Senior Living Insights with Data Analytics

Inflation, tariffs, the cost of eggs… oh, my! The economy has been on a wild ride for months now, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Many fear a recession is waiting around the next hairpin turn, and J.P. Morgan researchers agree, forecasting a 60% likelihood of recession in 2025.

Leveraging the metrics that matter to your community is one of the surest ways to be ready for whatever lies ahead in the economy and the senior living market. Here, we’ll take a look at how the economic uncertainty can impact nursing homes, retirement communities, skilled nursing facilities, and other senior housing. We’ll then look at what your community can do to build a recession-proof plan by harnessing the data you already have.

The Impact of Economic Uncertainty on Senior Living Operations

Some experts claim that the senior living industry is, by its nature, resistant to recession, but that simply isn’t true. While the aging population continues to grow, their concerns about the economy do, too. Here are some of the primary ways an economic downturn and looming recession could impact your senior living operations:

• Continued workplace shortages can result in a depleted talent pool, increased turnover, and greater opportunities for employee burnout
• Rising prices for goods and services necessary for senior living operations, which must then come out of the budget or be passed on to residents
• Growing concern from older adults about their financial security and the legacy they want to leave to their loved ones
• Fluctuating occupancy, as many potential residents delay moving to senior care until they know what the economy will do
• Concerns about changes to Medicare and Medicaid that can have a significant impact on how residents pay and how much revenue the community receives
• Potential of shutting down operations entirely for communities that were already struggling in the current economy

Strategies for Recession-Proofing Your Senior Living Portfolio

Can you grow in senior living when the entire nation’s economy is in such a state of flux? You can, if you’re equipped with the right tools and strategies. Here are some steps you can take to begin using key metrics to protect your community from recession:

Leverage Data to Address Occupancy Challenges

We know that as Baby Boomers reach retirement age, there should be a vast influx of residents entering senior care and seeking senior living opportunities. But when the economy is unstable, there are no guarantees. Because of this, your occupancy may grow unstable as well. 

Products like ElderSmarts, our proprietary data analytics package, can help you identify trends and gaps in key metrics, so you can plan ahead and make informed decisions to keep your occupancy rates steady.

Focus on Operational Efficiency

With costs rising and revenue lagging, there’s a potential crisis looming for your senior living community if you don’t act swiftly to become more efficient. Adopting an effective senior living software is one of the top ways you can improve operational efficiency. 

With a tool like Eldermark, you can streamline operations and reclaim hours of time every month on administrative tasks. This way, you can focus your efforts where they really matter: your residents. 

Use Analytics to Adapt Your Business Strategies

Making senior living insights without using data is like playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey. With the right analytics, you can lift that blindfold and zero in on your target. 

With predictive analytics, you can always be a step ahead of what’s coming and always know that your decisions are data-informed. This will help you shape your strategies, from managing your workforce to attracting new residents, so the insights you gain will be actionable and effective.

Retain and Empower Your Staff

In a time of extreme staff shortages, data can be the key to keeping a workforce that is stable, satisfied, and effective. Workforce stability is possible with Eldermark, which delivers tools you can use to recruit and retain top talent and reduce turnover. 

You can also use ElderSmarts analytics to identify performance gaps and look for opportunities to strengthen your workforce and meet demand.

Prioritize Resident and Family Satisfaction

Ultimately, the goal of any senior living community is resident satisfaction. That also translates to the satisfaction of family members, loved ones, and caregivers. But in the midst of an economic downturn, it can be difficult to keep everyone happy. 

That’s where you can leverage ElderSmarts analytics to gather information from your most critical data source — your residents. Track satisfaction metrics and look for trends or areas where you aren’t meeting expectations. Using data in this way will help you improve service and keep residents satisfied and secure, even when the economy isn’t.

How Eldermark Enables Recession-Proof Success

With so many different senior living software  platforms on the market, how do you know which is right for you? With a comprehensive, end-to-end system like Eldermark NEXT, the proof is in the pudding. Discover how Eldermark can help recession-proof your independent living, assisted living, or memory care community. 

Occupancy Insights in Real-Time

See your occupancy numbers at-a-glance and know exactly how many beds are empty at any given time. Plus, you can utilize our AI-powered move-out prediction model to anticipate occupancy gaps and work to fill them in advance. Better manage waitlists, keep revenue flowing, and prevent open beds from sitting unoccupied.

Financial Stability Through Streamlined Billing

Revenue leakages are a real problem in the senior living industry, but they aren’t something you want to have to deal with in an unsteady economy. You can stop revenue leakages with a more robust billing platform, like the one you’ll find with Eldermark NEXT. 

Expect to gain around $1,263 in additional captured revenue per resident per month. Our automated program cuts down expensive errors and ensures your billing procedures are seamless and accurate.

Optimized Workforce Management

It’s tough to maintain a skilled workforce during an economic downturn, particularly in an industry already beset by shortages. Eldermark NEXT helps stabilize your workforce by optimizing workflow, allowing you to staff by acuity, and delivering around 56 hours of admin work back to your team each month, so they can stay focused on what’s important. 

Plus, Eldermark NEXT also paves the way for a simple and efficient onboarding and training process, so you aren’t losing valuable work hours. All together, these add up to satisfied team members who feel valued and are less likely to burn out.

Customer Experience at the Core

Make sure you prioritize the well-being of your residents and the satisfaction of their loved ones by making the senior living experience your primary concern. It’s easier to do just that when you have an optimized and integrated platform like Eldermark NEXT. 

Use our EHR, eMAR medication management, CRM, and other valuable tools to streamline your operations. All this efficiency means you’ll save time and money you can then put toward quality care. Use our communication tools to keep resident connected with their loved ones and boost their wellness and satisfaction. 

Finally, our ElderSmarts analytics can help you dive deeper into the data and generate senior living insights about what your residents and their families really want.

How to Get Started With Eldermark

Just like a rapidly shifting economy, all of this change within your senior living community can sound overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Using data analytics to make your community more efficient and more recession-proof is possible when you use Eldermark NEXT. ElderSmarts is included with your package, and you can get started making informed decisions and creating actionable insights right away. 

Want to find out how? We’d love to show you. Allow us to give you a free demo and walk you through it today!