adoption rates greater than younger demographics. Additionally, products
designed especially for this age group will only aid in building mobile momentum.
U.S. Mobile Stats
293 Million mobile subscribers (93% of total U.S. population)
17% Smartphone users
34% Mobile users who have accessed the mobile Web
U.S. Mobile Stats—Seniors
61% Own a mobile phone
4.5% Own a smartphone
11% Have wireless Internet access away from home
9% Use mobile phone to text
U.S. Mobile Stats—Boomers
85% Own a mobile phone
7.5% Own a smartphone
35% Have wireless Internet access
away from home
51% Use mobile phone to text
Sources: CTIA, Synovate, Pew Research Center, Nielsen Wire (2009, 2010)
States Restructure
Senior Programs
The economic downturn has changed
the way states handle senior care,
according to a new AARP report titled
Weathering the Storm: The Impact of the
Great Recession on Long-Term Services and
Supports. Many states are using the eco-
nomic slump to restructure funding into
lower cost services such as assisted living.
As states balance their budgets, they have
also largely cut services relating to seniors,
although the demand for senior living
services remains. Highlights from the
report include:
Thirty-one states cut non-Medicaid
aging and disability services programs
in fiscal year 2010, with more than
half of the states reporting increased
demands for information and referrals,
home-delivered meals, case manage-
ment, personal care assistance, family
caregiver support, transportation, and
homemaker services.
Twenty-eight states anticipated mak-
ing cuts to these programs in FY 2011,
when American Recovery and Reinvest-
ment Act stimulus funding ends and
fiscal pressure is put on state Medicaid
budgets.
Visit www.alfa.org/publicpolicy to keep
up with all regulatory developments.
G5 Senior Living’s latest online search data
»
»

ALFA
FOR YOU
Membership Corner
ALFA’s membership renewal campaign is coming to a close. But joining ALFA
is a year-round opportunity to have your organization help shape the future of
senior living. Several new companies have joined ALFA in 2011, including Capital
Senior Living of Texas, Stoneridge
Senior Living of Texas, Ashe As-
sisted Living of North Carolina,
and Agape Manor of Wyoming.
New allied ALFA members
include American Quality Foods,
Allen O’Hara, and Coastal Re-
construction Group.
We also welcome new ALFA
President’s Council members
SYSCO, Senior Living University,
VCPI, Upstairs Solutions, NHI,
Care and Compliance Group, HD
Supply, and Real Page. See the full
list of ALFA President’s Council
members on page 57.
All members will receive a
special welcome kit that outlines
the benefits of membership and
encourages greater engagement
in ALFA.
ExperiencetheFutureof
SeniorLiving
You may be reading this before ALFA 2011,
during it, or after. Regardless of when you
read it, as a senior living professional who serves
with an ALFA member company, you should be
proud of your company’s commitment to your
professional development. The annual ALFA
Conference Expo is one way ALFA helps
companies raise the bar on excellence in senior
living.
This year, the annual conference and expo
is in Orlando, Florida, from April 5-7. It is
perhaps the most sophisticated educational and
networking program ALFA has ever offered:
high-profile, energetic speakers; new, engaging session formats;
and knowledge and skills to take home and apply at your company or community im-
mediately. Learn more at www.alfa.org/conference.
Planning for the ALFA 2012 Conference Expo is already underway. Mark your
calendar for May 16-18, 2012. We’ll be at the Gaylord Texan in Dallas, Texas.
Find New
Talent Today
The ALFA Senior Living Career
Center is the online space devoted
to finding manager and executive talent
for your senior living communities and
companies. ALFA member companies
enjoy unlimited job postings included
as part of membership. Nonmember
companies pay only a small fee. Hiring
managers may also view resumes posted
by senior living professionals.
With more than 67,000 job views in
2010, now’s the time to get your open
positions filled faster. Visit www.alfa.org/
careercenter or contact ALFA’s Jaclyn
Allmon for more information at
jallmon@alfa.org.
Creatingthe Future
of SeniorLiving
Read about how ALFA and its
member companies advanced
senior living in 2010. The ALFA
2010 Year in Review is now
available online at www.alfa.org/
yearinreview2010.

2011
T
he bar for what constitutes excellence in senior living
has just been raised.
ALFA’s fifth annual Best of the Best Awards program drew a
record 140 submissions this year, both doubling and deepening the
competition for resident-centered senior living services, programs, and
products that truly deserve to be called “Best of the Best.”
If past winners are any indication, many of this year’s winning strategies will be-
come the new baseline for what older adults will expect from senior living providers
in years to come. “We have had the honor to spread the good word about remarkable
home-grown ideas in every aspect of senior living operations over the past five years,
from clinical services to the kitchen,” says Richard Grimes, president and CEO of
ALFA. “All of this year’s entries, winners and non-winners, speak to the high standard
of professionalism among our members and demonstrate that resourcefulness and
ingenuity continue to be the norm.”
This year’s submissions were categorized into eight areas of excellence and
reviewed according to five basic criteria:
• The uniqueness of the program, product, or service.
• Transformation of an ordinary business approach into an extraordinary one.
• The difference made for seniors, families, staff, operations, processes, revenue
generation, and/or business efficiencies.
• The strength of quantitative results and qualitative feedback.
• The strategic vision for the program, product, or service.
Unlike the last two years, few if any of the operational practices submitted for an
A record-setting year for the ALFA Best of the Best Awards
brings to light innovative ideas and programs
that raise the bar for the industry By Whitney Redding
best of the best
ALFA
2011
Best
IanMcKinnell

Resident Health and Wellness: Senior Living
Communities
Supporting Residents and Families: Country
Meadows Retirement Communities
Technology Adoption: ESCO Technologies LLC
Risk Management and Injury Reduction:
Silverado Senior Living
Sales and Marketing: Emeritus Senior Living
Human Resources and Staff Development:
Brookdale Senior Living
Physical Plant and Environmental: Horizon
Bay Retirement Living
Resident Dining Experience: Brookdale Senior
Living
› Programs to Spotlight
A Place for Mom
AgeSong
Brandywine Senior Living
Carlton Senior Living LLC
Chelsea Senior Living
Connected Living
Horizon Bay Retirement Living
MBK Senior Living
Pathway Senior Living
Senior Living Communities
Willis of Illinois Inc.
oftheBest
› Programs to Watch
Chelsea Senior Living LLC
Coro Health LLC
McKnight Place Assisted Living
The Orchards at Bartley Assisted Living
Senior Care Inc.
Sonata Senior Living
Vintage Senior Living
AwardWinners Special Recognition

award seemed to be driven by recession-
related necessity. In fact, nearly half of all
entries were directly related to enhancing
resident care or resident/family engage-
ment rather than administrative efficien-
cies. Employee development initiatives
were another strong category, with 17
entries. Environmental sustainability
was a common theme across multiple
categories.
Here, then, are the winners of the 2011
Best of the Best Awards.
Resident Health and
Wellness
 Winner: Senior Living
Communities
Charlotte, North Carolina
CLIMB
When preliminary results of a Wake For-
est University Baptist Medical Center
study suggested that a majority of older
adults have significant deficiencies in
lower-body strength, Senior Living Com-
munities, which participated in the study,
decided to turn that takeaway around.
Thus was born CLIMB, an unintimi-
dating exercise program designed to help
seniors who ordinarily would not attend
fitness classes to attain greater Confi-
dence, Longevity, Independence, Mobility,
and Balance.
At the beginning of the 16-week pro-
gram, wellness coordinators evaluated
each participant’s lower-body strength.
They found that participants at nine out of
10 communities averaged fewer than the
suggested norm of 11.9 chair-stands per
30 seconds for seniors who are between
80 and 89 years old. They then developed
a “circuit” of exercises focusing on lower
body strength. The goals were concrete
and tangible—to improve walking, for
instance, or stand up without help—and
the exercises were simple enough to do in
regularly scheduled group practices or in
the privacy of a resident’s home.
By the end of the program, participants
experienced an 18.1 percent improvement
in their timed chair-stands, on average,
and the average performance of residents
at six of the 10 properties exceeded the
suggested norm for their age group.
The secret to the program’s success
was the fact that it was fun—inducing a
friendly rivalry between communities to
do the most sit-stands before lunch, for
example—and that residents embraced
its very concrete goals. “Immediately,
residents were noticing changes,” recalls
Wellness Coordinator Sandi Griswold,
who helped launch the program. “Once
other members found out, they would say
to me, ‘Is it too late to join CLIMB? Can
I get in?’”
Resident Ruth Kessler was initially cau-
tious about participating since she had
broken her femur two years before and
was unable to do a single sit-stand. After
the first six weeks, she was thrilled to be
able to lift 70 pounds with leg curls and
accomplish five sit-stands. “It seems like a
small thing, but when you feel more con-
fident getting around, lots of good things
happen—you get to see your grandchil-
dren more often, you can get up and grab
yourself a snack without hurting, and you
have the freedom to come and go as you
please,” she says.
Programs to Spotlight:
MBK Senior Living
Irvine, California
Infection Prevention Program
Infection control is only as effective as it
is thorough—and thoroughly understood.
MBK Senior Living has experienced great
results through its comprehensive com-
munitywide prevention and training pro-
gram. The goal is to prevent and control
outbreaks of infection, of course, but at
a high standard that enables most sick
residents to stay put during an outbreak.
The program includes a manual devel-
oped with input from every department,
from nursing to dining to activities. Re-
sults include a 70 percent reduction of
outbreaks communitywide, no building
closures in 2010 (compared with six in
2009 and eight in 2008), a drop in census
of less than 5 percent during a norovirus
best of the best
ALFA
2011
CLIMB program participants have seen significant improvements in strength and mobility.

