Tag Archive for: Sarah Thomas

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:

 

Want to be notified when a new blog is posted? Subscribe to our blog and receive posts in your inbox.

Long-Term Care & Post-Acute Care

Navigating the Maze of Long-Term & Post-Acute Care: A Report by Nexus Insights

When an older adult experiences a crisis that requires post-acute or long-term care services and supports, they and their caregivers must make critical decisions, fast. What awaits them, however, is a maze of dead ends and poor information that stand in the way of getting the help they need.

“Older adults and their families enter a maze of twists and turns, dead ends, and wrong way streets when a life crisis forces them to consider their care options. Critical decisions about long-term care must be made quickly, with scarce information or resources, let alone supportive guidance to assist them in their time of crisis.” – Bob Kramer, founder of Nexus Insights

In February 2022, Nexus Insights hosted their inaugural ‘Nexus Voices’ session with 18 leading experts in the fields of aging policy, long-term care, senior housing and caregiver advocacy to talk through and tackle this issue.

The Outcome: A Nexus Voices Report

The result is the recently published report, “Where Am I, Where Do I Go: The Missing Entry Point to Long-Term Care Solutions for Older Adults and Their Caregivers”. This comprehensive and actionable report highlights the lack of infrastructure to help guide older adults and their families to long-term care services. The report proposes “Navigation Hubs” to help families understand their long-term care needs and select the best options for them. These hubs would serve as central doorways to existing supports and services—whether it’s home-based care, transportation or meal services, senior housing or nursing home care. The hubs would have a national presence but a hyper localized focus with counselors, or navigators, who understand the resources available in their communities and how to help older adults and their families access them.

“The factors that shape care decisions vary from family to family, but all families need an easy-to-use, accessible hub of information that clearly communicates the options that are available to them in their community,” said Anne Tumlinson, CEO of ATI Advisory and a contributor to the report. “With a growing number of older adults needing care, we have to act now to build the care infrastructure families need.”

Discussion participants outlined four primary responsibilities of the Navigation Hubs. They are:

  • Discover & Assess the long-term care needs of older adults, their families, and caregivers.
  • Educate older adults, their families and caregivers on the housing and caregiving support available to them as well as funding sources.
  • Select & Connect older adults with the best long-term care setting, supports, and services that meet their needs.
  • Reevaluate the needs of older adults as their health and financial statuses change.

“You can’t solve a problem until you’ve identified it and defined it,” said Kramer.

“Then you’ve got to define what are the key components of any solution. And we’ve laid that out with the navigation hubs and their four functions. And then we asked what we could learn from the failures and the successes of programs to date, to create our criteria. Finally, the path forward must be a joint effort involving both the public and private sectors. We demonstrated that there are aspects of differing programs from government-funded resource centers to tech-enabled employer options to private-pay models that could be incorporated into this solution.”

An Urgent Problem

In its conclusions, the report urges quick and decisive action to build navigation services for older adults that put families in the center. The family in crisis needs help now and cannot wait for lawmakers and government agencies to overhaul the long-term care infrastructure. This requires a national commitment to increased funding and an openness to reimagine existing solutions. Existing public, private-pay and employer-based programs could work together to make these hubs a reality by combining their infrastructure, experience and delivery models.

The Nexus Voices Participants

Nexus Insights Host Committee

  • David Grabowski, PhD, professor, Harvard Medical School, fellow, Nexus Insights
  • Bob Kramer, founder & fellow, Nexus Insights, co-founder, former CEO & strategic advisor, National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC)
  • Caroline Pearson, senior vice president, health care strategy, NORC at the University of Chicago, fellow, Nexus Insights
  • Sarah Thomas, CEO, Delight by Design/MezTal, fellow, Nexus Insights
  • Anne Tumlinson, CEO, ATI Advisory, fellow, Nexus Insights

Discussion Participants

  • Gretchen E. Alkema, PhD, former vice president, policy and communications, The SCAN Foundation
  • Alice Bonner, PhD, senior advisor for aging, IHI, and adjunct faculty, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing
  • Ryan Frederick, founder & CEO, Smart Living 360, fellow, Nexus Insights (facilitator)
  • Lindsay Jurist-Rosner, CEO, Wellthy
  • Ruth Katz, senior vice president for policy, LeadingAge
  • Sean Kelly, president & CEO, The Kendal Corporation
  • Suzanne Kunkel, PhD, executive director, Scripps Gerontology Center, Miami University
  • Katy Lanz, chief strategy officer, Personal Care Medical Associates
  • Brian Petranick, group president, Neighborly
  • Cheryl L. Phillips, M.D., president and CEO, Special Needs Plan Alliance
  • Paul Saucier, director, Office of Aging & Disability Services, Maine Department of Health and Human Services
  • John Schall, CEO, Caregiver Action Network
  • Bill Thomas, chief independence officer, Lifespark, fellow, Nexus Insights

