Tag Archive for: Kelsey Mellard

NIC spring conference 2023 - Partnering for the Future

Nexus Insights Convene for the NIC Spring Conference

Nexus Insights will be joining senior housing and aging service leaders in San Diego on March 1st for the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) Spring Conference. Conference sessions will discuss new opportunities that provide better outcomes of care for older adults through more effective integration of healthcare services and senior housing. Anyone in healthcare or senior housing looking to connect, develop long-range strategic partnerships, and innovate new models of care and housing on behalf of older adults should plan to attend.

“Integrating healthcare services with housing is mission critical for a new generation of senior living,” said Anne Tumlinson, founder and CEO of ATI Advisory, and a Nexus Fellow. “It means better care and quality of life for residents, and rewards operators and investors for addressing healthcare spending.”

Several Nexus Fellows are attending the conference including Bob Kramer, Anne Tumlinson, and Sarah Thomas. Nexus friend and alumna, Kelsey Mellard of Sitka, is speaking on one panel and interviewing Dr. Sachin Jain at the Friday morning keynote session.

Want to attend? Visit springconference.nic.org for more information. Already going and want to meet? Ping us or reach out directly to our Fellows.

Nexus Picks

Sessions you won’t want to miss at the 2023 NIC Spring Conference:

Emerging Value Based Care Opportunities for Seniors Housing & LTC Operators
Wednesday, March 1, 2023 | 4:30pm
Speakers:
Anne Tumlinson, Founder & CEO, ATI Advisory
Grant Severson, Vice President, Optum Senior Community Care
James Lydiard, Chief Strategy Officer, HarmonyCares
Brian Cloch, CEO, Cloch Management
Chris Dawe, Acting President, Curana Health Medical Group
Laurie Schultz, Principal & Co-Founder, Avenue

Taking Your Show on The Road: Bridging Care Gaps by Extending Services Into the Community
Thursday, March 2, 2023 | 1:00pm
Speakers:
Kelsey Mellard, CEO, Sitka
Michael Kurliand, Clinical Quality and Integration, MedWand
Peter Longo, Principal & Managing Partner, Cantex

The Trends and Opportunities in Medicare all Types of Operators Should Be Tracking
Friday, March 2, 2023 | 8:30am
Speakers:
Kurt Read, Partner, RSF Partners
Kelsey Mellard, CEO, Sitka
Dr. Sachin H. Jain, MD, MBA, FACP, President & CEO, SCAN Group and Health Plan

 

Related:

 

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Kelsey Mellard on the state of telehealth

The State of Telehealth & Telemedicine: A Snapshot with Sitka CEO Kelsey Mellard

The Covid pandemic and the shut-downs of 2020 had an enormous impact on telehealth. March of 2020 saw a 154% increase in telehealth visits over March of the previous year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Infection (CDC). “For a period of time, telehealth went from a nice to have to a must have,” according to Kelsey Mellard, CEO of Sitka, and a Nexus Insights Fellow. Sitka is a value-based multi-specialty provider network, empowering primary care providers to remain at the helm of their patients’ care.

Telehealth expansion isn’t limited to the number of synchronous telemedicine visits. Providers and payors have been expanding their role with respect to telehealth, into providing the infrastructure and the tools and devices patients need to engage in telehealth. There has also been an expansion in reimbursement, and in the types of services provided by telehealth.

“For a period of time, telehealth went from a nice to have to a must have.”

Sitka, for example, has created a virtual network of specialty physicians. These physicians, who are not economically incentivized to do more tests or procedures, provide peer-to-peer consults via video and text, with primary care physicians who request their expertise.

In addition, there has been an increase in merger and acquisition activity and investment into the telemedicine and digital health space, including greater tech-enabled connectivity in home- and community-based care settings. Funding for Quarter 1 of  2021 funding closed with $6.7B in US digital health funding, the most-funded quarter to date, according to Rock Health. Average deal size ballooned to $45.M (up from $31.7M in 2020.). The pandemic prompted an acceleration in the adoption and mainstreaming of digital health. As buyer’s desire for connectivity, such as remote patient monitoring, has increased, the market has been responding. And CMS continues regularly to release new proposed payment codes.

