Kisco Senior Living: Changing the Game - Health Executive - Red Coat Publishing - Inside Healthcare

Entering its first venture outside the continental US, Kisco Senior Living is also entering a new era in its existence. Having run senior living communities since 1990, today the company has nearly two dozen properties. Most of its locations are in California or North Carolina, but it also operates in Florida, Nevada, and Virginia and is scheduled to open up shop in Hawaii in 2009.

Andy Kohlberg, President

When last we talked with Andy Kohlberg, president of Kisco, the company was in the planning stages for a new continuing care retirement community (CCRC) on 40 acres on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. Since that conversation in mid-2006, that vision has become reality.

“This is a large campus project with retail and restaurant space, garden homes, independent and assisted living, and skilled nursing, along with single-family duplexes,” Kohlberg said. “It is a village concept next to the town center with meeting spaces, a clubhouse, and a wellness center designed to attract people from the community at large, not just the residents.”

The Hawaii endeavor is also an indication of Kisco’s future. Kohlberg said while the company is expanding its traditional communities, like a project under construction in Corona, Calif., for 210 new units, more large properties suitable for CCRC projects are in Kisco’s short-term future.

“The Hawaii project is a signal of our direction. We believe CCRC communities are growing as a product. They are mixed use and can attract multi-generational residents,” said Kohlberg. “A 55-year old could buy a town home and place his/her parent in a skilled nursing home next door. That is where we think we are going, with projects tied into the larger community.”

With individualized services including independent living, assisted living, and nursing care spanning both sides of the continent, the company has been keen to invest in communication tools to enable consistency across state lines. With video conferencing, upgraded IT systems, including an improved intranet and external Web site, as well as automated reports to track financial, customer satisfaction, and other data, the company is able to operate as a unified entity despite its geographical diversity.

This is important to Kohlberg, who believes raising the profile of the Kisco brand is an important part of the company’s future. He said that while the business is locally driven, seniors also feel secure knowing a reputable national company is behind the scenes. Individual directors are given the autonomy to run their senior living communities with a local touch, while taking care to stay within Kisco’s structure.

“We define our programs into buckets, some that are required and standardized, others that are required but can be customized within certain boundaries, and some optional programs,” Kohlberg said. “The culture of each community stems from the executive director leading their community, but within the Kisco way of doing business.”

Keeping up
Part of Kisco’s plan to be the best senior living provider in the country relies on its ability to determine the changing needs of America’s seniors. Kohlberg believes this requires forward thinking, seeing changes coming decades before they happen. From simple things like swimming pools and improved dining options to comprehensive wellness programs, seniors and their families have been asking from of companies like Kisco since the turn of the century, and Kohlberg knows that is one thing that isn’t likely to change.

“You need to look even farther out into the future, and we are. You need to determine what the next generation is going to want,” he said. “You do that by talking to residents and their families, staying close to them and keeping track of changes as they happen. Through our process of doing just that, we can use customer feedback in an organized fashion to prepare for coming changes.”

Kisco faces the same staffing challenges most other providers face, so it considers the healthcare provider strength of an area when considers sites. Kohlberg uses Northern California as an example as a difficult market to attract staff. He said Hawaii is also a difficult market, but the company has an innovative strategy for that.

“Our location in Kapolei, on the west side of Oahu, is where a lot of healthcare professionals and service workers live. They have commute to Honolulu to work,” said Kohlberg. “We believe it will be easier to hire staff in Kapolei than in Waikiki or Honolulu where the competition is. That was a key factor in deciding when and where we were going to build.”

The company also invests in growing its staff through performance appraisals with personal development plans, helping employees set goals and long-term objectives for their development as professionals. There are also scholarship opportunities for continuing education.

The company is able to use buying power to its advantage by controlling local costs through efficient business practices. Although it isn’t as large as the biggest senior living companies, Kohlberg said any advantage the big companies have in using economies of scale with vendor purchases is minimal. He also said the company isn’t hit as hard as other industries by economic cycles, because the highs and lows aren’t as volatile as a typical real estate property.

Although the company doesn’t have plans to expand beyond its current states right now, it is looking for development locations in areas that meet its age and income criteria. Some places, like Raleigh, NC, don’t have an extraordinarily large number of seniors, but many adult children are moving there and bringing their aging parents with them to retire into senior living communities. And although more seniors than ever have opportunities to stay longer in their own homes, Kohlberg thinks Kisco will be able to continue its growth through an internal focus on what it has always done well.

“We to continue to meet the changing needs of seniors in a way that allows them to perceive value,” he said. “It is easy to meet their needs by raising prices, but we need to keep costs controlled so that seniors see value in what they are paying for.”

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