Read the Long-Term Care Access Report

Read the full report
Read the executive summary
Read the press release

About Nexus Insights

Nexus Insights is a think tank advancing the well-being of older adults through innovative models of housing, community and healthcare. We are a diverse group of thought leaders and stakeholders in aging and healthcare. Our goal is to spark change by sharing innovation across traditional silos, convening leaders from differing perspectives and bringing positive, life-affirming ideas into the public domain.

Want to be notified when a new blog is posted? Subscribe to our blog and receive posts in your inbox.

Sarah Thomas new lifestyle membership model

A New Lifestyle Membership Model Development by Sarah Thomas

Early in 2019, before the pandemic, Sarah Thomas led the development of a unique wellness membership offering with partners Transforming Age and Seismic. Thomas, CEO of Delight by Design and a Fellow with Nexus Insights, is an accomplished leader of innovation, with over 20 years dedicated to transforming the aging experience. Seismic designs and produces Seismic Powered Clothing, an innovative fusion of apparel and robotics, designed to reduce muscle strain and fatigue by providing the person’s core with extra power and stability.

In Jan 2019, after taking the stage at CES, the largest consumer electronics show in the world, Thomas announced, “Well ahead in recognizing that wellness is already a dominant American lifestyle value, Transforming Age, a wellness and lifestyle network that serves older adults, is the first industry company to partner with Seismic, in an early-stage membership program designed to offer advanced access of Powered Clothing to people living across the lifestyle brand’s modern retirement communities.”

The VIP membership offered members access to community events, early-access to transformative technologies, expert trainings, and educational programming customized for each member, with a focus on wellness. The program was delivered via an upscale studio, where Thomas and her team created a premium experience-design for each guest in Transforming Age’s Seattle-based brick and mortar studio.

At the beginning of the pandemic, senior living veteran and visionary Lynne Katzmann, founder and CEO of Juniper Communities, demonstrated for the industry the importance of the membership model for committing to a lifestyle of personalized well-being. Thomas and her team at Delight by Design were brought in to do what they do best— design experiences, brands and spaces that delight the consumer at every age. Two years of productive partnership helped launch Catalyst, an exciting new “wellspan” lifestyle program, which was recently featured in McKnights Senior Living.

Other senior living providers are also forging new paths towards promoting a healthier lifestyle, building programs to meet the unique wellness needs of their current and future residents. Essex Communities, for example, is working with Thomas and the Delight by Design team to create an exciting new wellness lifestyle brand. It will be exciting to see more as they enter the market with their new wellness offering.

At Nexus Insights, our Fellows develop new ideas and models for the future of aging services. Sarah is a great example of the thought leadership these Fellows bring to re-think aging from every angle.

Want to be notified when a new blog is posted? Subscribe to our blog and receive posts in your inbox.

Biases in product design for aging populations

Biases in Product Design for the Aging Population

This week we highlight Nexus Fellow, Sarah Thomas who is the CEO of Delight by Design. In her feature video, she shares why she is passionate about her work and expertise in aging services.

“One of the biggest challenges we face in this industry is our own inherent biases around the aging experience, and how we build products, services and spaces. It even affects how we attract our workforce, how we bring new talent into our workforce, and how we create space.”

“If I’m a senior living operator, I don’t just want functional design that’s accessible for a wheelchair or a walker, I want it to be beautiful and delightful, and to have a human-centered approach for how we experience our lifestyle at every age. I want standards to be improved across the agespan and across the lifespan. And when we approach product design, whether I’m using a new technology or I’m using a new product to make my life easier, I want it to be exciting and beautiful… We need to look at things through a different lens.”

Sarah Thomas is an accomplished leader of innovation, with nearly 20 years dedicated to transforming the aging experience. She serves as a global aging expert, advising startups, large corporations and investors. Learn more about Sarah Thomas at Nexus Insights.

 

Want to be notified when a new blog is posted? Subscribe to our blog and receive posts in your inbox.

How The Senior Housing Industry Is Dealing With An Increasingly Tech-enabled Population

Sarah Thomas, executive strategist in aging innovation, CEO of Delight by Design, and Nexus Fellow, shared her thoughts on the increase in technology adoption among seniors–and how senior communities are responding to the phenomenon. She points out that seniors are just like everyone else in that they have increasingly turned to technology in response to the pandemic. The main reasons for this are the increase in connectivity, more access to resources, and just plain convenience.