Nevertheless, proponents of telehealth should not sit back on their laurels and celebrate just yet. Advocacy continues to be important. Telehealth is here to stay, and we can expect to see it continue to expand and to evolve. But, there is pressure from those invested in bricks and mortar service delivery to return to those models and State licensing regulations continue to impose limits.

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Nexus Insights Fellows News 2021

Nexus Fellows Flash Bulletin: June 2021

The Nexus Fellows are leaders in the aging industry, helping to shape public policy and redefine aging and aging services. From books to podcasts, here’s a sample of some of the work they’ve been doing in the past month:

  • Jay Newton-Small, CEO of MemoryWell, is wrapping up a second year of their joint contest for Hilarity for Charity, Seth and Lauren Miller Rogen’s Alzheimer’s charity and Humans of Dementia Storytelling Competition. It’s a competition for high school and college students to write the best profile of someone living with Alzheimer’s. Winners will have the chance to meet Seth and Lauren Rogen during the virtual celebration. Additionally, MemoryWell has added three new members to their team.
  • Jacquelyn Kung, CEO of Senior Care Group at Activated Insights, was interviewed by Skip Lineberg, host of The Main Thing Podcast, about elder care, and her passion to improve the aging experience. “The main thing I’ve learned in my lifetime so far is that getting older is what you make of it. And I see it as full of good news. Socially, we get happier as we get older, and the research shows that.”
  • Jill Vitale-Aussem, president and CEO of Christian Living Communities, sat down with Senior Housing Investors Podcast to talk about her book, “Disrupting the Status Quo of Senior Living: A Mindshift.”
  • Sarah Thomas, CEO of Delight by Design, delivered the keynote on designing products and services for the aging population with Chief Medical Office of AARP, DR Charlotte Yeh. Additionally, she moderated two panels featuring the important work of seven agetech startups at the Rehab Tech Summit mini-Summit. Thomas was an expert judge at the AOTA 2021 Inventors Showcase, where 11 startups pitched their innovative products designed to serve people across the lifespan. The winner designed a novel gait belt that improves the safety of caregivers and residents in senior living and beyond.
  • Dr. Bill Thomas, founder of The Eden Alternative, The Green House Project, and Minka, recently traveled the country, talking with elders and their care partners in more than 125 cities. He learned about their hopes and fears, and listened to their stories. What did he discover? That people want better alternatives for senior living. “It turns out that older people pretty much want what everyone else wants: to belong to a community that includes people of all ages and remain connected to the living world,” Thomas said.
  • Nexus Founder & Fellow, and NIC Strategic Advisor, Bob Kramer, has joined the Edenbridge Health Board of Advisors to help expand access to comprehensive, integrated, community-based and person-centered care for the frail elderly through innovative applications of the PACE Program.
  • In the blog post, “Just Move It,” CEO of SmartLiving 360, Ryan Frederick talks about the importance of physical exercise for older adults. “Inactivity is the fourth leading cause of death and about 1.5 billion people in the world are inactive to the point that it risks their long-term health. At a health care conference several years ago, four recent surgeon generals were asked for one tip for successful aging. They coalesced on one word: move.”
  • Nexus Fellow Kelsey Mellard, CEO of Sitka, sat down with Sanjula Jain Jo on Her Story for a candid conversation about being a healthcare leader and her transition from the Midwest to DC to Silicon Valley, building a resilient team, and overcoming challenges.
  • Longevity economy expert, Jody Holtzman, formerly of AARP is proud to be on the advisory board of Intuition Robotics, which is mitigating loneliness among older adults with the companion robot ElliQ. “The growing mismatch between the number of people in need of caregivers and the availability of caregivers is a multifaceted challenge for individual families and society more broadly. Technology must be part of the solution. Companion robots like ElliQ and others in this space, like my friends at Joy for All/Ageless Innovation, have an important role to play.”
  • Caroline Pearson, Senior VP of Health Care Strategy at NORC at the University of Chicago, announced the release of new research from NIC and NORC that looks at the impact of the pandemic on seniors by care setting. “Mortality rates increase by complexity of care, but, in lower acuity settings such as independent living communities, they are comparable to surrounding populations.”