outbreak, and a 50 percent reduction in
overtime.
Chelsea Senior Living
Manalapan, New Jersey
Chelsea at Manalapan’s Chelsea
Dollars Program
To address the sedentary lifestyle that can
lead to weight gain and an increased risk
of falls, Chelsea at Manalapan has hit on
a low-cost strategy for giving ongoing re-
wards to residents who take steps to im-
prove their health.
Residents earn locally printed “Chel-
sea Dollars” every time they take a walk,
play Wii bowling, participate in “Mov-
ers and Shakers” exercise programs, at-
tend a dietitian’s presentation, and so
on. Residents save the “dollars” to buy
tickets for periodic raffles, which fea-
ture prizes such as gift cards and lottery
scratch-offs. Since implementing the
program last September, participating
residents have either maintained their
weight or shed a few pounds. Falls have
decreased, from 11 in September to eight
in October and two in November, while
participation in the daily exercise class
has more than doubled.
Supporting Residents
and Families
Winner: Country Meadows
Retirement Communities
Hershey, Pennsylvania
Journeys of Faith Spirit
Residents with dementia are on one
of life’s most difficult and bewildering
journeys and could use all the support
they can get. Yet how can religious lead-
ers best provide spiritual care that is rel-
evant and meaningful to someone with
dementia?
Country Meadows Retirement Com-
munities has hit on a simple yet prom-
ising solution. Inspired by a storytelling
therapy approach by Anne Basting, Ph.D.,
of the University of Wisconsin called
TimeSlips, Country Meadows uses visual
images as an alternative means to com-
municate and share matters of faith. In a
weekly program called Journeys of Faith
Spirit, small groups of residents with
moderate dementia are given a color copy
of artwork that has a religious or spiritual
dimension—such as a picture of Noah
watching animals enter his ark—and then
are asked to reflect on the image and ex-
press what is on their mind. A chaplain
or other facilitator listens, affirms, sum-
marizes, and records the ensuing group
discussion without being didactic or di-
rective. “We use all open-ended questions
and just let the residents’ own comments
guide the process,” explains Rev. Howard
West, director of spiritual life services.
Over the course of the discussion, par-
ticipants often build on each others’ com-
ments, recall deep memories, and share
thoughts and feelings about their beliefs.
The depth and clarity of their reflections
can be surprising to staff and family. In
the session exploring the picture of Noah,
for example, Noah was never mentioned
by name, but the image clearly resonated
with participants on a spiritual level. “The
man is mentally in charge of these ani-
mals,” said one woman. “Right now is the
time of the Lord, too. We are like them.
We are the followers.”
The sessions seem to be helpful to
participants. Country Meadows has ob-
served significant improvements in their
mood, behavior, and interpersonal skills
both during and after the groups. “They
leave with a feeling of competence and fel-
lowship and feeling connected with each
other and their God that they believe in,”
says West.
Des Plaines, Illinois
VIVA!/Camp VIVA!
Pathway Senior Living offers what it calls
an “extreme wellness” adventure to as-
sisted living residents: a 24-hour camp-
ing trip to a scenic handicapped-accessible
campground by a lake. The residents get
to enjoy camping experiences, includ-
ing fishing, swimming, hiking, eating
outdoors, sleeping on cots in cabins, and
roasting marshmallows by the campfire.
The experience has been known to have a
profound effect on participants, by bring-
ing back memories, immersing them in
nature, and giving them a break from rou-
tine. It also has enabled staff and residents
to bond in new ways.
Camp VIVA! is part of Pathway’s VIVA!
program, which encourages caregivers to
take on responsibilities beyond their tra-
ditional role, serving as a “life-enrichment
aide” for the residents in their charge.
Life Stories Video Series Project
Oral history has entered the information
age. To encourage residents to share their
personal history with their families, Se-
nior Living Communities offers the op-
portunity for residents to be interviewed
and featured in their very own profes-
sionally produced and packaged one-
hour video memoir. The provider hired
a full-time videographer for this purpose,
and the service is provided at no charge
to the resident. Nor are the DVDs used
for marketing.
More than 200 autobiographies have
been filmed so far, and the response from
families has been very positive. The films
also help team members to better appreci-
best of the best
ALFA
2011
PROGRAM TO WATCH
best of the best
ALFA
2011
best of the best
ALFA
2011
Camp VIVA! gets residents into
the great outdoors.

ate residents as individuals and provide a
natural opportunity for residents to give
valuable feedback about the community.
Technology Adoption
Winner: ESCO
Technologies LLC
Liberty Township, Ohio
CareConnect
The past decade has seen a barrage of so-
phisticated technology devices and integrat-
ed software systems that allow senior living
communities to streamline operations and
resident care in never-before-imagined
ways. But at least one technology vendor
understands that seniors and the commu-
nities where they live still value telephone
and Internet services that are reliable and
a television that gets all the channels they
want, preferably without spending an arm
and a leg.
ESCO Technologies’ CareConnect
offers a free systemwide telecommu-
nications upgrade to qualified senior
communities, installing and servicing
state-of-the-art telecommunications
equipment at no capital cost to the
community, while significantly reduc-
ing business and resident phone, In-
ternet, and TV expenses. Residents
and the community get the benefit of
a single-source, senior-focused vendor
for telephone, customized satellite tele-
vision, high-speed Internet, and nurse
call services, at a cost that is significantly
less than if they were to pursue separate
solutions for each. Included is a free e-
call system, free campuswide pendants,
free long distance, a free community TV
channel, and customized TV packages
for residents. Residents also get to keep
their old telephone number when they
move into the community, even if they
arrived from out of state.
“It’s volume that allows us to do this,
volume and specialization. Senior hous-
ing telecommunications is our sole fo-
cus. It’s all we do,” explains President
Jerry Grove, adding that CareConnect
is the only way some communities can
afford a systemwide communications
and life safety upgrade. ESCO’s commit-
ment to pick up the initial costs of these
upgrades has saved up to $300,000 in
immediate capital costs and hundreds
of thousands more over time per com-
munity at Brookdale Senior Living and
other companies, while reducing busi-
ness phone rates by up to 70 percent
and resident Internet, TV, and phone
rates by up to 40 percent.
A Place for Mom
Seattle, Washington
MySearch
MySearch is an online service that helps
family members organize and execute
their strategy for selecting an appropriate
senior care option for a loved one. Con-
sumers who seek referrals to senior care
communities through A Place for Mom
are provided with an encrypted link to
their very own MySearch Web page, which
they then can personalize for their search.
It contains information about communi-
ties to which they have been referred, as
well as maps, links to community Web
sites, online tour scheduling, and space
for adding personal impressions and rat-
ings of communities they have visited.
The goal is to expedite searches and make
it easier for families to collaborate on a
decision.
During November and December
2010, more than 26,000 unique families
accessed MySearch. More than a third of
MySearch visitors used it to access com-
munities’ Web pages.
Irvine, California
24-Hour Hotline and Live Chat
Alzheimer’s and dementia know no geo-
graphic boundaries. Using the power of
the Internet, Silverado Senior Living now
is able to help families facing this debili-
tating disease wherever they are. Silvera-
do’s 24-hour hotline and live-chat service
are resources that users may call or log
onto at any time of day or night. Silverado
makes a point of connecting users to an
actual person who can answer their ques-
tions about memory care or help them to
find resources at Silverado or elsewhere
in real time.
In its first few months, Silverado’s
assisted living, at-home, and hospice ser-
vices benefited from hundreds of new
referrals, nine percent of which became
customers. Notably, more than half of all
users had accessed the hotline or live chat
outside of traditional business hours.
Connected Living
Quincy, Massachusetts
Connected Living
More than one senior living provider
entered an awards submission singing
the praises of this innovative technology
Thomas Torrey, Senior Living Communities videographer, has filmed more than 200
LifeStory interviews to date.
best of the best
ALFA
011
PROGRAM TO WATCH
best of the best
ALFA
2011
best of the best
ALFA
2011E X C E L L E N C E I N S E N I O R L I V I N G

