With rising occupancy charges and enhancing staffing outcomes, WellAge Senior Dwelling is taking a sluggish and calculated development strategy for the approaching yr.
WellAge’s senior dwelling portfolio at the moment consists of 5 senior housing communities providing impartial dwelling, assisted dwelling and reminiscence care companies for residents. Together with its housing choices, the corporate has consulting companies which can be carried out on behalf of the state of Colorado, and it lately began providing grownup day care companies at its Jackson Creek in Monument location.
The Glendale, Colorado-based operator’s communities carry a 94% common occupancy fee, in line with Elizabeth Girling, vp of operations. Like many senior dwelling operators have carried out in 2024, WellAge has additionally managed to nearly eradicate its use of company staffers in its every day operations over the past eight months.
To attain that finish objective, the corporate created focus teams for employees and residents to find out what day-to-day adjustments in operations it may make. That course of led to new advantages akin to versatile scheduling practices, assist with training and certification and gasoline stipends quite than sign-on bonuses.
WellAge additionally established stronger worker appreciation applications, akin to providing “Creek Money” at Jackson Creek in Monument, which workers can commerce in and use for a wide range of functions, akin to making purchases from the neighborhood retailer or spending them on lunch at a restaurant. The operator additionally created an incentive whereby new workers obtain a verify in for his or her first 30, 60 and 90 days, which has proved useful for slowing turnover, Girling stated.
Girling stated WellAge wished to transcend the everyday methodology of providing staff medical insurance and two weeks pay as a result of “all people has these.”
WellAge’s comparatively small measurement, having simply 247 staff on its payroll, aided the corporate’s efforts.
“The great thing about being a small group is that the workers is aware of who our company group is, and we take satisfaction in that, so we will repair these issues that almost all organizations nonetheless proceed to have every day,” she stated.
All of that culminated in a “nice yr at WellAge” in 2024, Girling stated.
“We have now sturdy occupancy, we’ve got had nice outcomes for our staffing, in addition to only a actually good core management group,” Girling added. “We have now nice government administrators on the helm of our communities, and we’re lucky to have the ability to actually have constructive monetary outcomes.”
On the consulting aspect, Girling stated WellAge “treats these tasks like they’re our personal.” At any given time, the operator has between one and 7 tasks with the state of Colorado to requirements and strengthen deficiencies which have led to low reviews following state inspections.
“It’s not only a one measurement suits all package deal anymore with workers. It really must be a full effort from the highest down, and the buy-in has to come back from the workers,” she stated.
The operator’s focus within the the rest of the yr might be to develop occupancy and roll out a brand new mentorship program for its scientific group, together with planning to complete with a robust monetary efficiency, Girling stated.
Looking forward to the approaching years, WellAge is plotting its subsequent development push.
“We have now a group that focuses on that and is at all times taking a look at other ways by which we will proceed to develop and what makes probably the most sense so we don’t lose the tradition and what we’ve labored so laborious to have,” she stated.