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Update on Nexus Fellow May 21s

Nexus Fellow Flash Bulletin: May 2021

As the United States shifts gears from pandemic crisis management to a new post-COVID normal, we must now deal with the aftermath and identify what went wrong and what we can do better. Issues of transparency and loneliness in nursing homes linger. Large corporations that once were oblivious to the older population have found a new market. How will we address the age-old problem of social connection for those who are still isolated, a problem seniors have faced for decades? The entire industry, the way we view older adults, the options for living independently and the implementation of technology, must all be urgently addressed and thoughtfully designed into an actionable plan for the future of aging and longevity.

Our Fellows continue to strive for innovation and reform. Here’s what they’ve been up to:

NEWS:

  • Nexus Fellow David Grabowski, was quoted in an article by the Associated Press on nursing homes’ requirement to report COVID-19 vaccinations at nursing homes. “This is an important development that is months overdue,” said David Grabowski, a Harvard health policy professor who has tracked the industry’s struggles with the outbreak. “Many of us argued that this information should have been published starting in December when the federal long-term care vaccination effort began.”

 

  • Dr. Bill Thomas, Nexus Fellow and creator of The Eden Alternative, Minka, and the Green House Project, is helping value-based care innovator Lifespark (which acquired Tealwood Senior Living.) Dr. Thomas will be leading the efforts to combine the two companies’ operations. He has also created Kallimos Communities, new multi-generational communities with small dwellings clustered around shared green space. Additionally, he has a new project he’s working on with Signature Healthcare — currently called “Canopy” — a cluster of small ADA-accessible houses built close together.

 

  • Bob Kramer, Founder and Fellow of Nexus Insights, was interviewed by Nancy Griffin for SeniorTrade Blog. He defines 5 Boomerville Segments likely to flourish in the future: Wellnessville, where residents will focus on healthy lifestyle, diet and exercise; Margaritaville, resort-style independent living (Minto Communities’ Latitude Margaritaville has three wait-listed locations with more in development); Serviceville, where the emphasis is on volunteerism, mentorship and giving back; Collegeville, where residents focus on continued learning in a communal living environment, and Changeville, for those concerned with making a difference in the world and creating a legacy.

 

  • Preordering is now available for “Right Place, Right Time, a book by Nexus Fellow and CEO of SmartLiving 360, Ryan Frederick. “Place plays a significant yet often unacknowledged role in health and happiness. The right place elevates personal well-being. It can help promote purpose, facilitate human connection, catalyze physical activity, support financial health, and inspire community engagement.”

 

  • Nexus Fellow Kelsey Mellard, CEO of Sitka, sat down with Sanjula Jain Jo on Her Story for a candid conversation about being a healthcare leader and her transition from the Midwest to DC to Silicon Valley, building a resilient team, and overcoming challenges.

 

  • Will seniors continue to buy groceries online post-pandemic? Jody Holtzman, longevity economy expert, formerly of AARP, thinks seniors will split their shopping, using online for staples such as canned goods and going into stores for fresh foods. Some senior consumers claim it’s a social outlet for them. “As the necessity imposed by the pandemic lessens,” Holtzman says, “retailers will have to start to play the price game.” Read more at Blomberg.com.

 

Out and About:

  • Jill Vitale-Aussem, president and CEO of Christian Living Communities, and Nexus Insights Fellow, recently spoke at a session, “Finding success in increasing diversity and inclusion,” at the 2021 Women of Distinction educational webinar. We’d also like to congratulate Jill on joining the SeniorTrade Advisory Board.