“[E]ngagement with technology is on the rise in every age group,” according to Thomas. This holds true for seniors who are looking for “greater connection, greater resource access, and greater convenience.”

Senior living operators have had to respond to this change as well. According to Thomas, these groups recognized a need to “provide additional access to technology to leverage resources and connect with the community.” They also needed tech to increase staff efficiency and to disseminate information to residents and family. This led to an increase in partnerships so that things like tech support could be addressed.

Read the full interview at Senior Housing News.

Want to be notified when a new blog is posted? Subscribe to our blog and receive posts in your inbox.

Experience Design in Senior Living

Glowing Older with Sarah Thomas: Focus on the Experience  

When discussing innovation in senior living, who better to call on than Sarah Thomas, an expert in senior living, technological innovation, and experience design. Thomas is the founder and CEO of consulting firm Delight by Design, a Nexus Fellow, as well as a 20-year veteran and leader in the aging services industry. She was recently interviewed on the podcast Glowing Older, Innovation in Senior Living. The conversation ranged widely from issues of design and technology, to resident experience in senior living.

Here are a few highlights:

What is ‘experience design’?

Companies come to me to help them shift the narrative of the experience in aging. Our team is helping to redefine products and services as we know them, with this idea of designing for all, as we are all aging. The focus is on intentional, inclusive, inspiring designs that foster a sense of purpose, and look across all dimensions of wellness. We want to help our customers bring things to market in a non-discriminatory and inclusive way, that attracts people at a really emotional level, and that delights consumers at every age.

Who are the clients of Delight by Design?

Our clients range across the spectrum from consumer brands to products that are disrupting the market on the technology side and the startup side. But we also see investors who are looking to understand the space. It’s a pretty noisy space–a lot of people are entering it. We help companies and products succeed, and we also help consumers and investors understand which products they should adopt.

Tips for existing senior living facilities:

It all goes back to the human-centered approach. We often forget that. If someone is living in their own home, they want to know they can preserve the quality of the lifestyle they currently have if they move into your community. They also want to enhance their life with the new, beautiful, and wonderful things that come from moving into senior living: the community, the amenities, and the support systems that are in place.

People want a sense of belonging, purpose, and community. They’ve had all those roles in their lives, with their families and friends and community, and we have to recreate those. We have to allow opportunities for creating and making, giving and caring for others, civic engagement, thinking and sharing. We can’t just offer passive experiences. We have to offer true and purposeful engagement.

And subtle changes can be important. We can update colors to elicit emotional reactions we’re looking for. We can create a sense of focus or attention in the library setting, for example, or an area to energize or to calm.

What are the technology trends in senior housing?

There’s the on-demand nature of our human experience and customer journey that we have every day, with Uber and DoorDash, for example. We’ve seen connectivity and the experience of our work environment shift with Zoom and Teams. Well, older adults have experienced these trends as well. There’s a variety of trends like these in the consumer space that we need to understand and to adopt in every setting, to improve the overall experience and to meet expectations.

Technology for its own sake is useless. But implemented technology can lead to better efficiencies, better outcomes, and a greater quality of care and of life, by automating some of the workflows we have. We have better business intelligence, better actionable insights, and we’re using data in a different way. This is going to improve our programming and our operational approach in senior living.

How can senior living deliver on the wellness promise?

Wellness is not just fitness. Not only do we want to get people moving better, but we want them intellectually stimulated, socially and emotionally engaged with a focus on mental health. It’s important to foster spiritual growth of individuals and address their shifting and evolving spiritual needs as they age. And of course environmental: there are ways to add beautiful design to allow for environmental optimization.

And the vocational side is often missed as well. People have this arbitrary notion of retirement, and then the vocational piece is done. But, in fact, we need to find purposeful activities for people. We need to really engage them in activities that give them a sense of purpose and meaning, and a sense that they’re contributing. What do they want to learn? What do they want to do to engage with the people in the spaces around them? Wellness can’t just stop with more exercise programs. We need to look at the human experience, and what people are craving and needing to feel fulfilled across all dimensions of wellness.

What gets you most excited these days?

It takes a really special group of people to want to be in this field, serving older adults. We’re hard on ourselves and on each other for not moving the needle fast enough, but I think this industry is really well-intended and really wonderful. What excites me the most is that we’re finally looking outside our industry for inspiration and motivation to make change. We can always improve. We need to learn from hospitality, from travel and leisure pursuits, and from brands that are helping to improve the consumer experience. I’m glad we’re picking our heads up a bit and looking beyond the walls of senior living and into other industries, to learn from their expertise and to enhance our own experiences.

