Our industry has been highly successful over the last 25 to 30 years in terms of creating an alternative to institutionalized care for those who need long-term care and supportive services, as well as those living in the independent living setting.”
How the Argentum Strategic Plan Came Together
The Argentum Strategic Planning process was led by the Argentum Strategic Planning Task Force. Argentum’s James Balda, president and chief executive offi cer, and other staff leaders joined the eff ort. Argentum partnered with Thruue Inc., a strategy and culture consultancy.
The team connected with Argentum members, board members, other stakeholders, and staff at key points. Early in the process, the team led mem- ber input sessions at the 2021 Argentum Leader- ship Summit. Later, it queried members on more specifi c points as the plan began to take shape.
Two groups contributed to targeted deliberations. For insight into the role of technology and data in the future, Thruue convened a group of six lumi- naries, which Daniel Forrester, the consultancy’s founder and board chair, describes as “large technology companies that think about process- ing data and transforming the way that humans interact with technologies.”
The team also tasked a subcommittee with tak- ing a retrospective look at COVID-19. Its purpose was to examine and capture the industry’s lessons learned from the ongoing pandemic.
The Argentum staff also weighed in several times to get a tactical read on what it would take to put the plan into action.
Finally, the initiative came full circle at the 2022 Argentum Leadership Summit, where Balda and Forrester led a session as part of the plan’s rollout into the new year, 2023.
— James Balda The fi rst of these big ideas — people — honors a tenet of
the senior living business, which is fundamentally about caring for people. “Whether it's the residents who we care for or their family members or our team members in the building who are providing care and service on a daily basis, we’ve always got to focus on the people,” says Balda. “You’ve got to focus on the whole person and what their needs are.” Trust — the second of these themes — focuses on main-
taining and enhancing trust with stakeholders. Residents and family members need to “have trust that we're going to provide high-quality care,” explains Balda. This tenet is also about communicating. “That’s a big part of
what we do to build trust,” he says. This includes communicating with family members, communicating to provide a supportive environment where team members can grow in a career and be successful, and to build trust with media, lawmakers, regulators, and capital partners. “The whole idea that we, as an industry, need to be transpar-
ent and openly communicate with all stakeholders is critical to maintaining and enhancing that trust,” Balda says. Choice is the third theme and is foundational to the senior
living industry. “This industry was founded on choice, on giving seniors and their family members a new option for not only where to live but more importantly choice in how to live,” observes Balda. “For us as an industry to continue to be successful, and for our residents to continue to receive the type of care that they need, but in an environment that gives them dignity and choice, we've got to continue to focus on that.” “In the absence of the private pay senior living market, Medicaid and Medicare would be enormously burdened,” says Balda. “Not only are we providing the best possible care in the setting that people prefer, with 90-plus resident satisfaction rates, we're providing a service to the broader safety net system. If the private-pay sector were to be institutionalized, Medicaid and Medicare would be at risk.”
From Themes to Imperatives The three themes inform the new Argentum Strategic Plan (2023- 2025), with four pillars, or strategic imperatives, focused on positive change, favorable regulation, industry advancement, and growth.
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