Jill Vitale-Aussem joins SeniorTrade Advisory Board

  • On June 30, Nexus Fellow Sara Zeff Geber will be joining experts and thought leaders in the areas of aging, retirement and thriving for the “Boomers Thriving After the Pandemic” virtual summit, hosted by Wendy Green from Hey, Boomer. Other speakers include Helen Dennis and John Tarnoff. Part of the proceeds will go to Meals on Wheels Greenville and The Walk to End Alzheimer’s. For more info visit the virtual summit’s Eventbrite page.

Sara Zeff Geber on Hey Boomer

  • Sarah Thomas, CEO of Delight by Design and Nexus Fellow, recently presented at the Rehab Tech Summit sponsored by AARP Innovations Labs. She spoke about designing for all, including age tech, universal design, living with purpose and designing beautiful products for everyone at every age.

 

COMPANIES ON THE MOVE:

  • Jay Newton-Small, CEO of MemoryWell, is growing MemoryWell. After a successful capital raise, she’s been adding some amazing new talent to her team including Sarah Jones from Healthsense, GreatCall and Best Buy Health.

 

  • Jacquelyn Kung, CEO of Senior Care Group at Activated Insights, is working with her team to create recognition programs for senior care providers, based on their resident and family surveys. The goal is to tie the data to outcomes and impact metrics, and to use machine learning to identify patterns in those who improve to apply across a broader population of providers.

 

NEW RESEARCH:

 

 

VIDEO DISCUSSIONS:

 

 

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Nexus Fellow

Nexus Fellow Flash Bulletin – March 2021

COVID has caused dramatic disruption in our education and healthcare systems and long term care environments. We wear masks, we distance, we stay home. So what have we learned? How can we come out stronger on the other side? Despite the massive challenges and barriers to implementation, there is a strong sense of hope on the horizon.

“Out of the tragedy of COVID, there are a lot of silver linings, a lot of good things we’re learning. Let’s seize the opportunity from the crisis so we can say we learned from it, and we won’t be here a year or two from now saying that nothing is different.” Nexus Founder & Fellow, Bob Kramer

While the pandemic has had a devastating impact on the seniors housing and long-term care industry, it’s also shed a big spotlight on this industry like never before. And that has advantages. After all, how could anyone identify a problem if they aren’t looking. People are paying attention now, and if we take this opportunity and make the changes needed, the senior living and long-term care industry will vastly improve post-pandemic.

Our Nexus Fellows are front and center. They’re experts, thinkers and entrepreneurs, bringing fresh ideas and important insights to the industry at this critical time.

What’s the latest? Here’s a Nexus Fellow Flash Bulletin:

  • Bob Kramer, Founder and Fellow of Nexus Insights joined Jocelyn Dorsey, Becky Kurtz, Elise Eplan and Deke Cateau on a panel last month for A.G. Rhodes Living Well-Virtual to discuss the stark realities of what is happening with COVID19, aging, and in the senior housing world. “What became clear in our conversation is that, despite the overwhelming challenges and difficulty in pandemic protocols and vaccine strategies, there was a sense of hope throughout.
  • Nexus Fellow Kelsey Mellard, CEO of Sitka, announced that Sitka has raised $14 million in Series A financing led by Venrock, with participation from existing investors Optum Ventures, Homebrew, First Round Capital, and Lifeforce Capital. This round of funding will enable Sitka to accelerate product development and expand growth with new and existing partners.
  • Jill Vitale-Aussem, president and CEO of Christian Living Communities, and Nexus Insights Fellow, was featured in a McKnight’s Senior Living piece on how the senior living industry needs to change. “We need meaningful purpose in our lives. We don’t need to live in a hotel. We need to belong…to continue growing and learning…I am a huge proponent of shifting our thinking of residents as customers, which really creates helplessness, and moving to a model of citizenship”
  • In an op-ed piece in The Dallas Morning News, Jacquelyn Kung, CEO of Senior Care Group at Activated Insights and a Nexus Insights Fellow, with Nexus Insights Founder and Fellow Bob Kramer and author Ed Frauenheim offered five practical solutions for “repairing and renewing the industry.”
  • In a recent interview, Jody Holtzman cited four important trends to consider as we embark on a rebuild of a broken industry. Three of them are driving a changing view of health: the expanding holistic view of health that started with a focus on social determinants; the growing list of non-traditional supplemental benefits reimbursed by CMS; and, the increasing centrality of the home as the locus of health, care, and connected living. These are tempered however by a counter-trend: the slow uptake and limited usage of new supplemental benefits.
  • In a recent article for the journal Health Affairs, Nexus Fellow David Grabowski, along with Charlene Harrington, Anne Montgomery, Dr. Terris King, Sc.D., and Mike Wasserman, discussed recommendations for changes to public policy that would “make ownership, management, and financing more transparent and accountable to improve US nursing home care.”
  • In his latest piece on the SmartLiving 360 blog, Nexus Fellow Ryan Frederick explains that while Zillow provides comprehensive information about homes to purchase or rent, it can’t answer the question of what happens when you lose electricity and water for days, as happened in Texas recently. Whether neighbors come together as a community to help each other through the crisis has a big impact on whether you’ve chosen the right place to live.
  • Sarah Thomas, CEO of Delight by Design and Nexus Fellow, was keynote speaker at the Rehab Tech Summit in February. In her speech titled, Designing the Future: Creating Your Own Path Through a Lens of Innovation, she said,  “It’s time we challenge our own views on aging. As we design products, services, spaces and communities we must design for ALL. Our designs should delight our consumers at every age. It was such a pleasure to share my professional journey that has taken me around the world changing the global perspectives on aging.”
  • Caroline Pearson recently completed a project looking at consumer experience measures for Medicare Advantage plans. The report recommendations holding plans accountable for aspects of consumer experience that are meaningful to beneficiaries and within the health plans’ control to improve. Caroline’s team at NORC continues to examine the impact of COVID-19 on older adults in seniors housing. Look for their report due out soon.
  • Dr. Bill Thomas will be featured in the 30th Annual Aging Well Conference hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Professional and Continuing Education Office on April 23 & 30. In his keynote, Dr. Thomas will deliver a multi-part interactive keynote “What if Everything we Know About Aging is Wrong?” followed by a Q&A session. In his breakout session “MAGIC:  Exploring Intergenerational Communities,” Dr. Thomas will share new concepts in Multi-Ability, Multi-Generational, Inclusive Communities that brings together people of different ages, abilities, and backgrounds.

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Kelsey Mellard and NIC logo

NIC welcomes Nexus Fellow Kelsey Mellard to Board of Directors

We are so proud to report that one of our esteemed Fellows, the CEO of Sitka, Kelsey Mellard, has been elected to The National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) Board of Directors.

Congratulations to NIC’s new board members:

  • Robert Chapin, Partner at Bridge Investment Group and CEO of Bridge Seniors Housing Fund Manager, LLC
  • Lynne Katzmann, CEO of Juniper Communities
  • Cindy Kent, Executive VP and President, Senior Living at Brookdale Senior Living
  • Kelsey Mellard, CEO of Sitka
  • Steven Schmidt, National Director, Senior Housing Lending at Freddie Mac.

“We are pleased to welcome new members to our Board of Directors. The seniors housing and care sector faces tremendous challenges, and we appreciate the vast knowledge and industry experience these individuals offer, along with their commitment to help NIC continue to fulfill its mission to support access and choice for America’s seniors,” said Kurt Read, Board Chair.

“Robb, Lynne, Cindy, Kelsey, and Steven each bring the unique insights and perspectives needed to chart the future for NIC, and we are excited they have joined our Board,” said Brian Jurutka, CEO.

See the full Press Release

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