Listen to the full podcast.

Want to be notified when a new blog is posted? Subscribe to our blog and receive posts in your inbox.

Experience design in senior living

Experience Design for the Often Undervalued Longevity Market 

For Sarah Thomas, CEO of consulting company Delight by Design, and a Nexus Insights Fellow, “experience design” is about creating “an engaging experience that brings value to the consumer and delights them throughout the customer journey.” This is especially true in the longevity market, a market Thomas says has been undervalued in the past, and which is where her company is focused.

Delight by Design works with firms that are looking to design more accessible products or more inclusive services, and investors who are looking to expand their portfolios. These organizations may need assistance in understanding the wants, needs and market opportunities for the older adult consumers. That’s where the Delight by Design team truly shines.

Thomas was featured recently in an article entitled, “How Tech and Common Sense is Bringing Experience Design to Senior Living” on the Senior Living Innovation Forum (SLIF) blog. “Applying my background as an occupational therapist,” Thomas told SLIF, “I focus on human-centered design to create environments and experiences where residents are living their best lives, not defined by age.”

According to Thomas, experience design can “help companies foster a sense of purpose, encourage community engagement, improve mental health, elevate physical activity, increase healthspan and lifespan.”

“We want it at the touch of a button with on-demand functionality, and we should be expecting the evolving consumer to want the same in senior living.”

Technology plays an important role in experience design, not for its own sake, but for how it can improve efficiencies and help consumers. “In Silicon Valley, we design products to replace the greatest caregiver of all—Mom!” Thomas said. “Bring me food, clean my house, make my bed, and drive me! We want it at the touch of a button with on-demand functionality, and we should be expecting the evolving consumer to want the same in senior living.”

Thomas predicts that tech-based experience design innovations will bring improvements across the entire senior living experience. She predicts that seniors, who are used to living in a high-tech world, will come to expect it. “We need more availability of basic tech-enabled experiences; we need to offer technology that reaches families beyond the walls of a resident’s community, includes more telehealth, counseling, dietary support, and increased access to other resources that improve quality of life across all dimensions of wellness,” she said.

Read the full article.

Sarah Thomas will discuss the importance of experience design at this year’s Senior Living Innovation Forum in October. Nexus Fellows Bob Kramer and Ryan Frederick will also be sharing their expertise as speakers.

Want to be notified when a new blog is posted? Subscribe to our blog and receive posts in your inbox.

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.”

Stay connected and engaged with our Nexus Fellows. Subscribe to our newsletter.

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:

 

 

Stay connected and engaged with our Nexus Fellows. Subscribe to our newsletter.

Sarah Thomas joins Sentrics Advisory Council

Nexus Insights Fellow Sarah Thomas joins Sentrics Advisory Council

Sentrics, an emerging technology leader in the senior living industry, has welcomed Sarah Thomas, CEO of Delight by Design and Nexus Insights Fellow, to its Advisory Council. Thomas is an accomplished leader and innovator, with nearly 20 years of experience as a global aging expert, advising startups, large corporations and investors. Her technology perspective is shaped by her experience helping some of the largest senior living companies develop and implement strategic change management initiatives and innovative human potential products.

“Sarah Thomas has consistently intersected technology and aging to transform the aging experience,” said Darin LeGrange, CEO of Sentrics. “Her first-hand knowledge launching solutions that are more purpose-driven will help us address the ongoing need for usability, portability, simplicity and the ultimate engagement of the resident, family and healthcare ecosystem.”

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Sentrics helps senior living communities nationwide transform into more sophisticated, clinically oriented, risk-management businesses. Its Sentrics360 suite creates a 360-degree view—physical, medical, social and behavioral—of the wellbeing of each resident. Sentrics systems collect vital data, while machine learning and AI analyze and interpret the data, empowering families, senior living communities, and healthcare providers to make the best care decisions and optimize their operations.

“The best way to support an age-inclusive experience is to integrate technology and the human touch,” said Thomas. “Sentrics is pushing senior living forward by acquiring and developing technology that puts the residents at the center of everything it does. This human-centric, purpose-driven design makes technology more accessible and adoptable.”

See the full press release.

Want to be notified when a new blog is posted? Subscribe to our blog and receive posts in your inbox.

Tag Archive for: Sarah Thomas

Nothing Found

Sorry, no posts matched your criteria