Change is afoot at Willow Valley Communities.
The Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based senior residing operator has a number of next-generation initiatives underway, together with an city high-rise improvement and reminiscence care undertaking.
In downtown Lancaster, Willow Valley is shifting ahead with a high-rise improvement referred to as Mosaic that’s deliberate to span 20 flooring and can provide future residents a number of choices, together with 16 floorplans that vary from 1,592 square-feet to three,338 square-feet.
The group can be shifting ahead on a brand new reminiscence care neighborhood, the Marlin and Doris Thomas Reminiscence Middle, on its Lakes neighborhood campus in Lancaster. Final 12 months, undertaking officers instructed SHN the undertaking was partly impressed by The Hogeweyk within the Netherlands.
Residents will stay in 14 households of 10 folks every inside a safe seven-acre campus. The neighborhood may also embrace a mind tech and evaluation middle, a “mind café,” and a caregiver useful resource and assist hub. A public-facing grownup day middle may also be a part of the undertaking.
These should not the one latest modifications at Willow Valley. The operator employed Lisa Hawthorne as CEO in June, a senior residing veteran with practically three many years of expertise within the trade.
However change isn’t formidable to Hawthorne, who stated enlargement and evolution is a “regular state” for the operator.
“They’ve been regularly rising and innovating and altering over the 40 12 months historical past,” Hawthrone stated throughout the newest SHN Remodel podcast.
Willow Valley Communities is a nonprofit, 55-plus life plan neighborhood in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with greater than 1,600 impartial residing residences and practically 500 supportive residing beds. Throughout two campuses spanning 210 acres, the group serves about 2,600 residents with the assist of 1,600 crew members.
Hearken to the most recent episode of Remodel right here.
The next transcript has been edited for size and readability.
In her first 100 days as CEO:
I’m already about 30 days in and I can inform you that point has flown by and my focus actually for the primary 100 days, and past that as nicely, is admittedly listening and constructing relationships and incomes the belief of crew members and residents right here whereas getting built-in within the better Lancaster County [area].
There’s a secret sauce that I’m making an attempt to be taught right here, and I’m making an attempt to be taught that from many alternative views, once more, from crew members and from residents, from board members and from my friends on the management crew right here, in order that I can make certain we protect the legacy and that tradition as we transfer the group ahead.
I’ve acquired three objectives: connection, readability, and alignment. Connections are constructing relationships with residents, crew members, and the better neighborhood. Readability is round what the instant priorities are, as a result of I’ve jumped on a prepare that’s already left the station and there’s lots occurring. I wish to make certain I’ve a transparent understanding of probably the most instant priorities that require my consideration so we don’t lose momentum on the necessary issues we’re advancing proper now.
After which alignment — alignment with the crew and alignment with our board when it comes to our route, persevering with ahead within the close to time period, in addition to setting the stage for longer-term visioning and planning.
On becoming a member of as CEO, utilizing previous experiences:
By my consulting profession, I’ve had the advantage of working with numerous senior residing organizations throughout the nation and I’ve been in a position to see lots. I’ve been in a position to be concerned all through my profession in new startup developments and expansions, in repositioning restructurings, sort of the entire gamut of the life cycle of a life plan neighborhood operator.
It took listening to what the market is telling you, and we’re able to mud these plans off and choose up the place they left off. The entire panorama has modified and that required a brave pivot as a result of that they had land they have been ready to develop on.
We labored side-by-side with them to assist them think about a totally totally different new route and it has confirmed to be successful and a testomony to their means to adapt to the place the market was going and be capable of pivot and accomplish that in a very brave approach.
So I do know I’m lucky to be becoming a member of Willow Valley at a time when the group’s already acknowledged nationally. I’ve to attribute the visionary management of John Swanson, who’s my predecessor right here, and what he has achieved right here at Willow Valley. Willow Valley is fairly unbelievable, and I feel Willow Valley kind of a well-kept secret. John’s dedication to daring concepts and his brave imaginative and prescient has mapped out a fairly sturdy and clear path ahead for us. So once more, I’m shepherding this imaginative and prescient ahead.
On altering shopper expectations:
We’re serving three generations, 100-year-olds, people of their 80s, and even of their 60s. At Willow Valley we actually have residents whose dad and mom and grandparents lived right here, siblings who stay right here, and crew member households who’re right here. That’s a testomony to the standard of Willow Valley and the belief generations have positioned in us.