Chelsea Senior Living’s East
Brunswick, New Jersey,
residence has established
a program that specializes
in serving seniors who need
assisted living but who
would not be accepted by
most communities because
of a challenging psychiatric
diagnosis. Nearly 140 seniors
with mental illness have been
helped through the Crossings
extended-recovery program,
which is overseen by mental-
health professionals, and
live side by side with other
assisted living residents.
Senior Care, Inc.,
headquartered in
Louisville, Kentucky, is
experimenting with an
interactive online tool that
shows particular promise.
The Elmcroft Family Portal,
powered by Silverchair
Learning Systems, provides
family members with a
secure and private way
to have online access to
education, information, and
communication. Within 60
days of implementation,
almost 60 percent of Senior
Care’s family members had
registered and engaged in
the system.
CoroHealthLLC,of
Austin,Texas,is now using
music therapists to design
individualized “Music
Prescriptions” for senior
living residents. These
“prescriptions” are assembled
and provided in each
resident’s room through a
proprietary computer unit and
managed remotely through
the Internet. While anecdotal
evidence suggests sometimes
dramatic improvements in
residents’ day-to-day health,
such as increased appetite,
Coro Health is conducting
clinical trials with several
universities and professional
organizations to quantify its
program’s effectiveness in
achieving specific nonmusic
outcomes.
At the end of 2008,
McKnight Place Assisted
Living paid out 175 days
with pay to employees.
At the end of 2010, it
rewarded employees with
more than 120 days off with
pay. The rewards were for
spotless safety records and
typical of the provider’s
comprehensive safety
culture. From the day they
are hired, every employee
is placed on a safety team,
and safety is reinforced
at meetings, through
training, and also through
fun and games, such as a
scavenger hunt of building
safety features. Every year,
associates from the various
communities compete for
prizes at an event featuring
safety products styled after
the game show “The Price Is
Right.”
The Orchards at Bartley
Assisted Living in Jackson,
New Jersey, has simplified
its rates so that room and
board, levels of care, and
most ancillary services
fit under an all-inclusive
fee schedule. It’s also
implemented a 30-day
money-back guarantee. The
all-inclusive fee simplifies the
sales process, helps families
with financial planning, puts
customers at ease about
unwelcome surprises, and
accelerates accurate billing.
The fee structure also has
helped with care delivery by
removing resistance when
a resident requires a higher
level of care. The average
daily census increased
from 67 percent before the
changes occurred to 76
percent thereafter, and no
one has requested their
money back.
Chelsea Senior Living’s
Toms River, New Jersey,
community is weaving
training throughout its
associates’ days by breaking
down classes into short
segments on particular
topics within a weekly theme.
Employees carry a card in
their identification pouches
with a reminder of that day’s
topic, attend a five-minute
review by department heads
during shift meetings, and
are encouraged to make
suggestions to coworkers
throughout the day on
that topic. The number of
complaints from family
members and residents has
decreased by 20 percent,
while staff report feeling
more empowered and
engaged.
Sonata Senior Living,
headquartered in Orlando,
Florida, is developing a new
memory care community
with resident-directed rather
than program-centered
scheduling in mind. At
Serenades by Sonata,
multisensory cues such as
touch, sound, and smell
will be used throughout
to provide residents with
reminders of the purpose
of particular spaces. For
example, amber lighting
in bathrooms will help cue
residents who get up at
night to use the bathroom.
Residents will have
unimpeded access to secure
outdoor areas, and a wireless
e-call system and door and
window contacts will alert
staff of resident emergencies.
Vintage Senior Living, of
Newport Beach, California,
has planted the seeds—
literally—for an eco-friendly,
green dining program
that eventually will replace
all frozen and powdered
foods with a full-scratch
kitchen. The “Vintage
Signature Collection”
menu offers locally grown,
seasonally available foods.
To supplement the array of
choices and engage residents
in the process, Vintage is
providing a garden in each
community for residents
and staff to grow vegetables,
herbs, and flowers. Plans
also are in the works to start
a fruit-tree program.
2011BestoftheBest
ProgramstoWatch
As judges reviewed the 2011 Best of the Best Awards entries,
several programs stood out as great innovations in the
early stages of development or without enough success
measurements to fully assess at this point.We’re eager to
see the results as these organizations continue to implement
their great ideas.

package. Connected Living provides the
necessary technology and support to en-
courage senior living residents to get on-
line and stay online. It combines access
to a user-friendly, Web-based portal with
high-touch training and support and
engaging content designed for seniors.
The customized home pages developed
for companies such as Brookdale Senior
Living and Benchmark Assisted Living
have allowed residents to choose from
a variety of activities such as sending
e-mails, sharing and viewing photo-
graphs, accessing community news,
recording their life story, or playing
memory-enhancing games. Connected
Living provides ongoing training and
support through its “ambassadors.”
Participation rates have been high
at the Brookdale and Benchmark com-
munities where Connected Living is in
place, with 40 to 60 percent of residents
participating.
Risk Management and
Injury Reduction
Winner:
Irvine, California
Workers’ Compensation Program
In 2009, just two years after Silverado
Senior Living received an ALFA Best of
the Best Award for its clever worker-
safety initiatives, the company was sur-
prised when the strides it had made in
reducing workers’ compensation claims
started to trend the other way. The main
problem, it appeared, was complacency.
“We already thought that we were the
best at [worker safety], but there’s always
a lot more that you can do,” says Frank
Russo, senior director of risk manage-
ment. “As soon as you know you have a
great location, you can’t forget about it
and move on.”
Lesson learned. Last year, Silverado
expanded and deepened worker safety
initiatives to keep the spotlight on safety
24/7. Among the new initiatives:
• Shoes for Crews, a companywide
slip-resistant footware initiative, is cred-
ited with reducing slip-and-fall claims
by 42 percent last year.
• A real-time workers’ compensation
dashboard allows executives to monitor
trends in injuries and claims.
• A thorough pre-employment risk
assessment, as well as a physical, is re-
quired of each job candidate, to ensure
he or she is capable of the physical de-
mands of the job.
• Monthly claims reports are sent to
each community to enable immediate
feedback and corrective actions, which
has helped reduce the overall time
claims are open by 15 percent.
• New policies and training have tar-
geted the most frequent cause of acci-
dents at Silverado, which is lifting and
transferring residents.
In one year, the claim frequency was
reduced by 16 percent despite company
growth, and Silverado saw an overall
50 percent reduction in workers’ com-
pensation costs compared to 2009.
For every new claim opened, the com-
pany was able to close two others. The
Call us at (303) 859-3199
or visit us at
www.mymasterpieceliving.com
“Masterpiece Living is the
means by which a community
becomes a place for older
adults to not only be well,
but to age successfully.
Masterpiece Living is a
successful program.”
Robert Kahn, Ph.D.,
Co-Author, Successful Aging
and lead investigator of the
MacArthur Study on Aging
Successful
Residents.
Successful
Communities.
Masterpiece Living® is a successful aging initiative
that is specifically designed and implemented to boost,
measure and sustain current wellness programs:
• All-staff Training
• Extensive Sales and Marketing Training
• Measurable Outcomes for Residents and Staff
• Programming based on Ongoing Research
• Self-paced, Self-directed Lifestyle Inventories
• Customized Reports
• Community Differentiator
ALFA
Booth
510

