Ascent Dwelling Communities is overhauling operations with new know-how whereas additionally getting ready to methodically develop within the coming years.
The Centennial, Colorado-based senior dwelling supplier has taken a geographic-centric method to development with six communities within the state. Whereas Co-Founders Susie Finley and Tom Finley consider sustaining regional density is vital, they see alternatives to develop past the corporate’s present footprint.
“We don’t plan on dotting the map, and we’ve been geographically-focused our total existence and we need to preserve these shut connections and if we do increase, it’s carried out in a really clever method,” Tom Finley mentioned throughout an interview with SHN. “We’re going to focus this 12 months on development and refinement.”
Ascent Dwelling has many choices on the desk, from new acquisitions to ground-up growth ought to circumstances on financing enhance within the subsequent 24 months, Tom Finley mentioned. The operator is presently engaged in early planning for 3 potential growth alternatives.
He added that he doesn’t need the operator to develop bigger than round 20 communities sooner or later. The operator additionally sees alternatives supporting extra middle-market senior dwelling choices, in keeping with Tom Finley.
“We need to proceed to innovate and enhance operations being boutique in measurement however institutional in our execution,” Susie Finley informed SHN.
Ascent Dwelling has reported working margins close to 40%, because of sturdy occupancy charges throughout the corporate’s six communities.
In 2025, the corporate swapped out two vital know-how platforms central to operations. Particularly the corporate upgraded to a brand new payroll system and put in a fall-detection system in its assisted dwelling and reminiscence care communities to enhance response instances and care outcomes.
“We have been ready for fall detection software program to evolve and we began seeing new entrants coming into the market and so we actually felt just like the trade had advanced sufficient to the place it is smart for us to incorporate it,” Susie Finley mentioned.
Ascent Dwelling additionally lately overhauled its back-end information assortment and evaluation working system to disclose insights into resident care and basic neighborhood working efficiency. Frontline groups have entry to information from as latest because the day prior , which has allowed care employees to personalize care plans and alter them on the fly.
This modification has helped the underside line, with the pivot to a data-forward working mannequin attributing to a 7% enhance in working margin, Tom Finley mentioned.
“The information platform permits us to maximise each greenback,” Tom Finley added.
The shift to a data-driven working system got here after the corporate overhauled 12 of its earlier working methods to make sure information would stream immediately into the corporate’s deepening “information lake,” blended with a enterprise intelligence platform. Reviews on information are generated every day with the stories offering real-time info to raised inform every day operations.
Additionally new this 12 months, the corporate continues to increase its early dementia reminiscence care program to 3 communities, with additional rollout to all communities anticipated. In 2023, Ascent Dwelling Communities employed former Alzheimer’s Affiliation Senior Director Amelia Schafter as space director of reminiscence care to develop and oversee the corporate’s reminiscence care efforts.
“This system has elevated our capacity to deal with actually tough wants out there,” Susie Finley mentioned of the corporate’s reminiscence care program.
This comes as senior dwelling operators face rising resident acuity in assisted dwelling and reminiscence care, which has sophisticated the working surroundings and care supply by suppliers.
Having taken on new growth previously, the corporate has been in a position to construct particular impartial dwelling, assisted dwelling and reminiscence care environments to the corporate’s imaginative and prescient, however the communities depend on greater unit counts and curated life enrichment programming to encourage socialization throughout the continuum present inside a neighborhood’s 4 partitions. For instance, the corporate has a Friday blissful hour the place impartial dwelling residents and assisted dwelling residents mingle.
“Having that flexibility is tremendous vital, the place the care you get is going on behind the privateness of your closed door however you possibly can nonetheless get the social advantages that we’re all entitled to,” Susie Finley mentioned.
This blended surroundings, Tom Finley believes, helps form shopping for choices for sure residents, and positions Ascent Dwelling Communities to seize future demand.
“If we now have blissful residents, NOI goes to comply with,” Tom Finley added.
