For the nation’s largest provider of senior living services, the equation for success really comes down to the power of one – one individual making a real difference in the life of a senior.
In the case of Brentwood-based Brookdale Senior Living, that ‘power of one’ is multiplied across 82,000 associates in more than 1,100 communities in 47 states. “They are the 82,000 folks forging relationships with our residents. They’re the ones who make the magic,” said Brookdale Senior Living CEO Andy Smith.
With the capacity to care for approximately 108,000 seniors and their family members, the company’s mission is to treat each one of those individuals with compassion and respect and to view each day as an opportunity to “deeply connect with people in a profound and personal way.” It’s those connections that have been captured in a national advertising campaign, which launched last year.
“When we think about our brand, it’s a manifestation of our mission,” Smith said of the campaign. “The brand is an expression of who we are. It’s an expression of the essence of Brookdale and what we do … and it’s always about our people.”
He added the ‘stars’ of the television commercials who share touching and sometimes humorous interactions with residents are all real Brookdale associates with real stories about real people. “There are no scripts, just their expression of how important their residents are to them, and that’s told in their own words,” said Smith.
“Our goal isn’t to be the biggest, it’s to be the best,” he continued.
Of course, size also helps. “We’re the only participant in the senior living industry who participates in each vertical in the continuum of care at scale across the country,” Smith pointed out.
Brookdale’s service levels run the gamut from independent living and assisted living to memory care and skilled nursing. “Unique to the industry, we have a seamlessly coordinated ancillary services platform built into the company,” Smith said, adding those services include outpatient therapy, home health and a growing hospice care business.
In addition to being able to meet varying levels of care, Smith said Brookdale also offers services to meet varying socioeconomic levels. While there are many high-end communities, Smith said there are also many that are targeted to those in the middle, which is a space for which he believes demand will grow in the future.
“Demographic tailwinds are behind us,” Smith pointed out. “The country is aging, the numbers of seniors are growing, and the number of caregivers is going down.”
He continued, “I think there is a longer term opportunity for Brookdale and a challenge for the country. We have to figure out how to care for folks.”
The company’s size and geographic diversity also provide a front-row seat to witness how seniors interact with the system across the continuum of care and the necessary scale to develop and implement innovations and best practices based on those observations.
“It’s interesting to see how the senior living industry interfaces with the healthcare system,” Smith said. “It’s an evolving and maturing relationship.”
He added it’s also a relationship in which Brookdale is playing a growing role. In light of newer payment models that emphasize keeping patients healthy, hospitals and health systems are paying much more attention to where and how older patients live and what impact that might have on a senior’s overall health.
A few years ago, Brookdale received a coveted CMS Innovation Grant to test the ‘Implementation of Innovations to Reduce Acute Care Transitions’ (INTERACT) program in 75 communities. “We showed demonstrable improvement in hospital readmission rates and drove them down by 17 percent compared to baseline,” Smith said.
He added the company is actively engaged in other innovations around care, as well. “We are spending a lot of time, effort and energy to really improve the quality of care our residents receive every day.”
Technology is playing an increasing role in social, emotional and physical health. Smith said seniors are becoming much more technologically savvy. Brookdale is currently working on a social media portal geared to seniors that would allow residents to communicate more easily with family and friends. The company is also using a host of technological tools and different methodologies in memory care units to stimulate seniors with some degree of memory impairment.
Other innovations are geared toward improving quality of life. “Our culinary team has developed a special set of spices that takes the changing tastes of seniors into account,” Smith said.
Whether it’s major care advancements or seemingly minor acts of thoughtfulness, Smith summed up, “The very essence of Brookdale is our mission, which is to enrich lives.
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