community with the highest number
of claims two years ago had one of the
lowest claim volumes in 2010; the sav-
ings at that community alone exceeded
$200,000.
“Especially in this type of [economic]
environment, where it’s hard to make
a dollar, you can save a lot in workers’
comp,” says Russo.
Willis of Illinois Inc.
Chicago, Illinois
Workers’ Compensation Diagnostic
Several years ago, the insurance brokers
at Willis had an epiphany of sorts. They
realized that their senior living provider
clients shared a need for some sort of
road map to drive down their escalating
workers’ comp costs. Their response
was to create Willis’ Workers’ Com-
pensation Diagnostic, a project-based
service that works with clients to pro-
vide a complete picture of their current
workers’ comp costs, drivers, processes,
and procedures. After an exhaustive col-
laborative examination of the client’s or-
ganization and systems, Willis provides
specific recommendations for reducing
accidents, claims, and costs.
In the four years since its inception,
the program has enabled cost reductions
between 15 and 40 percent for its senior
living clients.
Stand Strong
Last autumn, Senior Living Commu-
nities’ Stand Strong Fall Prevention
Program managed to reduce falls in
two memory-care neighborhoods by
72 and 75 percent, respectively. The
program succeeded because of its ho-
listic approach to transforming both
its general policies and individualized
care to address such concerns as medi-
cation management, sleep depriva-
tion, and other variables that can affect
risk. The program encompassed train-
ing, nutrition and wellness initiatives,
changes in medication management,
and environmental assessments, and
involved all departments and levels of
the organization.
Senior Living Communities plans to
expand the program to all 12 of its com-
munities in 2011.
Sales and Marketing
Winner:
Emeritus Senior Living
Seattle, Washington
Win Free Rent for a Year Sweepstakes
Many businesses get a little too busy
around the winter holidays. That’s not
always the case with senior living com-
munities. “Decembers can be good, but
there’s a perception among executive di-
rectors and sales teams that families don’t
want to move in around holiday times,”
says Jayne Sallerson, EVP of sales and
marketing for Emeritus Senior Living.
Last winter, to beat the usual sales-and-
marketing holiday blues, Emeritus offered
up the biggest, shiniest, most alluring gift
that it could muster, spread the word na-
tionwide through its 480 communities,
and waited to see who would come. The
“gift” was the chance to win free rent at
an Emeritus community for an entire year
through a sweepstakes that was open to
anyone who took a community tour be-
tween Nov. 1 and Dec. 31, 2010.
Emeritus received nearly 3,000 en-
tries, which translated into a 13 percent
increase in same-community tours during
the holiday season and triple-digit move-
ins for November and December, as well
as a boost in sales momentum for the new
year. The three top-achieving regions saw
tour traffic increases between 68 and 85
percent compared with the previous holi-
day season. The sweepstakes also provid-
ed leverage to Emeritus’ “Home for the
Holidays” campaign, giving it a competi-
tive edge.
Sallerson credits meticulous plan-
ning and disciplined field execution for
the campaign’s success. Preparations in-
cluded hundreds of hours spent gathering
input from field reps, the production of
creative and extensive toolkits and strat-
egies for teams in the field, and weekly
tracking and reporting of sweepstake en-
tries to keep the field intensively focused
and competitive.
It also helped that the prize was so tan-
gible and charitable. “It gave a great reason
for sales to call old leads and say: ‘Can you
come back in? You have a chance to win,’”
says Sallerson. On January 5, Bob and Betty
Spencer, an octogenarian couple from Or-
ange County, California, were randomly
selected as the winners. “They were so ex-
cited. Their family was there,” says Saller-
son. “Out of all the things we have done in
marketing at Emeritus, this was the best.”
Brandywine Senior Living
Mt. Laurel, New Jersey
Serenade
Brandywine Senior Living is marketing
a new program for older adults whose
needs include wants. Serenade is a com-
munity-within-a-community similar to
the club floor of a fine hotel. Cocktails
and hors d’oeuvres are a daily benefit, as
are the optional valet, turn-down service,
room service, and the attentive services
of an “anything, anytime” butler. The up-
graded accommodations include luxury
suites with walk-in closets, upgraded dé-
cor, a private dining room, and upscale
lounge. The butler is solely dedicated to
customer service.
Brandywine’s five Serenade programs
are either at or close to full capacity or
have recently opened. As one resident
said: “We did not expect them to do as
much as they do, and they do it. We feel
like we are in a hotel.”
Bob and Betty Spencer won Emeritus’ Free
Rent for a Year sweepstakes.
best of the best
ALFA
2011

MBK Senior Living
Irvine, California
Sales Excellence Leadership System
(SELS)
MBK Senior Living offers one example
of how a small- to mid-size provider
can jump to the next level in sales and
marketing by shifting attention from
short-term census concerns to long-
term sales leadership and customized
training. MBK’s four-phase Sales Ex-
cellence Leadership System (SELS)
training program for executive direc-
tors and directors of sales/marketing
provides in-depth understanding of
MBK’s core values and six months of
focused sales leadership curriculum
and activities.
MBK has enjoyed a continuous in-
crease in occupancy since initiation of
the SELS program, to 95 percent occu-
pancy in the last quarter of 2010. One
of its communities, a struggling new
acquisition, increased from 50 percent
occupancy to 95 percent in 12 months.
Human Resources and Staff
Development
Winner:
Brentwood, Tennessee
Onsite Associate Wellness Clinics
Expansion
The fate of some federal health-care re-
forms may still be a matter of debate
on Capitol Hill, but there’s no question
that focusing on wellness and preven-
tion is a business strategy that is here
to stay. Even if the government ends up
scaling back its new requirement for
first-dollar insurance coverage of pre-
ventive care, the fact remains that one
of the few ways employers can make a
dent in spiraling health-care costs is to
help employees improve their overall
health.
In 2010, Brookdale Senior Living ex-
panded the reach of its 13 onsite well-
ness clinics—already an innovative
business practice in senior living—and
also introduced a diabetic program at
all locations.
Through Brookdale’s Circuit Rider
program, clinic staff travel one day a
week to select Brookdale communi-
ties that do not have an onsite clinic,
delivering care to more employees and
dependents out of temporary spaces.
About 30 percent of covered employees
now have access to the clinics, which
are in eight states.
There have been many advantages
to expanding these clinics, which are
managed by vendor partner CareHere.
The service delivery is free to partici-
pants and less costly to Brookdale. “It
provides immediate access to our as-
sociates so there are many reasons the
clinics benefit not only Brookdale but
our associates as well,” says Kristi Reid,
benefits director. “It removes barriers to
access such as affordability.”
Meanwhile, Brookdale’s new dia-
betes program provides free testing,
supplies, and insulin to health-plan
enrollees who visit one of the clin-
ics for hemoglobin A1C testing every
three months. The goal is to help them
control their diabetes more effectively
through lifestyle changes, improved
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• Easy-Grip Handles provide the elderly
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• Safe Plug®
Technology includes a
patent-pending power management
system that conserves energy and
prevents circuit overloads.
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medication compliance, and a stable
relationship with a medical profes-
sional. “We have a large population of
covered associates that are prediabetic,
in the emerging risk category, or have
diabetes,” says Reid, who estimates that
the diabetic population accounts for $10
million or 17.3 percent in total claims
costs. “We wanted to entice these indi-
viduals to go into the clinic.”
Horizon Bay Retirement Living
Tampa, Florida
JobApp Network
JobApp is a multilingual job application
process that allows users to apply for a
job at any time through the Internet, by
telephone, or both. The screening pro-
cess also conducts background checks,
validates certifications, and rates ap-
plicants on a predefined five-star scale
that reflects Horizon Bay’s require-
ments. JobApp allows hiring managers
to spend more time reviewing only the
most qualified candidates. Once hired,
a job candidate’s application is upload-
ed into the payroll system.
Based on a study of 15,135 new hires
at Horizon Bay communities, it was de-
termined that five-star applicants would
be 62 percent less likely to leave than
other hires. So far, qualitative evidence
from JobApp has been consistent with
that expectation.
Carlton Senior Living LLC
Martinez, California
SET/Senior Executive in Training
Making an internal hire for executive
director requires envisioning someone
in a role that can be a significant step
up. The Senior Executive in Training
(SET) program was designed to prepare
high-performing employees to fill that
critical position.
The focus on internal hiring ac-
knowledges the high value that Carlton
Senior Living clearly places on main-
taining a strong culture. So, too, does
the fact that Carlton relied on internal
functional experts to develop each of
the 16 areas that comprise the training,
rather than using a “canned” program.
The program has invigorated staff to
think about training up as an invest-
ment in their own future and their
employer’s.
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Physical Plant and
Environmental
Winner: Horizon Bay
Retirement Living
Tampa, Florida
Eco Friends
Like many providers, most of Horizon
Bay Retirement Living’s properties
are at least 20 years old and weren’t
built to be eco-friendly by today’s stan-
dards. So as John Sattelmayer, SVP of
facilities management, likes to put it:
“To become green, Horizon Bay has to
practice green.”
Horizon Bay’s Eco Friends program
is a winner for taking a comprehensive,
holistic approach to implementing sus-
tainable practices in existing buildings
and for actively engaging all the various
stakeholders, from facility managers and
vendors to the residents and employees.
It offers a great example of how a provid-
er can implement a low-cost, executable
strategy for adopting a greener culture,
while showcasing the important role of
the building maintenance and house-
keeping staff. “Where we really nailed it
on the head in this project is that there’s
something for each one of our audiences
to say, ‘Hey, this applies to me,’” says
Sattelmayer.
Highlights include:
• Vendor partnering to offer sustain-
able packaging, paperless invoicing, and
extensive recycling. Paperless invoicing
has saved more than 1.1 million sheets
of paper since 2008.
• New initiatives and staff train-
ing on a different conservation-related
topic each month, such as managing
the building’s impact on water and the
landscape.
• Strategic energy projects in more
than 20 communities and monthly
monitoring of utilities.
• Developing and meeting new
benchmarks in anticipation of Energy
Star’s new standards for senior housing.
The key to the program’s success
has been fostering a culture of owner-
ship and personal responsibility through
branding and consistent communica-
tion. “It has become more of an in-
grained thing,” says Sattelmayer.
That goes for residents, as well, who
took tours of the mechanical room and
learned about the importance of indoor
air quality.
Benchmarks
of Success
What a difference a few years can make.
Back in 2006, the concept of promoting brain wellness was but a twinkle in
a forward-thinking provider’s eye. An early attempt to create do-it-all integrated
operational software was unique enough to gain special notice. And ideas for
measuring customer engagement rather than satisfaction were just starting to take
hold. Yet these and other initiatives honored with Best of the Best Awards are now
increasingly common in senior living communities.
Here is a checklist of similar benchmarks of success that have successfully made
the transition from unusual to all but expected. How many of these approaches is
your organization taking?
Resident Life
 Reduce the risk of resident falls and improve moods through a concerted
focus on reducing medications, fitness, and so on.
 Think outside the activity calendar to offer a more individualized, holistic
approach to resident health and wellness.
 Celebrate the whole resident, not just their social side, by fostering a culture
that honors even their inconvenient individual preferences.
 Elevate dementia care by giving residents more choices and control in areas
that previously were overlooked, such as fitness or dining.
 Help bridge gaps in the health-care system through better systems of
coordination and communication with outside providers on behalf of
residents.
Employee Relations
 Reduce insurance claim costs through wellness and prevention programs
for employees.
 Offer training programs at employees’ convenience, through distance
learning, online courses, and automated training.
 Offer skip-level meetings, town meetings, and anonymous hotlines as well
as other means for being a responsive “employer of choice.”
 Partner with high-performing employees to screen, hire, and train the best
job candidates.
Operations/Technology
 Develop paperless invoicing, extensive recycling, and other eco-friendly
practices.
 Automate care monitoring, beginning at the point of delivery.
 Integrate software systems for better tracking and trending; create an
operational dashboard.
Sales/Marketing
 Consider niche segmentation for your local market, such as specializing in
diabetes care.
 Integrate social media in marketing and communications. Tailor social-
media portals to build a sense of community with residents and families.
 Integrate computers into the daily lives of seniors.
 Take a “whole home” approach to sales.
 Understand that the best way to build census is to focus on existing
residents’ and prospects’ individual needs—rather than on building census.

