NewSeasons Assisted Living provides residents with attention and care in a home-like setting.

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Although finding qualified employees is a challenge in many industries, the healthcare field faces unique requirements. “People who work for us need to be very passionate about taking care of the elderly,” NewSeasons Assisted Living President Rick Neeson.

Founded in 1996, the assisted living facility provides residents with attention and care in a home-like setting. Privacy, encouraging independence and fostering a sense of community are priorities at NewSeasons, Neeson notes. Through recreational activities, common areas for socializing and access to community resources and health professionals, residents maintain a more enriched life.

NewSeasons’ campus includes 10 buildings, all within about a 100-mile radium of its Conshohocken, Pa., headquarters. Neeson says the facilities’ residents, most of whom are 85-plus years old, benefit from a safe, secure and warm environment.

“Assisted living gives residents freedom of choice,” he explains. “For example, many residents are ambulatory and enjoy walking around the building or signing out and leaving the facilities for an afternoon.

“We also go out of our way to give each resident special attention,” Neeson continues. “If Mrs. Jones likes to be walked to the cafeteria toward the end of the breakfast hour, we make sure to accommodate that. This message of specific care plans and specific preferences is stressed to our entire staff.”

Family Decision
The residents’ family members are involved in determining care plans to ensure the whole family is happy and comfortable with the program, Neeson explains.

One of the most challenging times for residents is the first few weeks of moving into NewSeasons, Neeson explains. “For both the residents and their families, that adjustment period can be stressful,” he says. “But we take great measures to impart to the residents and their families that we care deeply about what we do.

“Usually there is some kind of event or crisis that makes it clear the individual can no longer live alone, and we try to make the transition to assisted living as easy as possible for everyone.

“The best success stories are the ones we get six or seven weeks after move in, when the resident is thriving – eating well, looking healthier, being cared for – and the family feels good about their decision.”

Staff with Heart
Because of the nature of the work, recruiting and retaining highly qualified staff is a challenge. However, NewSeasons offers generous compensation packages to attract employees. Additionally, NewSeasons offers employees the opportunity to move up within the organization or transfer to various facilities on campus if they desire.

“Our nursing positions are tough to fill because most nurses are trained to care for individuals in a clinical setting,” Neeson says. “Waitstaff, housekeepers, drivers and maintenance crew are also essential positions on our team.”

Of the approximately 800 employees, half are part-time. Neeson points out that many students enjoy working at NewSeasons as a part-time job after school and on the weekends. This helps meet staffing needs.

Quality Facilities
The 10 NewSeasons buildings are constantly going through upgrades and refurbishing, Neeson says.From carpeting to furniture to painting, the company aims to keep its facilities in the best possible shape. In addition, the buildings are upgraded for compliance issues, as necessary.

The computers were recently upgraded, and NewSeasons switched to an electronic system that “very tightly documents our residents’ plans and needs,” Neeson says. “The resident care manager can go into the system, pull up any resident’s care plan, and it’s all automated. It has to be because all the floors and buildings are residents with mixed-level needs.”

Community Building
Fostering a sense of community is one of NewSeasons’ strong suites. Neeson says each building publishes its own newsletter to update residents and family members on special events and activities.

A quarterly corporate newsletter is also distributed to staff, residents and family members. “We try to communicate as best we can without over-communicating,” Neeson says. “And, the residents all have their own mailbox, and they enjoy picking up their mail and reading the newsletters.”

Dreams Come True
Additionally, NewSeasons runs a Dreams for All Season program, where they make residents’ dreams come true. “We send out a survey to residents and ask them what they’d like to do that they’ve never done, or something that they would like to do again,” Neeson explains. “We pick one dream and make it come true for that person.”

For example, one resident wanted to visit her hometown, and when she did, the mayor gave her a key to the city and a parade was thrown in her honor. Another resident rode in a hot air balloon, and one resident met Joe Paterno, the head coach for Pennsylvania State University’s football team.

“We thought it would be a one-time thing, but the program has been so successful, we kept it up,” Neeson says.

Building its Brand
In addition to continuing its Dreams For All Seasons program, NewSeasons is focusing its efforts on maintaining its reputation and building its brand.

“We want to be the first name that pops into someone’s mind when they think of assisted living facilities,” Neeson states. “We want to be the provider of choice, and we will get there by paying attention to details and doing all the extra little things for our residents along the way.”