The Future Leaders Awards program is brought to you in partnership with PointClickCare. The program is designed to recognize up-and-coming industry members who are shaping the next decade of behavioral health, senior housing, skilled nursing, home health, and hospice care. To see this year’s Future Leaders, visit https://futureleaders.agingmedia.com/.
Joel Rosenberg, Vice President of Data and Analytics at LCS has been named a 2024 Future Leader by Senior Housing News.
To become a Future Leader, an individual is nominated by their peers. The candidate must be a high-performing employee who is 40-years-old or younger, a passionate worker who knows how to put vision into action, and an advocate for seniors, and the committed professionals who ensure their well-being.
Rosenberg sat down with Senior Housing News to discuss why senior living operators must maintain “data-driven empathy” when balancing tech-baed goals and providing quality care to older adults.
What drew you to this industry?
I was drawn to the industry by the opportunity to bring a deep analytical approach to a field where you could feel the impact of your work. As I researched the senior living industry, understood the state of technology, innovation, and data it became quite appealing that there was a unique opportunity to make an impact leveraging my background. I was also drawn to the highly cross-functional approach LCS takes in how business gets done, fast forward a few years later and that embodiment shows up in such a strong culture at LCS.
What’s your biggest lesson learned since starting to work in this industry?
Data-driven empathy. In the fields of data analytics and data science, it’s easy to get lost in the numbers and data you’re working on or with. Our work must be grounded in the human element of care in senior living. Balancing the experience of working in a quantitatively driven discipline with in person conversations with residents, visits to communities, conversations with boards has made our team’s work that much more impactful.
If you could change one thing with an eye toward the future of senior housing, what would it be?
I know there’s work being done, but I propose create a standardized resident wellbeing record. Considering the emerging demand wave, regulatory interest, and disruptive business models, achieving a golden record for resident information would be a significant advancement. This could then be used to truly highlight the impact we have in improving not just longevity but overall wellbeing of consumers who choose to live in senior living communities. At LCS I’m excited about our team’s close partnership with Sharon Maguire, our head of health services, and Frank Vedder, CIO, to bring this vision to life.
What do you foresee as being different about the senior living industry looking ahead to 2025?
2025 will be a year of transition and integration. There’s more and more start-ups and companies entering our industry. With that comes many pilots for new technology, systems, or processes. It’s one thing to run a pilot, but for those who can help operators operationalize these pilots and gain traction within communities will differentiate themselves. This can apply to internally built systems as well.
In a word, how would you describe the future of senior housing?
Opportunity. The impending demographic shift not only creates significant demand for our industry, but how we can leverage the wealth of emerging technology such as AI to best serve these future residents. Learning to work with this new technology will allow us to serve more residents and drive results.
What is one quality all future leaders must possess?
Innovated driven empathy. In today’s ever changing, tech-driven world, leaders must balance innovation with understanding people. We must embrace new technologies such as AI or robotics, while also understanding the needs of team members and customers. In turn this will create teams and organizations that can stay focused and competitive.