Program to Spotlight:
Des Plaines, Illinois
Microfiber Cleaning System
Pathway Senior Living has reduced the
number of cleaning products it uses
by 50 percent, increased the number
of apartments housekeepers can clean
during an eight-hour shift from 16 apart-
ments to 20, and reduced the amount of
water required to clean apartments from
20 gallons per 15 apartments to just one.
At the same time, it has reduced cross-
contamination of germs from one apart-
ment to the next.
The secret to these eco-friendly, cost-
saving, infection-reducing outcomes is
a state-of-the-art microfiber cleaning
system that Pathway has adopted in
all of its communities. Microfiber is a
man-made product approved by federal
agencies as a best practice for health
facilities. The housekeepers can use
a different mop head for each apart-
ment, and the materials can be cleaned
and reused 500 times.
Resident Dining
Experience
Winner: Brookdale
Senior Living
Ultimate Chef America
Last year, Brookdale Senior Living took
America’s current craze for world-class
chefs and culinary cook-offs, added
equal parts marketing savvy and positive
wellness messages, and transformed a
good idea for a single event in one local
market into a winning nationwide pub-
lic service campaign that also introduced
Brookdale’s style of living and dining to
literally thousands of new faces.
In six cities from Phoenix to Jackson-
ville, teams of professional chefs from
Brookdale communities competed for
the chance to win the “Ultimate Chef
America” title by preparing a starter,
a side, an entrée, and a dessert using
heart-healthy ingredients and only a grill
in a two-hour period. Attendees could
enjoy the fast-paced culinary competi-
tion, sample food, interact with celebrity
judges headed by talk show host Leeza
Gibbons, attend seminars on healthy
cooking for older adults, wander a ven-
dor expo, and bid on food-inspired art by
Brookdale residents.
Ultimate Chef America was a suc-
cess for Brookdale on every level. Locally,
the events drew a total of 5,000 outside
guests; some host communities con-
ducted more tours in one day than they
usually do in a year. Staff and resident
morale were elevated. The silent auction
raised $100,000 for the Leeza Gibbons
Memory Foundation supporting caregiv-
ers and $16,000 for earthquake relief
in Haiti. The competition, which was
broadcast over the Internet, also gener-
ated more than 3,000 articles and 25
Horizon Bay Retirement Living facilities management staff and residents celebrated the
success of the Eco Friends program in January 2011.
Elisabeth Archer was crowned Brookdale’s Ultimate Chef America.
best of the best
ALFA
2011
PROGRAM TO WATCH
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Best of the Best honorees.
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television appearances in 80 countries
and 40 languages. The image of “Ulti-
mate Chef America” winner Elisabeth
Archer was flashed on giant billboards
in New York’s Times Square and the Las
Vegas strip.
“We had no idea it would get to be so
big and get so much attention,” says J.W.
Hajdu, SVP of dining services, adding
his belief that the event snowballed so
successfully because it was aiming for
high ground. “Doing it all in the spirit
of doing it for a good cause speaks to the
Brookdale cornerstones and mission.”
Growing Together
Growing Together is a nine-week pro-
gram to help Spanish-speaking dining
associates to feel more confident when
interacting with residents, guests, and
other associates. Students are taught ba-
sic hospitality English vocabulary and
phrases by a Spanish-speaking leader
via WebEx online. Each student receives
a DVD, a CD, and a student workbook.
One positive feature has been resi-
dent mentorship. Residents help the as-
sociates in role-playing scenarios that
allow them to practice their communi-
cation skills. Nearly 50 associates have
participated since Growing Together
started at select communities in Feb-
ruary 2010, and other departments are
considering a similar initiative.
AgeSong
Oakland, California
AgeSong at Lakeside Park
Green Dining Program
AgeSong at Lakeside Park may well be
the first Certified Green Restaurant in
a senior living setting. The commu-
nity uses fresh local (sometimes com-
munity grown) produce as available;
engages in composting, recycling, and
using biodegradable products; and
continually seeks ways to reduce en-
ergy and cook foods that are healthier
for the environment. The community
is a member of the Green Restaurant
Association, which has provided as-
sistance for measuring energy savings,
training, nutritional improvement, and
other aspects of green dining. Since the
program began, AgeSong has reduced
its energy costs by 3 to 5 percent and in-
creased composting and recycling by 20
percent. ❏
Whitney Redding is a contributing writer
to Assisted Living Executive. Reach her at
wredding@alfa.org.
AgeSong at Lakeside Park’s community kitchen has been named a Certified Green Restaurant
by the Green Restaurant Association.
who’s who
Contactinformation for members in this article.
› Sandi Griswold, sgriswold@senior-
living-communities.com
› Jerry Grove, jerry.grove@esco-tech.net
› J.W. Hajdu, joskah@brookdaleliving.com
› Kristi Reid, kreid@brookdaleliving.com
› Frank Russo, frusso@silveradosenior.com
› Jayne Sallerson, jayne.sallerson@
emeritus.com
› John Sattelmayer, jsattelmayer@
horizonbay.com
› Howard West, hwest@
countrymeadows.com
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2011
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ACQUISITIONS CRITERIA
• Free-standing assisted living
with or without memory care
• Greater than 60 beds preferred
• Located in Illinois, Wisconsin
and Indiana
• Turn-around or “value add”
properties preferred
MANAGEMENT CONSULTING
• Manager of record, management
oversight and receivership
• Marketing and sales expertise
• Human resources, food service
and wellness support
• Operational and compliance audits
• Financial and asset management
• Feasibility and competitive analyses
• Construction management
Pathway
understands
that bottom-line
results come
from top-notch
operations.
For over a
decade we’ve
grown through development and
perfected our award-winning
operations with an experienced
management team. Now we’re
ready to take on acquisitions and
management, and deliver the
results you seek.
adcosta@PathwaySL.com
www.PathwaySL.com
701 Lee Street, Suite 500
Des Plaines, IL 60016
Aaron
D’Costa
Chief Business
Development Officer
847-768-5157
888-342-4111 x5157
BELIEVE in
Senior Living
you can
Follow us on:
PS5746 Pathway ALFA Corp Ad 4C Vert FIN:Layout 1 1/19/11 2:54 PM Page 1

