Discovery Senior Living is continuing to grow its memory care portfolio by expanding existing memory care brands to meet strong demand for those services.
But this growth isn’t “one-size-fits-all,” according to Discovery National Director of Memory Care Programs Dawn Platt. She told Senior Housing News that growth in memory care must take into account the nuanced services and programming for older adults living with cognitive change.
“We’ve grown and looked at scaling the right way … and we don’t operate in a one-size-fits-all fashion,” Platt told Memory Care Business. “All brands are science-based and created for each operator and for our frontline memory care workers to be user-friendly and centered on customers in a particular market.”
By the end of the year, Platt said Discovery expects to grow its memory care portfolio to 200 communities. While continuing to grow, the company is overhauling its memory care services with more data and analytical insights. The Bonita Springs, Florida-based senior living provider also is launching a public-facing resource hub on cognitive change, caregiver education and dementia progression.
Discovery now operates over 180 memory care communities within its higher acuity segment across three different memory care brands in 40 states nationwide.
Those brands include its national memory care brand, SHINE, which aligns with the Alzheimer’s Association’s evidence-based dementia care practice recommendations. The portfolio also includes the company’s partnership with Integral Senior Living’s Generations memory care brand and its Glow memory care program.
‘Reshaping the landscape’ on brain health, memory care
In recent years, senior living operators have launched or expanded memory care offerings to meet projected demographic demand for higher acuity services that the industry has long discussed.
In 2025, Platt said Discovery will focus on more than just “refining” its multiple memory care brands and that it seeks to “reshape the landscape of” how it approaches brain health and cognitive care by adapting its brands to both metropolitan and rural markets.
In 2025, Discovery is also introducing “legacy preservation” programming designed to give memory care residents and their families the dignity and respect they deserve near the final phase of life.
“With outcome-based models, we will really be able to not only create those programs but measure our health outcomes and deliver better education and training standards to our team to really be more proactive in care,” Platt said.
Platt said Discovery updates the national SHINE memory care program biannually in conjunction with vetting from the Alzheimer’s Association to align with cutting-edge research and avoid letting the program become “stale.”
To stay at the forefront of care, Platt said Discovery monitors advances in dementia-related blood testing and pharmaceutical interventions that may slow cognitive change, while using its Microsoft Power Business Intelligence platform across all 180 memory care communities. The platform helps staff monitor medication and generate insights to improve care delivery.
“We’re seeing things that we’ve never been able to before, so in addition to new medication and those new developments, we’re able to measure the effectiveness and make real changes in real time to support our customers,” Platt said. “In my entire career, we have never been able to effectively do that and that’s what we’re embarking on.”
New resource hub, podcast to bring awareness, education at scale
Discovery recently launched a new website and podcast called “Disappearing Mind” to address the need for trusted resources on brain health, cognitive change, dementia and cognitive wellness. Platt will host the podcast, which is slated to feature stories, science and support with interviews from caregivers and experts in brain health, therapy and advocacy.
Discovery is using its scale to introduce new resources for families facing cognitive change and the transition to memory care. Alongside the resource launch, the company plans to adapt its staff training and education programs by incorporating more real-world examples into on-the-job training, something that “changes everything for us,” Platt stressed.
“This platform is going to allow us to up our approaches and care,” Platt said. “It’s going to be a differentiator where we’re going to be able to come together and share what we’re going to be doing by taking things that are directly happening in memory care across the industry.”
Looking ahead, Platt sees opportunities to further improve health outcomes by studying issues like “near misses” and elopements at the community level, reducing falls, improving medication management and examining the relationship between anxiety and dementia.
With a data tool that improves staffing and care delivery, Platt said Discovery will continue investing in therapeutic programs and vendor-provided products to “lead the industry in cognitive maintenance and cognitive preservation.”
“With our scale and our size, we have the ability to do this as a team and that’s something that has never been done in our industry and we’re going to be that resource,” Platt said.
Making memory care ‘fit the market’
To meet current and future memory care demand, Platt said Discovery will continue deploying its multiple brands in ways that ensure they “fit the market,” whether in rural areas or urban centers.
But within the company’s portfolio, Platt said Discovery and its communities must continue recognizing that dementia affects people at varying levels of cognitive change. That nuance is critical to future success—whether providing person-centered care to a resident with early onset dementia or a resident with advanced cognitive decline, Platt emphasized.
“This has to go across demographics and we have to meet people’s cultural needs and be mindful that this isn’t something that is one-size-fits-all,” Platt said.
Platt noted that hiring licensed care professionals has “stabilized to a degree,” but filling memory care director roles remains more difficult than other positions. To improve staffing, Discovery will continue to enhance its employee retention strategies and expand educational and career pathways for young professionals in and outside of health care, she said.
“We’re looking at mentoring and we’re improving our orientation process from the start,” Platt said. “We want to continue to help people grow and give them opportunities at Discovery.”
To respond to rising acuity and increasing cognitive care needs, Platt said Discovery will continue adapting its therapeutic and cognitive programs based on electronic health record (EHR) data on falls and medication usage. That data will help staff build better treatment plans for memory care residents and “change the way we do business,” she added.
“We want to perfect cognitive care and therapeutic programs based on outcomes,” Platt said.
