Changing Aging

Posted by Mick Finn, Chief of Operations 

The other day I had the opportunity to meet with a number of senior housing leaders from around Ecumen. We were talking about IT.

IT is that feeling you get when you walk into a senior housing community, whether it’s independent living, assisted living or a nursing home and you just feel good. You get a warm, comfortable feeling.  There is a vibe.  People greet each other by name.  They smile.  They laugh.  They’re genuine.  You just know that that community just has IT. We couldn’t point to one thing that IT is, but here are some of the things that I think contribute to IT in senior housing.

- A focus on hospitality. We’re not just providing bricks and mortar, we’re creating home from our greeting on the phone to the care with which we make dessert.
- Authentic people, who are completely honest with each other and their customers, in good times and bad.
- Collaboration - people getting out of their own worlds to put their heads together with colleagues.
- Openess to take risks to make things better, and abandoning fear of failure.
- A wide open door, where people can have candid conversations and ask about things on their mind.
- An understanding of the big picture. People in places that have IT know how their job contributes to something larger.
- Plenty of opportunities for people to continue learning and growing.
- Looking forward. People at places that have IT are continually looking forward, striving to improve upon IT.

This is just a partial list of what I think contributes to IT. What do you think contributes to IT?

 One other thing about IT. You know you have IT when your customers and team members want to be part of the community you help create rather than simply “having to be there.”