Category: Seniors Housing

There have been great strides to become more environmentally conscious, as we uncovered in our recent Project Looking Glass II and Next Generation studies.

Based on new product introductions with green claims launched in the last five years alone, the title of “green” as a mainstream product feature appears to be firmly ingrained in both consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers’ offerings as well as in the minds of consumers.

That idea has trickled down into the mind of the mature market consumer as well. Today’s Boomers and seniors are much more environmentally conscious than their predecessors, thanks in part to education and intense messaging on the state, local and national levels, and to the social consciousness common among the Boomers, and starting to appear in the current Transitional Generation.

In the retirement living market, community “Green Teams” and recycling programs are now common. But for the older generations, thinking environmentally is often a learning process, while for the younger set, it has become part of their lifestyle. As we uncovered in our Next Generation research, there was still some amount of skepticism regarding the true impact on the world.

Knowing this mindset, today’s retirement communities are slowly realizing that they cannot simply be “green for green’s sake,” but need to incorporate these initiatives as a means to produce measurable results, as well as shorten the learning curve.

Here’s a great example: Our PLGII subject community, Frasier Meadows, was able to move from a dismal 70% to a 95% energy efficiency by installing compact fluorescent light bulbs, high-efficiency boilers, occupancy sensors and 500 new windows. Residents and management alike saw the health benefits and long-term ROI.

MARKETING INSIGHT: In short, go ahead and be green, as long as it’s done in a practical, fiscally responsible manner and shows real results that benefit everyone.

Some communities have made efforts to overcome the notion that one person can’t make a difference by quantifying the environmental savings based on using their green initiatives, and differentiating their community to the environmentally-conscious.

From a marketing standpoint, a slightly different approach than the current crop of messaging (which centers on the cumulative savings based on “if everyone made these changes”) may need to be considered. Instead, providers may want to show how one single person’s annual – or lifetime – green habits can add up to savings on such things as plastic waste, pollution, and even money.

Sustainability and being “green” should be a collaborative effort. For residents, it should be promoted as paving the way for coming generations. For management, it should demonstrate corporate social responsibility, good stewardship of resources, and become a true point of differentiation.

The Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA) has some great tips and tools for making your community green without breaking the bank, and proving benefit to all.

Regards,

The Varsity Team

The first impressions of health information technology (HIT) – including electronic health records (EHR) and electronic medical records (EMR) – was that it held great promise for improving healthcare quality and safety, along with reducing the costs of providing care in the post-acute or long-term care setting.

The last time we covered HIT, and specifically EHR in the senior living industry, several multi-campus communities had already made the switch into the paperless realm.

Some preliminary data from LeadingAge and Ziegler‘s jointly commissioned LZ 100 survey shows that 79% of the largest LeadingAge members currently have an EHR system in place and plan to increase their investment over the next 12 months.

Note that we said largest.

Despite the advantages of EHR adoption for the long term care facilities using them and payers, the systems don’t come cheap, and costs vary depending on the type of system being deployed.

The study noted that, under a Software as a Service (SaaS), where a provider contracts directly with an EHR/EMR vendor for an annual service charge, implementing the technology could cost nearly $260,000 for a 25-bed facility over a period of five years. A third party-hosted solution would cost the same facility $254,279, while an in-house solution would ring in at more than $355,000 for the same five-year period.

Add to this the fact that EMR and point of care solutions can place a strain on a community’s current IT infrastructure, and require new measures to be put in place for security and access.

The benefits of going “paperless” are well-documented. EMR systems have a direct effect on positive outcomes, staff efficiency, the virtual elimination of medication errors, increased face time with residents and family members, and yes, cost savings.

As assisted living and skilled providers begin partnering with hospitals and other care providers in Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), it will become more important to be able to move data seamlessly between those organizations, as well as provide hard data showing that they’re providing quality care.

MARKETING INSIGHT: For smaller facilities, adopting an EHR system remains cost prohibitive, and the likelihood of widespread adoption in the next three to five years remains low. Clearly, policy initiatives, programs and financing options must be put into place.

Those who are on the fence about such systems should consider the following:

• Being seen as thought leaders with state-of-the-art technology;
• The federal mandate requiring all healthcare facilities to have electronic health records;
• The ability to align with an ACO or become a preferred destination for post-acute therapy;
• Marked improvements in quality, efficiency and effectiveness of care;
• Improvements to the quality of documentation; and
• Reduced the paperwork for employees.