U.S. News: More Than 1,700 Senior Living Communities Are ‘Best’ in Nation

U.S. News has released its third “Best Senior Living” list, with companies including Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD), LCS and Brightview Senior Living near the top of the stack. .

Of the more than 3,500 communities that were surveyed, 1,703 were recognized as “best” in one or more of the available categories, which include best independent living, best assisted living, best memory care and best continuing care retirement community (CCRC).

Communities were analyzed based on a list of criteria that included resident and family satisfaction with safety, care, community management and staff, perceived value and amenities. Independent living community scores were weighed only with responses from residents, while residents and families provided scores for assisted living. For memory care, U.S. news based scores on reviews only from families.

This year, 15 senior living operators were recognized as having the greatest number of communities with a “best” ranking:

• Americare Senior Living: 58 out of 91 communities
• Atria Senior Living / Holiday by Atria: 74 out of 306 communities
• Benchmark Senior Living: 43 out of 64 communities
• Brandywine Living: 28 out of 31 communities
• Brightview Senior Living: 38 out of 45 communities
• Brookdale Senior Living: 300 out of 657 communities
• Five Star Senior Living by Aleris Life: 62 out of 136 communities
• Frontier Management: 32 out of 121 communities
• Gardant Management Solutions: 30 out of 77 communities
• Integral / Solstice: 38 out of 94 communities
• Leisure Care, LLC: 43 out of 49 communities
• Life Care Services: 50 out of 99 communities
• Senior Lifestyle: 37 out of 89 communities
• Sunrise Senior Living: 141 out of 223 communities
• The Arbor Company: 28 out of 48 communities

Cindy Baier, CEO of Brookdale Senior Living, told Senior Housing News that the company was included in part due to its person-centered care along with the sense of community and belonging it creates for residents.

“We are committed to gathering and listening to feedback from our residents and families from the moment we meet them, and use that feedback to consistently improve and best serve our residents and families,” Baier said.

The leader of another operator on the list, LCS President Chris Bird, told Senior Housing News that the company uses “the lens of our residents to fulfill each community’s unique mission and create the best senior living experience possible.”

“These awards confirm our residents and their families value that personalized focus since more than 50% of our communities surveyed received at least one U.S. News recognition for the quality amenities and satisfaction they have in their communities,” Bird told Senior Housing News.

Brian Engle, executive vice president of operations and a partner of Brightview Senior Living, said the company puts extra emphasis on focusing on its associates, which incentivises longer careers and creates a “compounding effect of that … means better service and genuine connections with our residents.”

By layering a “high level of hospitality” and Brightview’s reputation, it “creates a lifestyle that residents appreciate.”

“Too often seniors are concerned that they will lose their independence by moving to senior living,” Engle said. “We go above and beyond to provide residents with flexibility and hospitality to structure their days in ways that best suit their needs and wants.”

The list also highlights the top 10 metros that had the greatest number of recognized communities, which include:

• Atlanta
• Boston
• Chicago
• Dallas-Fort Worth
• Los Angeles
• New York
• Philadelphia
• Seattle
• St. Louis
• Washington, D.C.