Juniper Communities has set a aim to achieve 30 communities by 2030. To get there, the corporate should advance its value-based care and wellness fashions, in response to CEO Lynne Katzmann.
In 2025, Katzmann and Juniper will deal with rising and additional refining the operator’s Catalyst wellness program. Catalyst, launched in 2022, is a wellness membership well being and effectively being effort aimed to personalize senior residing choices for its residents .
Additionally this yr, Juniper goals to develop Medicare Benefit (MA) participation via its participation within the Perennial Consortium, the value-based care mannequin the operator co-launched in 2019 to drive MA enrollment amongst residents and supply new methods of reimbursement in creating constructive well being outcomes.
Because it stands, Juniper owns all however six of its 28 communities, and that’s by design, Katzmann advised Senior Housing Information in a current interview.
“We’re developing on 38 years and our mission has all the time been to be a mannequin for public coverage and to seek out higher methods to do issues whereas demonstrating how that may be achieved throughout a number of buildings,” Katzmann mentioned.
She added that Juniper has a aim to extend its whole variety of wholly owned communities, via acquisitions stemming from long-time administration of properties.
For instance, Juniper has managed a neighborhood in Paramus, New Jersey since 2021 when the neighborhood was acquired final month by Nationwide Well being Buyers (NYSE: NHI). The $46.3 million acquisition by the true property funding belief (REIT) included a 10-year lease with Juniper as supervisor of the property that features an choice to convert right into a RIDEA construction , Katzmann mentioned.
“What we discovered is that administration [of a community] in sure conditions can result in acquisition,” Katzmann mentioned, as a result of status created since beginning administration at a property.
Additionally in 2025, Katzmann lately highlighted the corporate’s aim of getting waste-free communities via lowering paper waste, plastic use via its Inexperienced Cover initiative.
Perennial continues to develop
Because the value-based care effort picked up tempo in 2024, the trouble seems to be choosing up the place final yr left off as capitation charges might assist develop value-based care enlargement by operators. This all leads as much as subsequent yr when the Medicare Benefit capitation price will enhance, setting the stage for additional value-based care adoption in senior residing.
Via value-based care, senior residing operators can supply new companies that hold residents effectively for longer.
Katzmann continues to see the upside of reimbursement for issues like care coordination. The operator receives $125 per member every month, and that reimbursement additionally extends to diet assist for folks with persistent sickness, transportation offsetting prices and personal caregiving hours.
“Numerous the issues we offer, now we have a mechanism for looking for reimbursement to have the ability to assist residents,” Katzmann mentioned. “It’s designed to pay for high quality and we outline that via well being.”
Whereas uncertainty from the Trump administration has been broached cautiously by operators within the final 4 months, Katzmann believes the president and Republican-controlled Congress’ assist for Medicare Benefit might proceed to develop value-based care fashions in senior residing and well being care. However any cuts to Medicare could be “detrimental.”
“My concern is there isn’t any clear path and we don’t actually know the place the administration goes to go,” Katzmann added.
Wellness ‘now longevity administration’
Via its way of life and wellness membership program, Catalyst, Katzmann sees upside in with the ability to promote preventative well being and wellness existence for residents—that may enhance longevity and put together for the following era of senior residing prospects. This implies designing a extra nuanced diet program and programming round mobility plus socialization, with an purpose at serving to folks stay longer, happier lives.
Katzmann added that the senior residing business requires a “mindset shift” in engagement, mobility and health programming to create a hospitality expertise that emphasizes preventive well being companies and wellness with out requiring medical assist.
“The wellness we’re speaking about is now longevity administration,” Katzmann mentioned.
In getting ready for the following era of shoppers, Katzmann mentioned Juniper is scrutinizing its staffing mannequin, inspecting workflows and job descriptions to maneuver the needle on hiring, retention and care supply.
To assist these modifications, Katzmann mentioned Juniper will proceed to depend on its expertise companions to offer wanted knowledge and techniques to assist groups be extra environment friendly and spend extra time with residents.
“One of many hardest issues in all of this was discovering the suitable tech associate to develop one thing that match our imaginative and prescient,” Katzmann mentioned of the corporate’s new expertise suite as Juniper wanted to “evolve” that created a “multi-departmental” system. The system is able to monitoring and amassing knowledge from all departments and tracks resident satisfaction and well being outcomes.
On the customer-facing expertise aspect, Katzmann believes Juniper’s partnership with Amazon Enterprise with Alexa voice expertise in its communities is “coming into its personal” as extra residents work together with voice instructions on in-unit Alexa gadgets than in previous years in comparison with on-phone or pill apps.
“With out enabling expertise, you can not do that,” Katzmann mentioned of reaching the following cohort of senior residing prospects. “It’s going to evolve significantly within the subsequent 18 months.”
This push on expertise integration comes as Katzmann sees Juniper capable of create a “prescriptive way of life prescription” for every resident based mostly on way of life and programming participation knowledge to assist enhance socialization at communities sooner or later. However to get there, Katzmann famous that tech-driven change should be led by correct resident monitoring, sound scientific assessments and fast interventions to enhance resident well being, the place doable.
Final yr, Juniper launched a house well being and personal doctor apply to create new income. This will get to Katzmann’s imaginative and prescient to pair wellness programming in keeping with care supply—to achieve the client of tomorrow.
“The patron at this time may be very completely different than most of us suppose,” Katzmann mentioned. “They’re folks we work with and socialize with—they’re very completely different in conduct and preferences.
‘Wellness mannequin for the mind’
As senior residing suppliers evolve their working fashions with an eye fixed on higher-acuity residents, some corporations have seemed to capitalize on that demand by beefing up assisted residing and reminiscence care choices.
To achieve this needs-driven demand phase, Katzmann mentioned Juniper would look to develop its Wellspring dementia program with an emphasis on cognitive well being, revamped scientific assessments in an effort to assist residents residing with dementia keep cognitive operate and high quality of life.
“It’s a wellness mannequin for the mind and for folks residing with dementia to work with them and take a look at potential different causes of among the points associated to dementia and addressing these,” Katzmann mentioned.
Wanting forward, Katzmann mentioned she is “cautiously optimistic” for the rest of the yr and past.
“I feel there are a variety of issues that now we have to be cautious about however from my perspective that creates alternative,” Katzmann mentioned.