hen five senior living sales and marketing profes-
sionals recently sat down to talk about the chal-
lenges they’re facing in generating leads and
converting them to move-ins, the conversation
covered everything from recruiting empathetic and
business-savvy salespeople to quantifying leads
and benchmarks before they moved on to what’s
really worrying them: the revolution in where leads are coming
from today.
Where once leads were largely generated through professional
referrals from doctors and social workers, electronic sources are now
driving prospects to providers’ Web sites or to a first phone call, but
not always to their front doors.
“We’ve seen that shift happen to where it’s less professional leads
and more Internet leads,” says Emeritus Senior Living’s Kimberly
Taft. “The new challenge is going to be converting those Internet
leads to move-ins. I think this issue is going to be the biggest change
to our business. I mean, it already is, but how do we respond?”
It’s a situation Doug Johnson, EVP, sales and marketing, for
Seniors for Living, is highly attuned to. “Senior living providers have
embraced the Internet as a significant component of their overall
marketing strategy,” says Johnson, whose company sponsored this
Executive Focus Group, hosted by Emeritus’ Sweetwater Springs
community in metro Atlanta. “The key to success in leveraging
this growing part of the marketing mix is balancing ROI and sales
efficiency.”
Responding to electronic queries in a way that gets prospects to
engage has become the new marketing challenge. “We’re finding
people really are responding more to e-mail now than anything, and
our salespeople are advancing the leads with two or three e-mails
before there’s a phone call,” says Jessica Phaup of Sunrise.
Taft and her peers are now working on tactics to lure prospects
in to communities for tours and conversations. “Are our responses
even getting to them? Are they being blocked by spam?” wonders
ABOUT THIS SERIES: Assisted Living Executive’s Executive Focus Groups assemble leading senior living executives in various disciplines to exchange ideas and solutions for the
toughest challenges in the business. Let us know what you think and add to the conversation by chiming in on ALFA Exchange at community.ALFA.org.
KIMBERLY TAFT, Regional Director of Sales and Marketing,
South Division, Emeritus Senior Living, grew up in the senior
living business. “My mom was in the medical field and then
I worked in the nursing home environment to work my way
through college.” Taft earned a marketing degree and kept re-
turning to the business. “It kind of just fit: I could help take care
of people. And that’s why I do this—to take care of people.”
MELANIE HENDRIX, Regional Director of Operations, Emeritus
Senior Living, has been serving seniors in some capacity since
1987. She started as a housekeeper in a nursing home, moved
to the front office, and then went to college, graduating with a
degree in health systems administration, and returned to the
same nursing home to work as director of social services. She
moved to the assisted living field in 1996. “It’s my life’s work,”
she says. “We truly have an opportunity to save lives.”
JESSICA PHAUP, Regional Director of Sales and Marketing,
Sunrise Senior Living, says she got into the business by acci-
dent. Phaup moved to Portland, Oregon, about 16 years ago
and ended up in a social work admissions position with a skilled
nursing facility. She later moved to assisted living. “I haven’t
looked back since,” she says. “I just love it and feel very pas-
sionate about what we do.”
COLLETTE LOMBARDO, Area Sales Manager for the South
Atlantic, Horizon Bay Retirement Living, got into the business
as a result of her grandmother’s experience at a senior living
community in New York. That environment didn’t support her
needs and allow her independence, so Lombardo was inspired
to help create a better option. She has worked in senior living
for more than 15 years and joined Horizon Bay two years ago.
SHELLEY HAMNER serves as Senior Regional Director of Sales
for the South Atlantic, Horizon Bay Retirement Living, covering
seven states and 2,000 units. Like many of her peers, Hamner
grew up in the industry, starting when she was in high school as
a server in a Florida retirement community. “My grandmother
ended up moving in, so she was my first sale.” A few years ago,
that community became part of Horizon Bay. “It’s kind of neat
that where I started is now part of the company I’m at now.”
EXECUTIVE FOCUS GROUP
Internet sources bring senior living providers more leads
than ever before, creating a revolution in senior living
marketing—one that providers may not be ready for
By Angela Hickman Brady
MEMBERS OF THIS EXECUTIVE FOCUS GROUP
ChasingLeads
W
PhotoS By Tim Wilkerson Photography

C
arefully tracking lead sources is
among the most difficult, tedious,
and essential of regional sales
managers’ jobs. Especially now that pro-
viders are operating in highly competi-
tive environments, sales managers have
to know where the best leads are coming
from, which are worth following, and
how far you go in trying to get the sale.
At Emeritus, about 37 percent of leads
come from professional sources (doctors,
social workers, and A Place for Mom, with
the latter accounting for about 80 percent
of professional leads), while drive-bys
account for 12 percent, and family and
friends, 10 percent. The move-in conver-
sion rate is 23 percent for professional;
16 percent, family and friends; and 15
percent, drive-by. Emeritus expects 75
percent of inquiries to convert to tours.
That expectation is “tough on some
of our people,” says Melanie Hendrix of
Emeritus. “So I tell them to pull all their
inquiries—Which ones were profession-
al? Which ones were Internet? Which
ones were referral? If 90 percent were
Internet, it’s okay if their inquiry-to-tour
conversion rate is lower.”
Horizon Bay gets 36 percent of its
leads from Internet sources, 26 per-
cent from professional sources (which
includes A Place for Mom), 17 percent
from resident referrals, and 21 percent
from media. Collette Lombardo says she
expects 55 percent of inquiries to turn into
tours.
QUANTIFYING LEADS, SETTING BENCHMARKS
Accounting for drive-bys is surpris-
ingly controversial. Horizon Bay doesn’t
track them. “We don’t even give our sales-
people an option to put it in their system,”
says Hamner. “It’s made them ask more,
and in some markets, we spend a large
portion of their budget on media, so it’s
all the more critical that we dig deep and
track this metric. I tell my people that the
quickest way to get your ad pulled is to
not give it credit.”
“As a prospect is driving by, they may
think, ‘You know, my doctor did say I
should start looking.’ That’s what we have
to figure out,” says Taft. “We have to dig
deeper, and not just accept drive-bys as
the answer.”
You may see more drive-by leads in ru-
ral or secondary markets because they’re
more a part of the community, suggests
Phaup. “You’ve got these great Internet
sources, but in some of the rural markets
it’s going to be, ‘a friend’ told them, or it’s
going to be an internal resident, or the
fact that the community has been there
for so many years.”
Focus Group participants agree that
professional referrals from doctors, social
workers, and others remain the highest
converted inquiries to move-in. “When
we do receive that professional referral,
if it’s from a nursing home or a hospital
or a doctor, you’re moving them in,” says
Hendrix.
At Sunrise, Phaup doesn’t roll A Place
for Mom leads into the professional
category. And while professional refer-
rals have the highest move-in rate of all
sources at 32 percent, Internet remains
the biggest lead source at 37 percent (with
25 percent converting), while family and
friends account for 13 percent of sources
(with 16 percent converting).
(Among Focus Group participants,
the move-in conversion rate for A Place
for Mom referrals ranges from 20 to 23
percent.)
“WE’REINTHEPEOPLE
BUSINESS—WELEARNABOUTANDDISCOVER
PEOPLE.SOITHINKWE’REMISSINGTHEMARKIFWE
DON’TDOTHATFOROUROWNEMPLOYEESAND
RECOGNIZETHEIRINDIVIDUALMOTIVATIONS.
ONEPERSONMAYNOTBEMOTIVATEDBYTHE
MONETARYAWARD,ITMAYJUSTBEASIMPLELETTER
OFRECOGNITIONONLETTERHEADFROMTHE
REGIONALDIRECTORTHATTHEYWANTTOSHOW
EVERYMEMBERINTHEIRFAMILY.”
MELANIE HENDRIX, EMERITUS SENIOR LIVING
Emeritus’ Melanie Hendrix (left) and Kimberly Taft expect 75 percent of inquiries to convert
to tours.

