Beyond ‘Hospitality-Only’…Way Beyond
Q. What’s most important to corporate owners of assisted living?
A. Profitability. Above all else, profitability.
And that’s the way it should be!
No one is in business to lose money.
No one wants to work for a business that’s losing money.
No one wants to be part of an organization where you and your co-workers have no job security, where your job may be eliminated at any time because you can no longer be afforded.
Without profit, a business is not sustainable, it’s temporary, and of very little use to the people it serves. And, quite frankly, it will probably create more problems than it solves.
There are valid arguments about the manner in which profit is obtained, and how that profit is used. But the inescapable message remains:
“No margin, no mission.”
Q. What’s the leading way for corporate owners of assisted living communities to attain profitability?
A. Occupancy. Above all else, occupancy.
And that’s the way it should be!
The marker of a profitable, thriving, engaging, successful assisted living community is full occupancy and nothing less.
This is where you want to be, where your co-workers want to be, where your residents and families want to be.
You are most likely to feel good in this environment. You are valued, happy, fairly compensated. You look forward to coming to work. And your supervisors and co-workers are glad to see you when you arrive, and you are glad to see them.
Q. What’s an innovative approach for an assisted living corporation to achieve profitability?
A. Healthcare. Not above all else, but in mutual support and cooperation with professionals from real estate and hospitality – all 3 disciplines working together in partnership for the benefit of all.
And that’s the way it should be!
Healthcare, in a partnership with real estate and hospitality.
And Healthcare has another unique value: it can be used as a ‘tool,’ an ‘instrument’ by which profitability is achieved.
Q. How can healthcare be used as a tool to help achieve profitability?
A. Like this:
- Healthcare alignments
- Reach new customers (hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, rehab facilities, long term acute care hospitals, Home Health organizations) by implementing health analytics and quality metrics. Show them your data to demonstrate that you are the “Go To” Assisted Living Community for discharged seniors who need more support than they can arrange at home.
- Transitions
- Attain seamless transitions and coordination of care when residents move to your community and within your referral network.
- Readmissions
- Eliminate them, and tell the world you did so!
- Value based care and bundled payments
- Embrace these new opportunities! Understand that 2/3 of the target price identified for many bundles falls into the post-acute care arena. This opens huge opportunities to partner in healthcare networks with your post-acute brothers and sisters to reduce overall healthcare costs. The reward? Advancing your value, cementing old relationships, building new customers, and not only assuring your survival but also promising profitability for the future.
All these measures will help you to keep your old customers and get you new ones. And that combination will bolster your occupancy and keep you profitable.
Healthcare as a tool.
Healthcare – previously untapped, but now an assisted living community’s best friend.
And that’s the way it should be!
E-mail me with comments:
st**********@il*******************.com
Dr. Steven Fuller
Dr. Steven Fuller is a triple board certified physician/entrepreneur who develops programs in support of an Integrated Care model of senior housing. This model includes 3 equal, interactive, and mutually supportive team members: real estate, hospitality, and healthcare.
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