Life Care Services, Atria Senior Living and Frontier Management took the top three spots in this year’s J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Senior Living Satisfaction Study.
Life Care Services ranked highest in independent living resident satisfaction for its fifth year in a row with a score of 827. In second place was Five Star Senior Living, with a score of 744.
Life Care Services also ranked highest in family member/decision-maker overall satisfaction, with a score of 869. Atria Senior Living ranked second with a score of 855, while Frontier Management managed a score of 846.
“Receiving this recognition from J.D. Power, one of the most respected consumer insights organizations in the world, demonstrates our focus on the most important part of our business: our residents and their families,” said LCS CEO Joel Nelson. “For five consecutive years, nearly 40,000 residents have expressed their confidence in our company and communities. I couldn’t be more thankful for our team members for their hard work and dedication.”
J.D. Power measures senior living satisfaction using six factors: Community buildings and grounds; community staff; dining; price paid for services received; resident activities; and resident apartment/living unit.
Now in its fifth year, the most recent study included 3,838 responses from residents living in independent communities and from family members and decision-makers of assisted living and memory care residents over the last three years.
Overall, the responses reflected that resident satisfaction was relatively flat in the last year as senior living operators grappled with multiple challenges, including rising and unpredictable costs of goods and services and staffing, according to Andrea Stokes, hospitality and senior living practice lead at J.D. Power.
As operators have raised rates, satisfaction scores have dipped. This year, satisfaction with value or price paid for services received among independent living residents registered at 604, which is 15 points lower than the study one year ago.
Overall, communities with easy-to-contact management and activities were ones that were more likely to score highly.
“The good news is that we’re no longer seeing declines in resident satisfaction linked directly to staff reductions or facilities management,” Stokes said in a press release. “However, the new challenge is residents’ perception of value for money paid for independent living. Rents continue to rise considerably, and lower ratings provided for prices paid for services received are creating a drag on resident satisfaction.”
Companies featured in this article:
Atria Senior Living, Frontier Management, J.D. Power, Life Care Services