Taft. “We don’t know. What we have to
try to figure out is how to add that ‘wow’
factor to our responses and to intrigue
them enough to respond back. How
can we connect with them emotion-
ally?” Taft acknowledges she’s testing
some new tactics. “We just rolled it out
so I’m waiting to see the results.” She
does say that her salespeople now carry
BlackBerrys so they can quickly respond
to queries 24/7 and try to beat competi-
tors to the punch.
The sheer volume of Internet inqui-
ries has prompted some companies to
move to a centralized call center to re-
ceive and disseminate leads and avoid
duplication. Best practices in this realm
are still in flux as providers begin to un-
derstand the reality of the new market-
ing environment.
“We know that lead generation is in-
creasingly driven more by the Internet,”
says Shelley Hamner of Horizon Bay.
“We have to find the right partners to
pair up with so that our sales folks have
the best opportunities to get their fair
share of the leads. Then we have to en-
sure that we put Horizon Bay’s best foot
forward in terms of timeliness, quality,
and effectiveness in responses. People,
now more than ever, live busy lives—es-
pecially adult children. If we aren’t able
to effectively work leads via e-mail, then
we are going to be missing some sales.”
FINDING THE RARE SENIOR LIVING SALES PRO
F
inding quality salespeople remains an ongoing challenge, especially as the type of
individual best suited for the job continues to evolve. Finding someone with pas-
sion, with a true desire to care, is what sales and marketing managers want. But
they also want a business-savvy go-getter who wants to win.
“It’s much more hustle now,” says Hamner. “We are trying to create a very competitive
sales environment. So when I interview someone, I want somebody who wants to be a
winner. And helping people is part of that, obviously. I always say, if you’re doing great
discovery and you’re matching their needs to what we offer, if you’re not closing them,
you’re doing them a disservice. You are not helping that family. People are coming to us
with major problems and they need answers. And so that’s how you have to look at it.
You’re not offering a solution and you just wasted their time and your time.”
Horizon Bay has ventured outside the senior living industry recently, hiring sales
professionals who are new to senior living. They bring a fresh perspective and lack the
baggage of past employers in the senior living business.
“I think that the position has definitely evolved. We used to have more of a social
work focus, but now, absolutely, the skill set has to be more sales focused,” agrees Phaup.
“Some of our best salespeople are folks that we kind of took a chance on,” says
Hamner.
The ability to balance the sales focus, the business acumen, and the important ele-
ments of care and compassion is a rare skill. “You’ve got to have somebody who gets
the business and the revenue piece and not just the, ‘I’m going to be nice to everybody’
part,” says Hamner.
But then there’s the flip side. “We have had people that are very sales-driven indi-
viduals, but they lack the empathy and the passion,” says Hendrix. “So now I try to hire
people that do have sales skill—maybe not at the skill level that I would like to see, but
coachable—and they’re very passionate. I’d rather take a chance on those people than the
ones that aren’t empathetic. The litmus test is that you either care or you don’t care. And
that’s the most important thing we look for. It’s hard to find that in the interview process,
but you can usually see it in their demeanor even when they walk in the building.”
Neither should you be won over by a slick sales professional who walks in the build-
ing. “Typically, salespeople are very outgoing so they’re likeable. They walk into an in-
terview, and the executive director says, ‘Oh, I love this person,’” Phaup says. “But that
doesn’t mean they’re going to be able to drive a sale.”
Seniors for Living’s Doug Johnson says senior living providers have embraced online marketing as part of their overall strategy.

R
egion, city, and even commu-
nity-level marketing has to be
extremely specific, agree the
Executive Focus Group participants.
“I think you just have to be very stra-
tegic in each market,” says Lombardo.
“In some of our smaller markets, what
works best for them are the personal
letters, the inserts, and community in-
volvement. In a different market, like
Richmond, Virginia, we have been
serving seniors for more than 18 years.
We see generations of people moving
in due to family referrals. Grandmoth-
er was a resident, an uncle, and now
Mom is in need of a community. It’s a
perfect fit because they’re familiar with
the community and have already estab-
lished trust.”
How they market in Atlanta’s tony
Buckhead community is much dif-
ferent from how they sell in more
rural Carrollton, Georgia. There, says
Hamner, it’s all about community
outreach—inviting in the Rotary club,
Daughters of the American Revolution
chapters, and guest speakers.
“In those small towns, what works
best for them is community involve-
ment. But in Atlanta, outreach is
tough, now especially,” says Taft. “We
have to be strategic on how we’re going
to do our outreach.”
“I think that’s something we really
try to be conscious of in each of our
markets—how we would sell in Boyn-
ton Beach and Palm Beach Garden in
Florida is very different than Concord,
North Carolina,” adds Hamner. “Not
to say we’re dummying down for the
consumer. But you have a very differ-
ent consumer that is probably going
to want to investigate based more on
relationship as opposed to price.”
“Metro markets are very competi-
tive,” agrees Phaup. With the number
of communities in a dense market, the
communities have to make a great first
impression and know how to connect
with the leads and referral sources
quickly and effectively.
Advertising is still used, particularly
in smaller markets, say participants,
and they’re all signed up with the big
Internet-based senior living commu-
About Our Sponsor
Seniors for Living (www.seniorsforliving.com) is a leading source of cost-per-lead marketing for senior
living and care providers. Through its extensive network, which includes partners such as U.S. News and
HealthGrades.com, Seniors for Living helps more than 1 million seniors and their families each month to
research, evaluate, and compare their senior housing options. Using Seniors for Living’s free tools and
provider directory, individuals can learn about their options and request information from the communities
or providers that they determine best meet their specific situations and needs.
nity search engines.
All that said, the next biggest mar-
keting challenge today—after keeping
up with Internet leads—is dealing with
new hospital referral systems. Most
hospitals have moved to subscription-
based systems where a senior living
provider won’t get a referral from a
case manager or a discharge planner
unless they are a subscriber to the sys-
tem. Budgetary cutbacks have prompt-
ed this efficiency move; fewer case
workers mean less time to research
care environments. But it’s expensive.
“Now the hospitals are charging a ri-
diculous fee to even schedule an ap-
pointment,” says Taft.
“For one of my communities, sub-
scribing to a referral-based system
could be costly, but with the changes
in technology, we feel it is the right
investment,” says Lombardo. “We are
at a point where the referral system is
the suggested route to ensure you are
receiving all referrals.” ❏
Angela Hickman Brady is contributing
editor of Assisted Living Executive. Reach her
at abrady@alfa.org.
“ONEOFTHEBIGGESTTHINGS
THATWE’VESEENWITHTHEINCREASEININTERNET
LEADSISOURINQUIRY-TO-TOURRATIOGODOWN
SIGNIFICANTLY.INTERNETLEADSCOMEFROM
ALLOVERTHECOUNTRY.BEFORE,ITWASMORE
COMMUNITY-BASEDANDYOU’DHAVEAHIGHER
PERCENTAGEOFPEOPLECOMINGINFORTOURS.
NOW,10-15PERCENTOFLEADSCOMEINFORTOURS.”
JESSICA PHAUP, SUNRISE SENIOR LIVING
STRATEGIC REGIONAL MARKETING
In metro markets, first impressions are
even more critical, says Jessica Phaup.

