What Residents Feel When a Senior Living Community Changes Hands

The first question a resident’s family member asked me during one of our ownership transitions had nothing to do with the sale itself. Her mother had a daily routine of sitting in the gazebo in the garden after lunch, and she wanted to know whether that would still be possible. 

I always think about that question. It tells me what a change in ownership means to the person living through it. The building’s name, the management company, the upgrades in software, the new efficiencies with billing and payroll - all of it sat below one concern: whether her loved one in this nursing care center could keep her daily routine. 

On everything else, you have room to move.

Residents only feel what touches their day

Most of what a new owner rushes to fix—the general ledger, the vendor contracts, the information technology systems, the human resources policies and procedures, whether the staff use  Teams or Zoom—never reaches a resident. 

That is your room to work. 

Cut costs, renegotiate contracts, find efficiencies, then put what you save where residents will notice. 

The danger sits on the other side, in the small things that fill a resident’s day. A family member who is accustomed to dropping off the monthly rent checks at the front desk is now told to mail it to an address half-way across the State instead.  This comes at a real loss – what may be missed is that the family member had a relationship with the reception, used that time to catch up with the staff, and dropped some magazines off for their family member.  There was a connection that was severed, but all in the spirit of efficiency.  The same goes with the favorite chair in the common room – while new furnishings and décor are a wonderful thing, did we dispose of a favorite resting space for a resident?  Or, when we expanded the cable TV services for better and more channels, did we lose the local daily news?  The small things matter.   

What you perceive as an upgrade may land as a loss to someone attached to the old way. Map those routines before you touch anything and move slowly.

Communicate early, and to everyone

Every change in ownership stresses the staff, the residents and their family members.  Change is hard for everyone – even when those changes are perceived positive.    The fix? Communicate early, in person and to everyone. 

For families and residents, I suggest inviting them all to a town hall meeting.  Include a meal and snacks, and maybe even entertainment. Invite everyone, introduce all the new management by name and position – from every level - and let people ask whatever’s on their mind.

With employees, two questions outrank everything else: will there be any changs to their wages and benefits and what happens to their accrued paid time off. Culture matters, but only after you assure the employees of their wages, benefits and paid time off.  It is a constant in all transitions, at every level. . Answer the first two questions plainly and transparently and you keep your team.  Even if wages, benefits and PTO will be changing, it is important to communicate this early.  Employees will stay through the changes, so long as they are made with transparency and effective communication.  

We have always made a practice of providing our nurses, CENAs and frontline staff with a toolkit of sorts, with information regarding the ownership transition.   So, they are never caught empty-handed at the bedside or in a conversation with a resident or family member, always provide: 

●      The new policies, and what has changed

●      Who to call for what, with names and contact info

●      Talking points for the questions families keep asking

Use the change to upgrade what residents touch

A transition is your best chance to give residents something they did not have before.  The “wins” in a transition typically stem from improvements service and increasing staff presence and visibility. 

Bring physical therapy manager in- house so a physical therapist is on site full- time instead of a contractor who visits. Add nurse practitioner hours or physician hours. Create a resident liaison or resident care position.   

Increasing the activities department hours and the number and quality of resident activities are where I push hardest first.  It is the simplest and most effective way for staff to connect with residents.   A lot of operators miss the opportunity. Thirty residents in the dining room engaging in a meaningful activity or doing arts and crafts or taking music lessons are residents that are happy, well cared for, And the intangible benefit is that a well-attended activity can alleviate pressure on the nursing and clinical team.  Maybe this gives the nurses a short window to chart and catch up. A strong upgrade and change in the activities program pay off twice.

Judge it by the aggregate

Someone will always be unhappy. You upgrade a room or area or improve a system, and someone will always complain. You don’t ignore that person, but you cannot let one reaction steer the building either. 

Watch retention and the quality measures, before and after. If those climb, the transition is working.  

Ultimately, you are trying to make the community better.  Pay attention to the small things – the nuances that touch the residents’ lives.  It will make a difference.