Murry Mercier is the Director of Senior Living Solution Consulting at PointClickCare, a health care technology platform that strives to bring value-based care to all its patients.
Get to know Murry in this Hot Seat interview, where he discusses his love for golf and water sports, his first experience with senior living, and why he believes focusing on the people is the key to success.
It’s 7 am on a Saturday. Where are you right now?
Definitely on a golf course. My dad, a retired senior care professional himself, got me swinging a club as a kid and I’ve been hooked ever since.
What is your favorite weekend activity?
Besides golf, I love any body of water; oceans, lakes, rivers, waterparks; I can be swimming, surfing, floating, water energizes me and gets me ready for the week ahead.
What inspires you?
Community inspires me. Especially an engaged community. Growing up swimming and playing music in ensembles allowed me to see the power of what happens when people come together, share their experiences and challenges, and engage purposefully for the betterment of everyone that shares the space.
If you could only eat one cuisine for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Steak and lobster with a loaded baked potato and asparagus, most definitely.
What’s your favorite destination worldwide?
There are still many I need to visit before all is said and done, but to this point I had a wonderful time in Rothenburg, Germany, just north of Munich. We stayed in a castle, ate wonderful authentic German meals, and they have one of the best Christmas markets in the world.
What was your first job in senior living and what was your biggest on-the-job lesson from that experience?
My first job in a senior living community was in college during a gerontology elective course. My classmates and I were charged with planning a holiday dance event alongside the residents. I saw how much the people in the community were coming together, doing the best they could day in and day out to live with purpose and meaning. That’s when I knew I wanted to join the revolution.
If you could change one thing about senior living as we know it, what would it be?
We are absolutely ripe for physical plant disruption as an industry, and many are already on a
path. Whether it’s putting senior living apartments inside college campuses, shopping malls, cruise ships, or even destination communities in Costa Rica (sign me up!), it has always bothered me that elders were segregated away from their homes and communities just because they had physical or cognitive dependencies. Aging is a privilege, and it should be celebrated, not pushed to the side out of fear of mortality or the western mentality towards eternal youth.
Who is your greatest career inspiration?
I have to give credit to my family for introducing the world of senior living, but what really ignited my passion was my first resident in the first assisted living I opened from scratch. She came to me from an apartment just down the hall but had been on hospice and the doctor who signed the order allowing her to move in told me she was probably only going to live for another month or two. Through engagement (shout out to Jack York and It’s Never 2 Late) and community, that resident went on to live for years with purpose and energy to belong and grow all the way to the end. It’s amazing what people can do when they work together.
What’s one thing all senior housing professionals can do to improve the resident experience?
Focus on the people and the relationships. It only takes 3 seconds to leave a person in a better place than before. Break down the walls between business and customer, give everyone the opportunity to learn, grow, and participate in the solution.
Complete the sentence: In 2050, I hope senior living is …
Desegregated, reintegrated, and normalized as a great place to learn, engage, thrive and live.