T
he typical senior living wellness and
activities programs will undergo
dramatic changes in the next de-
cade. With newer generations of se-
niors more likely to have participated on
sports teams, worked out at gyms, taken
exercise classes, and participated in walk-
ing/running, whether on their own or in
groups, the senior living programming
expectations will be much broader.
Right now, senior living providers that
brand themselves with a comprehensive
wellness program have a strategic advan-
tage in both attracting and retaining resi-
dents. In the future, though, developing
a culture that promotes a total healthy
Why a comprehensive, differentiating
wellness program is a strategic investment
in the senior living business
By Anya Martin
A WAY OF LIFE,
Not an Amenity
lifestyle with more innovative approaches
may be a competitive necessity.
Nearly two thirds (65%) of retirement
community residents age 68 and older
and 74 percent of nonresidents “would
like to have” or “must have” a wellness
program in their community, according to
a recent study by Sodexo Senior Services
and Varsity Branding, which specializes in
marketing to mature audiences. Further,
more than 40 percent of retirement com-
munity residents would consider moving
to another community if it offered a com-
prehensive wellness program.
Older adults clearly connect health and
wellness with quality of life, even when
Fast Forward
› When providers remove the word “illness” and
medical terminology and replace it with “optimization
of health” and change “care for” to “care about,”
then it accentuates the potential of all human beings
regardless of their condition, says an expert.
› A comprehensive program doesn’t have to be
expensive. Any company or residence can start small
and add elements in increments as residents respond.
› One big reason why wellness programs have not
received sufficient investment in senior living is that
they are viewed as qualitative and difficult to measure
when it comes to bottom-line impact, but that
perception is changing.

they have chronic conditions or other
deficits, and so do their adult children in
the baby boomer generation who are key
decision-makers, says Diane Doster, di-
rector of life services for Sodexo. What’s
clear is that empowerment won’t happen
if a resident is defined solely by what he or
she can’t do or if physical activities simply
are described as “exercise,” a word disliked
by many people of all ages, Doster says.
“A deficit-based, medical model is prev-
alent in much of the marketing messag-
ing—what we are going to do to take care
of you, what kind of medical services can
we provide to support you?” Doster contin-
ues. “I think if providers can remove the
word ‘illness’ and medical terminology
and replace it with ‘optimization of health,’
then it accentuates the potential of all hu-
man beings regardless of their condition.”
Doster also suggests replacing “care
for” with “care about,” a subtle difference
that respects capabilities. “The overriding
philosophy and approach becomes au-
tonomy and choice because ultimately, as
human beings, that’s what we really want,
even if we’re not fully independent.”
Multidimensional Approach
In senior housing, the word “wellness”
often refers to a physical fitness program,
but Doster suggests providers view well-
being as multidimensional. In other
words, encourage residents to partici-
pate at whatever level they are able and
whatever level enriches their lives. For
example, Healthability, the comprehen-
sive wellness program Sodexo offers to
retirement communities, is organized
around eight dimensions of a healthy life-
style—physical, nutritional, intellectual,
social, community, emotional, spiritual,
and environmental.
Seniors can improve their balance in
a tai chi class or maintain stamina on a
walking path, but also gain intellectual
stimulation by taking classes in writing or
photography or participating in an onsite
computer lab. Or they can feel socially re-
warded by enjoying a music performance
A Way of Life, Not an Amenity
97%consider themselves in good,
very good, or excellent health
74%exercise at least three days a
week
67%exercise to improve their health
or maintain their fitness/health level
61%started exercising because they
want to look or feel good
50%prefer walking or power walking
to get their exercise
45%consider themselves above
average in physical fitness
42%believe they look or feel better as
a result of physical activity
47%prefer to exercise outdoors
40%prefer to exercise at home
33%exercise at least five days a week
Only 15% said they started exercising
because of a doctor’s warning (5%) or
immediate concern (9%)
Benchmarks Help Quantify Wellness ROI
Wellness programs are commonly seen as difficult to measure—
and at the end of the day, it can be hard to justify dollars when
the return on investment is unclear. But a new tool developed
by the International Council on Active
Aging (ICAA) in collaboration with market
research firm ProMatura may help bridge
the gap.
Created specifically to measure wellness
program ROI, the ICAA/ProMatura
Wellness Benchmarks allow providers to
compare wellness metrics with outcome
data related to occupancy, resident health
and satisfaction, and the bottom line
within one community, among multiple
communities within the same company,
or anonymously among competitors. The benchmarks answer
questions such as:
✔ How many residents participate in and value the program?
✔ How are the program assets utilized?
✔ Is there progress in terms of participation and outcomes?
✔ Does wellness affect average length of stay?
✔ Do participating residents stay more independent longer?
✔ Is there a potential for revenue contribution?
For more information, visit www.icaa.cc/management/
benchmarks.htm.
50+ Adults:
Importance of Physical Fitness
Source: Humana Inc. The Silver Sneakers Fitness
Program/Eons Inc. Online Survey, 2007

with fellow residents or family mem-
bers. These are all activities present in
many senior living communities—what’s
needed is a shift in the focus where well-
ness incorporates both brain and physical
stimulation.
Even just calling a wellness program
a “program” may be a misnomer, sug-
gests Colin Milner, CEO of the Interna-
tional Council on Active Aging (ICAA),
a membership association including
senior housing providers and other ser-
vice organizations committed to help-
ing adults over age 50 achieve health
and wellness. Like Sodexo’s research,
ICAA’s white paper, “The Business
Case for Wellness Programs in Retire-
ment Communities and Senior Hous-
ing,” finds that a multidimensional
wellness program is the best solution
for aging adults to maintain health,
mental acuity, and quality of life—and
it’s what they want.
“Wellness is a way of life, not an
amenity you offer,” Milner says. “You
have to create a culture and have tools
to help you to fulfill that culture.”
Market Differentiator
Anticipating baby boomers’ demand
for an active lifestyle inspired Kisco Se-
nior Living to trademark its company
philosophy as the Art of Living Well,
explains Andrew S. Kohlberg, CEO of
the Carlsbad, California-based company
that operates 18 senior living communi-
ties in six states. “It takes a long time
to build a culture around wellness and
to hire and keep people who believe in
that lifestyle.”
Over the short run, a community
could beef up its programs to accom-
plish similar goals, but a top-down,
full-culture approach is necessary if you
want to build a consistent companywide
strategy that will last a decade or more,
Kohlberg says. Kisco employees are en-
couraged to participate in wellness ac-
tivities themselves so they understand
the value (see sidebar), and salespeople
are specifically trained to articulate the
Art of Living Well lifestyle to prospects.
All Kisco communities have a gym
and a pool and employ a full-time pro-
fessional wellness director and support
staff, depending on the community
size, to oversee physical activity. A team
of wellness directors, dubbed “wellness
champions,” also helps develop and
evaluate best practices and visits other
communities to share them.
Kohlberg sees that infrastructure
and staff investment as an important
competitive differentiator. “Plenty of
companies market wellness but don’t
back it up with money, time, or effort,”
he adds. “I went to [another company’s]
property that marketed a wellness pro-
gram, and it had one exercise bike in
Working Wellness Into Work
More than half (53%) of large employers
provide financial incentives to employees who
participate in weight management, smoking
cessation, or other disease management
programs, according to a 2010 employer
survey by Towers Watson and the National
Business Group on Health (NBGH). But a
growing number of firms with programs (37%)
only reward those who actually complete
the activity, and nearly a third (29%) require
participation in multiple activities.
While these companies are holding
employees more accountable as they tighten
their belts, most (93%) have no plans to get
rid of their workplace wellness programs, and
almost as many (83%) won’t postpone adding
new ones.
This strong commitment suggests that
businesses believe that health promotion
can keep employee health expenses down
as insurance premiums skyrocket. While the
NBGH/Towers Watson survey found wide
disparity in cost savings across companies, such
programs can save companies between $1.49
and $4.91 for every dollar spent, while workplace
fitness programs can increase productivity by up
to 52 percent and reduce short-term sick leave
by up to 32 percent, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
If your company seeks to promote a healthy
lifestyle for seniors, it seems logical that for your
Health promotion
programs can
save companies
between
$1.49and
$4.91for every dollar
spent.
workforce to be program cheerleaders, they
need to be given opportunities to improve
their fitness, too, says Kohlberg of Kisco Senior
Living.
Kisco has been offering line-dancing classes,
as well as smoking cessation and weight-loss
programs, to its employees, and employees
and their families also can use fitness facilities
and pools at residences. The company is now
talking with its insurance provider about how
to reward healthy behaviors with premium
discounts.
“It’s the right thing to do for the company
because healthier employees lead to lower
health insurance expenses, and a more
engaged associate can help residents to
become healthier, too,” says Kohlberg.

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