Eskaton is engaged in a transformation from its roots as a higher-acuity operator to one focused more on lifestyle, wellness and person-centered philosophies. Central to those efforts is a newly revamped staffing model.

That’s according to CEO Sheri Peifer, who the Carmichael, California-based organization promoted from president in late 2023. Since then, Peifer and the organization’s leadership have had their hands full preparing for the company’s “next 50 years” by planning new independent living growth and a shift away from higher acuity skilled nursing care.

The organization’s new staffing model is focused on improving employee retention through better training and building career paths. The model is supported through a training program called Eskaton Academy that has helped reduce turnover since it was implemented a year ago.

“This new model marries us directly to the strategic repositioning, and it’s like a cultural transformation,” Peifer told SHN. “We’re redefining Eskaton from a health-centric model to a holistic social wellness and hospitality model, and all of these elements are embedded in what we’re doing with Eskaton Academy.”

Eskaton operates 25 communities in California.

Training makes the difference

Senior living operators in the last four years have sought new ways to close the proverbial back door of employment and keep workers on the payroll longer. For instance, operators have taken steps to improve employee turnover through increased wages, benefits or incentives.

Eskaton launched its Eskaton Academy training program about a year ago with funding from a $3.1 million grant from the California Department of Aging.

The program includes new training modules for employees and creates leadership career development opportunities for incoming staff. It also implements 40 hours of required training for caregivers and frontline staff.

The academy’s training modules are geared toward teaching new technical skills while also helping show employees the “mindset shift” needed to understand and participate in Eskaton’s new path forward. The organization also made training remotely accessible and built in shorter, more digestible modules so employees could learn in smaller bites.

“What we’re doing is a hybrid opportunity for in-person learning and virtual learning,” Peifer said.

The organization is also revamping role-playing for new workers, including by using artificial intelligence to help devise scenarios on which to train.

Eskaton has also this year reevaluated employee compensation, and has worked to collect even more feedback from workers to inform its efforts.

Being able to see a path ahead for employees has been critical in improving employee retention across the company, Peifer said. Eskaton reported an 80% retention rate for the 1,200 employees who have participated in the new model in the last year.

The program has been so successful that Peifer said Eskaton is investing in it independently once the grant funding runs out in September.

“We’re ensuring that it stays very much at the forefront as an attractive factor for those looking for great employment while also investing in continuing education for our employees,” Peifer said. “What we really wanted to imbue in this academy was a sense of foundational learning and education, but also empowerment, because we want our team members to be partners in care.”

Peifer added there was “a great challenge in upskilling components” of a frontline worker’s daily tasks. For example, Peifer shared how changing a part caregiver’s role to collect care data at residents’ apartments to better identify care needs was important in creating efficient, and data-driven workflows.

‘Five pillars’ defining Eskaton’s future

Peifer said Eskaton’s future rests on five organizational “pillars”: Culture development, campus modernization, physical plant expansion, fostering new partnerships with organizations outside of senior living and creating “impact” in improving resident care.

As part of the new growth plan, Eskaton has launched two master planning efforts for expanding its current campuses while also renovating aspects of outdated infrastructure.

This also comes as Eskaton is in the midst of a debt refinancing to reinvest in four communities, Peifer added, while preparing for the 2025 budget cycle with a “full-scale competitive analysis” to be in the “75th percentile” of pricing versus Eskaton’s local senior living competitors. Differentiating Eskaton from its competitors, Peifer said, is its distinct levels of care structure to capture care revenue.

As older adults delay moving into communities, Peifer stated that Eskaton needs to explore ways to engage residents through home-based services or lifestyle activities. She envisions a “hub and spoke” model for Eskaton’s future in residential senior living, with 30-to-50-acre campuses in various markets, allowing the company to expand around its larger communities to support growth.

“Our focus is truly around more independent living options with flexibility and repositioning our campuses to be hubs,” Peifer said. “This is a very intense period.”