When Senior Lifestyle CEO Jon DeLuca evaluated 15 months ago how the company’s 125 communities delivered care to residents, what he saw was a need for something better.

“We kept seeing a lot of variability building to building on how care was being provided,” DeLuca says. “That inconsistency in care could impact, and did impact, occupancy and our net operating income. We also saw a lot of burnout from our staff, specifically our nursing directors, director of wellness and executive director, because the stress that they’re under is tremendous.”

For its onsite care, the Chicago-based operator was already working with Hansa Medical Groupe, a geriatric practice providing care exclusively for senior living. The partnership simply wasn’t a strategic one.

DeLuca changed that. And the benefits have been massive: better resident health outcomes, happier staff, improved NOI.

“The industry has changed over the years, and it is much more a health care model now than just a pure real estate, hospitality model,” he says. “We are trying to provide that clinical model in a hospitable way, if you will, for our residents, because I think that’s what they deserve.”

Here is a look at how strategic, onsite clinical care is changing the experience for Senior Lifestyle residents and staff — and the Senior Lifestyle business.

Driving length of stay

While Hansa had been in Senior Lifestyle since 2018, their presence was not as steady as DeLuca wanted. He increased Hansa’s time onsite, ensuring that the team at Hansa, led by Dr. Chirag Patel, is in each community once a week at minimum, often more.

This hands-on clinical approach formalizes care delivery for Senior Lifestyle’s residents, and will continue to do so in a strategic rollout over the next 18 to 24 months, DeLuca says.

“Hansa has definitely increased length of stay,” DeLuca says. “With the frequency that Hansa is in the community, they catch UTIs much faster. And UTIs are a high percentage of the reason why people fall and have to go to the hospital. So they are preventing that. And hospital frequencies are down.”

While residents have full freedom of choice around their physician, opt-in has been strong. Family members have reached out to express their thanks. And residents, who today are entering senior living nationwide in a frailer state, are comparatively healthier.

“There are only so many services you can provide under an assisted living license, or personal care, so you need that strategic relationship with a group,” DeLuca says. “Teaming up with Hansa Medical Groupe to help us provide care for our residents is a better model, in my opinion. If you can have somebody come to the building rather than having your residents go out to the doctor to see their own physician, you avoid that wear and tear on them. It’s more convenient.”

Anticipating a 70-80% cost cut through the Hansa partnership

Senior Lifestyle’s number one reason for partnering with Hansa is simple: in their view, it is the best model for providing care to residents.

But the business component is huge, too.

Senior Lifestyle’s new strategic partnership with Hansa started May 1, 2024, while Hansa’s new partnership with an ACO begins January 1, 2025. Improving length of stay and delivering preventive care is crucial in value-based care models, an area where Senior Lifestyle is looking to build.

“The goal of pursuing these options is first and foremost about improving our overall resident experience by enhancing the management of our residents’ chronic conditions and responding to health care events in a coordinated and collaborative manner,” says Jerrold Frumm, Vice Chairman.

This approach to value-based care is crucial to Senior Lifestyle’s plan moving forward.

“If we can prevent falls and keep residents out of the hospital, that’s better for residents, it’s better for the community and it’s better for the government,” DeLuca says. “If normally we had X dollars of cost because our residents are going to the hospitals, if we can cut that 70 to 80%, obviously that’s a huge savings.”

Asked if that is his anticipation, DeLuca confirmed.

“We should be able to do that by following the protocols,” he says. There is also a revenue-share piece of that savings, he says, but that’s down the line. “Like I said, the real reason we’re doing this is to benefit our residents in our community.”

Helping staff, helping residents: the NOI win

As Senior Lifestyle continues to roll out the partnership with Hansa, DeLuca anticipates benefits to the entire operation, starting at sales. The Hansa team, he notes, is “willing to help get a potential resident over the finish line to make a commitment to move in.”

From there, staff members see an improvement in their day-to-day experience.

“I think the burnout of our staff has been reduced because they know they have somebody they can lean on or rely on to help,” DeLuca says. “Hansa’s team has made our health and wellness directors’ jobs more tolerable.”

The same goes for residents.

“The resident satisfaction scores and surveys related to clinical services have improved because of Hansa’s involvement, and Hansa is telling me that because of that relationship, length of stay has increased by several months for both AL and memory care,” he says. That reduces churn, and reduces repeat expenses of sales commissions.

“Anytime you get the length of stay help, it obviously improves your net operating income,” DeLuca says.

But many of those benefits are down the road. What makes DeLuca happiest is what Hansa started doing for residents immediately, and how that functions in a value-based care landscape.

“Value-based care is going to move forward. If you’re going to get into it, it’s very important to strategically align yourself with a trusted clinical partner that understands the complexities and processes required in our industry, specifically AL and memory care,” DeLuca says.

“At Senior Lifestyle, our exploration of value-based care options is a recognition of the value of making clinical care available to our residents in our communities,” Frumm says.

“Hansa has been doing this a long time, so I feel very comfortable moving forward with them,” DeLuca says. “They have a great staff and they’re willing to grow to other communities with us. I think the value-based care model is something that’s going to happen. If you want to do it, you better make sure you’re aligning yourself with someone you can trust.”

They found that trusted partner in Hansa Medical Groupe.

This article is sponsored by Hansa Medical Groupe. For more information on how to partner with Hansa, visit them at hansamg.com/partnerwithhmg.