Memory Care Renovations, Programming Help Certus Turn Around Previously Troubled Life Plan Community

Third-party senior living operator and developer Certus Living is rolling out a new dementia care program at a large well-known life plan community in Dallas in an effort to provide more of a “five-star feel” to residents living there.

The operator’s newly launched Vitalize program brings together a range of research-based lifestyle and programming into a cohesive memory care program.

The company is rolling out its program at the Edgemere community in Dallas, which it began managing last August. The community has endured challenges in the last two years including Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings that stemmed from financial strain caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Certus’ turnaround efforts are supported by the rollout of Vitalize, which brings together memory care services, unit and common area renovations and new long-term care services for high-acuity residents.

Vitalize includes programs suited for memory care and based on six elements: Physical health, mental wellbeing, spiritual health, social health, intellectual stimulation and environmental factors. Activities include yoga, cognitive stimulation and workshops that promote healthy living.

The program also includes renovations. For example, Certus added a sensory room for residents with advanced dementia and their family members. The new sensory room, which opens later this Spring, is meant to calm residents with soft lighting, aromatherapy and sensory elements like a textured wall. The room also is equipped with bubble tubes, a scenery projector and fiber optic lit curtains.

Certus also renovated the community’s memory care welcome area, added a courtyard with improved security measures and updated dining options with food options geared toward engaging the senses of people living with dementia, Haase said.

Certus Living renovated private residences and common areas at Edgemere.

“We wanted common spaces that were program-oriented, spaces with more visible eyeline for caregivers to see residents and bring in more lighting,” Certus Financial CEO Will Haase told Memory Care Business.. “Things looked nice but they didn’t have that five-star feel.”

The program and upgrades at Edgemere will serve as a blueprint for memory care at other Certus-managed properties nationwide, Haase said.

“Having synergy there allows us to have a more robust playbook when turnaround opportunities show themselves and you have to bring something different to the table,” Haase said.

Certus Living is a sister company to Certus Financial that was established in 2021. The operator is aiming to grow a management platform for turnaround, distressed senior living properties. Certus and its sister company bring management services and advisory acumen to improve managed properties, he said.

Certus Living currently manages four communities in Illinois, Minnesota, Texas and Pennsylvania, and provides advisory services to five communities in three states. Last year, Haase said Certus Living was “hyper-focused” on improving census across its properties due to an increase in consumer demand for senior living properties driven by the baby boomer generation.

This year, Haase expects the operator will expand in Minnesota with more to come.

Turning around distressed communities is no easy feat, and senior living operators have waded through a sea of distress in recent years. But for operators that can improve results, that also has meant a potential field of opportunity ahead.

Haase said the Vitalize memory care program launched in-part due to some of the experiences witnessed at struggling communities.

“There are some that have a stagnant feel and that’s not a place you want anyone to experience,” Haase said.”We’ve made a pointed effort to create a warm and inviting culture back to bring the community to life,”

This effort is partly due to the increasing demand for memory care, with the number of Alzheimer’s disease cases expected to double by 2060, according to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association earlier this year.

Prior to managing Edgemere, Haase noted that the community struggled with its high-acuity occupancy, which prompted leaders at Certus to “create a branded program” to focus turnaround efforts and improve the pace of recovery, bringing the Vitalize program to life.

“This was the perfect launching pad for a program that we’ve been doing at our other communities but it just now has a name for it,” Haase said. “Rather than focusing on the beauty of Edgemere, I want prospects focused on programming – that’s what I want them to remember.”

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