The massive new Brookdale Senior Living has the potential to do great things for the elders of this country and for the senior living industry.

The morning after the Brookdale Emeritus announcement I knocked out a quick article speculating as to what it might mean. I have now had some time to think some more about the merger.  I would love to do an interview with Andy Smith, the CEO. I would explore his dreams and hopes for the this new, massive entity. There is great potential here for making the new Brookdale even better for two or three hundred thousand people, including residents, family members, employees and vendors.

Here is what I wish he would say

I want to preface this by saying that I do not mean to imply that either Brookdale or Emeritus are not already doing a good job of providing care to residents. I have had numerous encounters with both Brookdale and Emeritus teams members and know them to be compassionate passionate caring professionals.

  • To Shareholders:  We are not going to chase quarter to quarter profits.  In fact as we move though the next one to three years we will remain financially very healthy but we are likely to see a short-term drop in profitability and net cash flow.

We know, though, that creating a culture of excellent care for our residents will, over time, add tremendous value to our shareholders because providing quality care always flows to the bottom line.

  • Even though we are a big company we are going to behave as a family of small companies which means we are going to give divisions, regions and local communities maximum freedom and flexibility to meet the needs of their local marketplace, families and team members.  The management structure will exist first and foremost to be a resource, for innovation and ideas that allow local management to do what they do best.

This is not to say we will not have any accountability, because we will expect excellence in resident care and reasonableness in managing expenses.

  • We are going to make an absolute commitment to person centered care and embrace a person centered care philosophy by adopting The Eden Alternative or a similar program.
  • We are committed to having fun on this journey.
  • We are committed to making every Brookdale location a place where people are happy to come to work each day.
  • We want to hear any and all ideas about how to do what we do better.  Not all will be adopted, of course, but every single one will get senior consideration.
  • We are committed to figuring out how to give each of the elders we serve opportunities to learn, to make new friends and to give back each and every day.

That’s it.  That is a Brookdale I would love to work for.  That is a Brookdale that would make the whole of senior living look good.  That is a Brookdale that would prove, without a doubt, that a “for profit” company can do as good or better than a “not-for-profit” company. Do you have anything to add?  or subtract? 

Steve Moran

 If you like this article or even if you don’t, it would be a great honor to have you subscribe to our mailing list HERE.