We’ve lengthy positioned Willow Valley as a 55-plus neighborhood, and our common age at entry is now 76, youthful than the nationwide common. That has stored us on the forefront of adjusting expectations and helps us anticipate what wants to come back subsequent from an operational perspective. One in every of our tenets isn’t any diminished normal, whether or not it’s residences, villas, townhomes, or the brand new Mosaic highrise. That additionally applies to life-style.
Willow Valley presents intensive alternatives, studying, artwork, tradition and music, proper right here on campus, together with sturdy connections to Lancaster’s vibrant arts, eating and tradition. From an operations perspective, culinary is spectacular. Native Desk, one in all our fine-dining venues, stands up in opposition to any restaurant, and now we have practically 20 venues, at all times evolving to thrill residents and their households. We even have a state-of-the-art health middle and aquatic advanced that’s at all times busy. The chance forward is integrating wellness in a approach that makes the expertise much more private, as a result of everybody desires one thing totally different out of this chapter, and we wish to facilitate that for every resident.
On the present state of senior residing staffing:
Properly, I’ll get probably the most difficult half out of the best way, as a result of it’s just about the identical for many organizations. It’s within the medical areas and within the culinary areas. However we’re lucky to have some actually long-tenured crew members right here, a number of development from inside, and actually a stable workforce. After I take into consideration enlargement and alter, definitely there’s change with my arrival as the brand new chief, and I’m working to develop these relationships all the best way all the way down to the entrance line.
Growth and alter is sort of a gentle state round Willow Valley, as a result of they’ve been regularly rising and innovating over the 40-year-history. I’m undecided there’s ever been a lot of a interval that you’d name established order right here, and I feel individuals are accustomed to that. A few of our development and enlargement is creating thrilling alternatives for folks to construct their careers. On the identical time, sustaining the tradition and an surroundings the place crew members are empowered, heard, and appreciated is at all times a prime precedence.
Our groups are engaged on improved studying and improvement alternatives and improved onboarding and orientation packages, so that folks will wish to spend a profession right here. We’re lucky that many individuals have chosen to spend their careers right here, and we don’t take that as a right. We will by no means cease doing the issues that preserve people engaged with us.
Willow Valley’s latest initiatives underway:
The SouthPointe enlargement is a 124-unit enlargement on the Lakes campus and it is going to be 4 buildings when it’s full; it’s fully offered out already. Two buildings are accomplished and totally occupied and the opposite two buildings shall be coming on-line over the following handful of months with the primary occupancy in September.
Mosaic is the downtown enlargement, the city enlargement. That is going to offer a chance for individuals who desire an city life-style, individuals who already stay in a highrise or who lived in a high-rise at one level of their lives and want to interact in that native, vibrant metropolis of Lancaster, and so, it’s actually extra of a distinct sort of life-style.
It is going to most likely be one other three years earlier than we’ll be capable of welcome the primary resident, so we’re going to be busy with these initiatives for the foreseeable future. Now let me speak for a second concerning the Marlin and Doris Thomas Reminiscence Middle. It’s a village-style residing surroundings that’s designed to actually destigmatize dementia and improve high quality of life, present alternatives to teach the broader neighborhood on mind well being and likewise what it’s prefer to be residing with dementia.
Our crew visited greater than 40 reminiscence care communities throughout america and in Europe, together with The Hogeweyk within the Netherlands. So that is going to be one thing that has not been seen earlier than, definitely in Pennsylvania and the jap a part of the U.S. That’s beneath building and shall be opening the center of subsequent 12 months and so we’re engaged on staffing and programming and now we have partnerships which might be coming collectively to offer what shall be a state-of-the-art surroundings.
On optimism for the longer term, ‘compelling’ tendencies
Properly, I’m optimistic. Let’s speak for a second concerning the demographics. We all know the demographics are overwhelming and compelling, however solely when you have what folks need. We will’t simply count on that as a result of the numbers are overwhelming, they’re going to come back to us. Now we have to proceed to offer the life-style that individuals are on the lookout for.
I do imagine that as we’re already serving the boomer inhabitants, we’re not making ready for the infant boomers anymore. They’re right here, they usually’re already proper right here at Willow Valley.
They’re actually redefining what retirement, which I’m placing in air quotes as a result of that’s not a phrase in our vocabulary anymore, what that appears and looks like.
I’m excited that we are going to have quite a lot of decisions, and I look ahead to seeing how we are able to take to the following degree among the programming that now we have right here, particularly round wellness, perhaps a extra holistic view to wellness that’s customized for every particular person.
