a concierge filled out an IDP with the aim of becoming an office manager. She is well on her way now toward meeting that goal and was recently named associate of the year for the entire company. “It’s important to show an eagerness to participate,” said Heaney. Irlinger at Georgian Manor agrees. “Speak up,” she
said. “Let us know your goals and aspirations.” She suggests shadowing managers on the job. Find out what it’s like to be a business office manager or director of nursing. “Be a part of the team,” she advised. Education is key to success, according to Anhar at
Denise Fasano, executive director at Greenfield Senior Living at Cross Keys, dances with a resident at a holiday gathering.
“There is no bigger honor than to take care of an
elder whether the person is with us for seven days or seven years,” she said. From her perspective as an executive director, Fa-
sano believes the industry offers many different career paths. One of her staffers thought he wanted a career in food service, but decided to return to school to be- come a physical therapist. “There is a lot of opportu- nity,” said Fasano. Opportunity is the word that best describes the ca-
reer path of Rich Heaney, regional director of opera- tions at Brightview Senior Living, based in Baltimore, Maryland. He started his career as an emergency medi- cal technician and then went to nursing school and worked at a nursing home. His first management posi- tion came in 1994 as a director of community relations with Marriott, which had recently launched a senior living division. In 1999, he was hired by Brandywine Living as ex-
ecutive director of the company’s first purpose-built assisted living community. “We filled the community in six months,” said Heaney. He quickly worked his way up the corporate lad-
der. He was promoted to senior executive director, re- gional director, vice president of operations and sales, and then senior vice president of operations and sales. He credits much of his success during that period to the leadership of Brandywine chief executive officer Brenda Bacon. “She made me understand that yes, we are a business, but a business of caring for people,” said Heaney.
Career advice Heaney encourages those who want to advance to par- ticipate in training programs. Brightview offers courses for company associates through its internal Brightview University. The company also offers an individualized development plan or IDP, so associates can create their own career paths. For example, an associate working as
The Summit of Uptown. He encourages executive di- rectors to earn the Certified Director of Assisted Living (CDAL) credential. The voluntary program was devel- oped by the Senior Living Certification Commission. The certification demonstrates attainment of consis- tent, relevant, measurable, and industry-recognized standards of practice in the assisted living executive director role. “Education, education, education,” said Anhar, emphasizing the importance of industry training. State health care and senior living associations offer
many professional development opportunities. “Get involved on their committees and boards,” advised Kenny at LCS. LCS is in the process of creating a non-profit foun-
dation, and one of its functions will be to provide scholarships for students in schools that have or are developing a curriculum in senior living. “We want to encourage people to pursue the profession and support them in that effort,” said Kenny. He expects the first scholarships to be available in fall 2017. Senior Lifestyle’s Fordyce emphasizes the impor-
tance of on-the-job learning. She didn’t go to school to become a building operator or attend business classes. But through her lifelong career she learned how to become a leader by interacting with co-workers and customers, and by finding mentors to model. Her best advice: invest in yourself.
5
Reasons to Choose a Senior Living Career
ΠSenior living is a growth industry
Many, and varied, career advancement opportunities
Ž An increasing number of corporate and industry-sponsored training programs
A chance to make a big difference in people’s lives
High level of job satisfaction
ISSUE 2 2017 /
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