Sunwest, Brookdale, Benchmark: A reader's response

Thanks, Mark Stevenson, for your email in response to yesterday's post:

Dear Ms. Brothers,

I have to ask, any relation to Dr Joyce Brothers? Ok, I got that out of the way.

I am a past executive director of both AL and IL properties for Torch, which is now Merrill Gardens, Alterra, which is now Brookdale and Capital Senior Living, Benchmark and the infamous Sunwest, when I managed a property here in Tyler for them in 2006.

When I was hired, there was a marketing meeting in Oklahoma City, and John Harder came and visited, along with Joe Stephenson, his then VP of Marketing. As a seasoned administrator, I was impressed with their aggressive acquisition phase, but nervous as well. One of the managers asked Mr. Harder what his business plan was. He was a little irritated and told us that they (Sunwest) will keep on growing and looking for opportunities for growth and that was about it. I left that meeting feeling hesitant about my job security.

When I arrived in Tyler and took over a 136 unit AL/IL property, I noticed right away the inability of Sunwest to pay its vendors on time, and the mountains of paperwork we had to fill out just to get approval for capital repairs, it was a mess.

On the other hand, when I worked for Benchmark Assisted Living, I was amazed at the way they did business. They built up their properties and kept most of them at 83% or better occupancy, and carefully and skillfully acquired more ONLY in the New England area and stayed committed to that region. That philosophy has served them well AND, they are totally committed to supporting, training,and encouraging their staff and front line leadership. Their senior management team is great, from Tom Grape on down the line.

The four points you mentioned in your article about the senior living for 2009 are true. The most important is human capital. They either make or break a company. I am so sorry for all those lovely seniors who face uncertainty while living at Sunwest properties and wondering if they will be cared for. The staff that are delivering this care with professionalism and courtesy are in the middle of taking care of their family and their residents. The lazy ones will quit, the dedicated ones will stay as long as they can. The administrators of those properties will face challenges they have never had to endure before.

This industry is very fragile now, and owners and operators need to think about staff and insuring that they are KEEPING their residents by providing great care. And keeping staff by assuring them that they are valued and needed. I love the seniors I have cared for and gotten to know.

Thanks for letting me share this with you,

Mark Stevenson
Project Controls
Data Analyst
CB&I
3102 E. Fifth Street
Tyler, Texas 75701

Thanks, Mark, and no - no relationship to Dr. Joyce!

I think your observations are exactly on target - those companies whose primary focus is on growth are now struggling and may not survive. Those whose primary focus is on service are doing just fine. To which we can say in unison: "Hello? What were you thinking?"

Thanks for sharing your comments and observations, and for joining the conversation about this important topic!