Seniors Housing Business is the magazine that helps you navigate the evolution of the seniors housing industry.
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By Matt Valley What began as a daunting, seven- month strategic planning process for David Schless, president of the American Seniors Housing Associ- ation (ASHA), turned out to be an "incredibly rewarding" experience for him. More importantly, the newly unveiled fve-year strategic plan will position ASHA for even greater effectiveness in the long run, says the veteran executive. "It started in May and ended in January, but you could make the argument that it's really just begin- ning," says Schless, referring to the comprehensive strategic planning initiative. "It was really a remark- ably time-consuming endeavor. At the same time, it was incredibly energizing to be part of the process." The marathon strategic plan- ning process, led by The Napa Group consulting frm, began last April after discussions between the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA) and ASHA about a possible merger ended with the two groups deciding to remain separate. More than 300 members at every level of ASHA were engaged in the process through a combination of online surveys, committee meet- ings, subcommit- tee conference calls and webi- nars. Developers, operators, lend- ers, investors and other profession- als all provided input. ASHA conducted two member surveys and even estab- lished a special strategic planning project website. "We started from scratch. There was nothing sacred about what ASHA does," says Schless, who has led the association for the past 24 years. "ASHA has been a really successful organization, but there are areas to improve. The member- ship identifed areas of improve- ment and opportunities to fll real voids that haven't been addressed by other industry organizations." ASHA's newly adopted vision of "Living Longer Better" is designed to improve the quality of life of seniors who reside in the communities owned or operated by the organization's members. The updated strategic plan out- lines fve goals and objectives: 1 Launch industry promotional campaign. Educate the general public on the merits of senior living and shape perceptions of the senior living, supported by a digital net- work, website and social media; 2 Broaden the advocacy program. Deliver a coherent, coordinated legislative program at the federal level with increased focus and select engagement on state policy; 3 Bolster research eforts. Partner with a leading university to pro- vide exclusive research on topics such as aging, healthcare, hospital- ity technology and real estate; 4 Foster leadership development. Develop a process for identifying prospective members and devel- oping future ASHA leaders; 5 Restructure meetings. Revamp meetings to become more strategic, proactive and forward-thinking while better engaging, educating and informing members. Schless recently spoke with Seniors Housing Business about the fve-year plan in detail. Seniors Housing Business: How will the promotional effort be different than what the organiza- tion is doing now? David Schless: The initial piece will be a signifcant investment by ASHA in a robust, content-rich website, along with social media and other public relations efforts. This will be a public service. Indus- try professionals have talked for years about the need to challenge common misperceptions about senior living. This will be a highly thoughtful effort to promote public awareness of the benefts of senior living. We believe when the website is fully built, it will be a tremendous resource for senior consumers, their adult children and other infuencers in the decision-making process. The website will help people challenge conventional thinking about senior living, and we believe it can increase the penetration rate for our business. I'm sure it will feature a number of highly pro- fessional and informative videos featuring consumers, family mem- bers, and those who work in these communities every day. While it will not be a directory of properties, we do absolutely intend to make sure that the site directly benefts our members who own R E C E N T S E N I O R H O U S I N G T R A N S A C T I O N S northmarq.com Visit us online or call 952.356.0080 to learn more. 35 Offces Coast-to-Coast $9,400,000 Laurel Court at Quail Park Memory Care Facility SIZE: 40 UNITS CITY: VISALIA, CA LENDER: LIFE COMPANY $14,925,000 Schuyler Commons at Colonial Square Independent Living 55+ SIZE: 144 UNITS CITY: UTICA, NY LENDER: CMBS $21,000,000 11815 West 64th Avenue Assisted Living/Memory Care Community SIZE: 134 UNITS CITY: ARVADA. CO LENDER: NON-RECOURSE CONSTRUCTION ASHA unveils ambitious fve-year strategic plan David Schless President, ASHA 28 www.seniorshousingbusiness.com Seniors Housing Business n February-March 2015