From new tech to value-based care, leaders of Anthem Memory Care, Juniper Communities and Northbridge Companies see a need to alter the senior living model and innovate for the industry’s next residents.
Senior living companies are innovating by implementing new tech into their operating models while also enhancing them with new value-based care payment sources. Already, multiple operators are integrating AI into sales processes and using robots to clean floors or deliver food. To power those processes, they are collecting lots of real-time data about the goings-on in their communities.
At the same time, senior living operators are bringing to bear value-based care models that aim to improve health outcomes, increase length of stay, reduce medical errors and ultimately, lower health care costs downstream.
‘Piece of the puzzle I’m most excited about’
Senior living operators have dabbled with AI in the last few years, including in sales and marketing, where it’s used for roleplaying and to follow up with prospects.
Isaac Scott, founding principal and CEO of Anthem Memory Care, believes that AI is likely going to be the biggest innovative technology for senior living operators to implement and use.
West Linn, Oregon-based Anthem is using AI like ChatGPT to “improve what we’re doing across the board,” including by recording sales calls, plugging that info into its customer relationship management (CRM) system and automatically generating new potential touchpoints for prospects.
“Watching how it can potentially transform what we’re doing at each of our communities, improving the lives of our department heads and caregivers and being much more effective in how we care for our residents is the piece of the puzzle I’m the most excited about,” he said Tuesday during a panel at the Argentum conference in Tampa, Florida.
Bloomfield, New Jersey-based Juniper Communities is also beginning to utilize AI. The company also is using robots to clean floors and deliver meals. The operator also is developing a new software program referred to as Juniper Connect, according to CEO Lynne Katzmann.
The program, which she described as a “souped up resident portal,” is meant to work through apps and voice devices such as Amazon Alexa, to track resident patterns and wellness information.
“It is going to be our base for collecting data about everything, from what food you eat, to caregiving needs, to engagement and so on,” Katzmann said. “Probably a year to a year-and-a-half from now … we’ll be able to say, ‘Okay, here are all the patterns, and here’s what we think you might want to do.’”
Katzmann cited an example of recommending a sugar free dessert to a diabetic resident who places an order through the software program. The tool might also be used to schedule visits with friends or even provide the weather report.
In the short term, tools like that are helping Juniper collect ancillary revenues and increase its net operating income (NOI) margins.
Northbridge is slower to roll out technology than some of its peers, according to Wendy Nowokunski, co-founder and president. Where the company does innovate with tech, it’s all through the lens of helping associates do what they do best, which is spending time with residents.
“Whatever technology we use, it’s usually meant to improve healthcare outcomes, improve quality of life,” Nowokunski said. “We start with the science, and we start with examining and talking to the frontline care staff.”
Northbridge used that approach when improving its EHR system. The system gave the operator insight into worker pain points, such as burdensome shifts with lots of call-outs, to help it refine and better its staffing model.
“It begins with, ‘What are the needs, and how do we get the associates on board, the residents on board and have them buy into it?’” she added.
Collaborating for value-based care
Senior living operators have in recent years adopted new payment models that help them both better care for residents – and potentially even collect some extra revenue in the process.
Juniper Communities, along with a handful of other companies, launched the Perennial Consortium, an operator-led organization that provides new payment plans for its members. . The company has proceeded to bring in Medicare financing in the government through adopting a care model approach that is recognized by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The group’s Perennial Advantage plan has been profitable since the first year of its inception in 2020, Katzmann said. Once a Medicare member enrolls through the plan, it brings in a guaranteed $125 per member per month.
Now, Juniper brings in between $475 and $650 per member per month with the various measures it takes and the plans it offers.
“We do it mostly because we want better outcomes,” Katzmann said. “It all started with a care model, which is something we all do, and the care model then informs the way we act and interact with other providers. How we survey and how we communicate enables success.”
In the last few years, Northbridge has also sought to widen payment options for residents. The company is working on multiple development projects, including one in the Washington D.C. area in partnership with Amazon, with a unique affordable rate structure for residents using Medicaid waivers. Nowokunski added the operator is looking to further connect and collaborate with care partners to further enhance its continuum of care. One benefit, she said, is the partnership the company has with a hospital network in Massachusetts.
Looking ahead, affordability is going to become even more important, she said.
“We’re getting into this huge demographic shift,” Nowokunski said. “People are getting older, people are getting frailer … we’re going to have the need for alternatives like value-based care.”
Adjusting for consumer expectations
Like other senior living veterans, Nowokunski believes the baby boomers will value personalization in the services they buy. One way Northbridge enhances personalization is by having residents and staff fill out a “life story” tupper-level staff can read to learn more about them.
The process is also going to tie back into utilizing technology to allow staff to spend more time with residents.
“I think the more we can innovate with technologies to give our associates more time to spend with the residents, the better off we are,” Nowokunski said.
According to Scott, Anthem is focusing on keeping its team members motivated and inspired, which leads to greater resident satisfaction as a whole as well.
Katzmann said moving forward, communities need to become more of a community hub in order to differentiate themselves as well. She added that wellness will be an important differentiator.
“Our places need to be community hubs, not places at the end of the road down until the second of it goes to and lastly, we really have to adapt and adopt data and communication, because it is the future,” she said.
