Hello! My name is Gary Jones, and I’m the General Manager of Customer Experience here at vcpi.
Our team works diligently to fully understand our senior care clients’ needs and strategic growth directions. We strive to deliver solutions to clients before they need them, essentially, to skate where the puck is going, not to where it has been. For many years, we’ve provided technology infrastructure planning and reliable implementation for senior living clients that are pursuing mergers, acquisitions and new construction.
Why is M&A and new construction hot?
Baby Boomers are beginning to retire, and older adults are living longer these days. Acquiring and building new senior living communities are worthwhile investments as there is a severe senior housing shortage. Specifically, about 100,000 senior housing units must be built per year between 2025 and 2040 to keep up with demand. However, Boomers seek more than the bare minimum when transitioning to assisted living.
Additional M&A and new construction senior living drivers
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The Senior Living and Post-Acute Care sub-sector has experienced the most M&A growth since 2014.
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114 LTC mergers and acquisitions transactions out of 281 healthcare deals took place in Quarter 2 of 2019.
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Senior housing has been the top performing commercial real estate sector for the past 10 years.
How do our customers drive occupancy?
Throughout our many years of focus on senior living , we’ve learned that today’s older adults want independence, compassionate care, and the ability to stay connected to their loved ones. To serve this need, senior living businesses need to implement a well optimized technology model.
What do seniors want today?
Vcpi’s client base is 100% Senior Living and Post-Acute Care care. We’ve learned firsthand that today’s incoming retirees want alternate solutions to nursing homes in order to age in place. Therefore, care models today range from age-based condominiums to independent living communities to memory care centers for cognitive or physical impairments.
Most residents in assisted living are not terminally ill (though acuity is rising in these care environments). Technology such as sensor-based heart monitors helps with health maintenance, while mobile devices and social media keep them connected with their loved ones. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. For example, memory care patients are beginning to use virtual reality goggles to experience heavenly, exotic vacations and to relive happy memories via 3D photo and video.
I’ve also seen firsthand that the care model is going digital. Healthcare staff enters and maintains resident health stats on Electronic Health Record systems. Many caregivers in independent living use mobile apps to communicate with their clients and their families, as well as to record their work hours and duties.
How Vcpi helps
IT strategy is critical to providing quality care, whether acquiring or constructing a community.
With acquisitions, your IT infrastructure must support business growth before and after purchasing buildings. When a client acquires a new building, Vcpi thoroughly assesses and identifies potential security threats, as well as methods to repurpose or update the infrastructure.
Without disruption free service or the right equipment, an organization’s caregiving staff struggles to access patient data. Through on-site visits and phone consults, our team recommends the right equipment and software for your business needs and implements protection against cyber breaches and malware.
Additionally, when identifying areas for improvement, this can be a great opportunity as an owner, operator or capital partner to work that into your agreements. Specifically for operators, it can help ensure that the owner or capital partner makes the necessary IT capital investments before you take over management.
Constructing a new community requires a fresh IT strategy. Vcpi has provided consulting and wireless network implementation for many clients through their design-build phase, ensuring devices stay well connected. With vcpi’s industry expertise, we can consistently evaluate and tailor your IT as your business evolves. By letting us do the technical work, your leadership has more time to optimize care services.
