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This article summarizes a presentation by Derek Dunham, President of Varsity, John Bassounas, President of WildFig and Kevin DeAcosta, CEO of The Highlands at Wyomissing, at the 2026 LeadingAge Annual Meeting in Philadelphia. Their session, “From Vision to Value: A Mission-Aligned Roadmap for Artificial Intelligence,” explored how senior living organizations can move from AI curiosity to meaningful action.
If you’re interested in exploring AI opportunities for your community, reach out to Varsity President Derek Dunham at ddunham@varsitybranding.com.
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Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming a priority for senior living organizations. Boards are asking questions, leadership teams are exploring opportunities and employees are already experimenting with AI tools. Turning that interest into a coordinated strategy is proving to be a challenge.
Where do you begin, which opportunities deserve your attention and how do you introduce AI in a way that supports your mission, your employees and the people you serve?
These are questions facing senior living organizations across the country. They’re the same questions that led The Highlands at Wyomissing, a nonprofit life plan community in Pennsylvania, to partner with Varsity and WildFig to develop a practical, mission-aligned AI roadmap.
Their experience offers some valuable lessons for organizations looking to turn AI’s promise into measurable results.
START WITH YOUR MISSION, NOT THE TECHNOLOGY
For The Highlands, the goal was clear: explore how AI could enhance the resident experience, improve workforce efficiency and strengthen operational resilience.
Working together, the Varsity and WildFig teams helped The Highlands take a deliberate approach, beginning with an assessment of the organization’s people, processes, systems and readiness for change.
An important part of that approach was learning from why technology initiatives often fail and developing strategies to avoid those same pitfalls. By identifying potential barriers and addressing organizational readiness from the outset, the team aimed to increase the likelihood of meaningful change.
The objective started by identifying opportunities that could make a meaningful difference in the daily lives of residents and employees. That distinction matters. AI initiatives are more likely to gain traction when they’re connected to organizational priorities rather than treated as standalone technology projects.
LISTEN TO YOUR PEOPLE AND UNDERSTAND YOUR DATA
Before recommending solutions, the Varsity and WildFig team needed to understand what was happening inside The Highlands.
The discovery process included 11 in-depth interviews and an organization-wide quantitative survey designed to uncover operational challenges, assess attitudes toward AI and identify opportunities for improvement.
The organization’s overall AI-readiness score was 76 out of 100, suggesting a solid foundation for carefully selected pilot projects, with education and change management playing important roles.
The research also uncovered some significant operational pain points. Manual scheduling processes consumed more than 2,000 staff hours annually. Clinical documentation, reporting and resident onboarding presented additional opportunities to reduce administrative burdens.
Importantly, The Highlands already had robust technology systems and valuable first-party data. The challenge wasn’t necessarily collecting more information. It was finding better ways to connect existing systems and put that information to work.
THINK BIG, BUT START SMALL
With a clearer picture of the organization’s needs, the team evaluated more than 60 potential AI solutions.
Rather than attempting to tackle everything at once, opportunities were organized into three tiers: manageable pilot projects, higher-priority initiatives for the next one to two years and a broader inventory of future possibilities.
Three initial pilot opportunities emerged:
- Automated Daily Census Reporting: Streamlining a time-consuming daily reporting process.
- Policy and Procedure Assistant: Helping employees quickly find answers within the organization’s existing policies.
- Family Communication Drafting Assistant: Supporting therapy staff with AI-generated drafts that employees review and approve before sending.
Each addressed a specific operational need while offering an opportunity to demonstrate AI’s value without requiring a sweeping organizational transformation.
That’s an important lesson for senior living leaders. Your first AI project doesn’t have to solve your biggest problem. It should solve a real problem, demonstrate measurable value and help build confidence among the people who will use it.
MEASURE WHAT MATTERS
Beyond the initial pilots, the roadmap identified five priority projects involving point-of-sale audits, home care scheduling, shift-change summaries, recruitment screening and work order management.
Together, these initiatives were estimated to save more than 3,300 staff hours annually if successfully implemented. That’s a compelling number, but the larger opportunity goes beyond efficiency.
Consider what those hours represent: more time for employees to engage with residents, focus on personalized service, support colleagues and handle the responsibilities that require human judgment and compassion.
The roadmap also established a path from planning to implementation, with The Highlands moving forward on projects involving policy and procedure centralization, home care scheduling optimization and a weekly leadership dashboard.
Throughout the process, the guiding principle remained the same: AI should support people, with appropriate human oversight, rather than replace the relationships and personal attention that define quality senior living.
YOUR AI ROADMAP STARTS HERE
The experience at The Highlands demonstrates that senior living organizations don’t need to have all the answers before beginning their AI journey, but they do need a thoughtful process.
Start by identifying an executive sponsor. Take inventory of your existing technology and data. Listen to employees about where they’re spending time and encountering challenges. Choose a manageable pilot, establish clear measures of success and make education and communication part of the plan from day one.
Above all, remember that AI adoption is as much about people and organizational culture as it is about technology.
For senior living organizations, the greatest opportunity may not be what AI can do on its own. It’s what AI can help your people accomplish when they have more time, better information and the right tools to do their best work.
