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OFFERING EMPLOYEE PROGRAMS THAT HELP SENIOR LIVING STAY COMPETITIVE


work whenever they want. All of Silverado’s 36 communities have playgrounds, kids can eat along with the residents without charge, and they often participate with the residents in daily scheduled activities. Silverado has examined the academic re-


search on the interactions between children and seniors, as well as animals and those with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Children bring joy and engagement to the seniors, who often share their lives and ex- periences with the children. “Over the years, the benefit had a hugely


positive impact on the residents and on the children,” says David Gill, Silverado’s senior director of public relations and communi- cations. “The residents feel that they’re still part of society and the greater community, which is so important.” Meanwhile, academic research has found


that interactions with animals often lowers stress levels and agitation experienced by those with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Dogs visiting Silverado communities must


be well-behaved and have had the requi- site shots. And they must get along with Silverado’s resident canines. Each of


its


communities of 80 to 90 residents are also home to three to four dogs adopted from local shelters and three to four cats. Each community also usually has two aviaries and a big saltwater fish tank.


TOP WORKPLACE VI


Based in Chicago, Ill., Vi communities across the country have been recognized as top workplaces in 2016 and 2017, including: One of 100 Top Companies to Work for in Arizona in 2017 by azcentral.com, part of the USA Today network; 2016 San Diego Business Journal Best Places to Work; 2017 Best Places to Work by ColoradoBiz magazine; 2017 Sun Sentinel Top Workplaces; and 2016 Chicago Tribune Top Workplaces.


“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation,” wrote the American historian and philosopher Will Durant.


Vi is one senior living operator that appears to have adopted that as a corporate motto: In addition to the above honors, the company has also won awards for the way in which it focuses on developing its employees’ careers from Chief Learning Officer Magazine and Training Magazine for the past seven years.


“We find that making that investment in learning and development helps us attract and retain talent, and in return have better operations, quality care, and high resident satisfaction,” says Judy Whitcomb, Vi’s senior vice president of human resources, learning, and organizational development.


Company executives at all levels are constantly training people throughout the enterprise either in person, or in pre-recorded videos. The company also offers more than a thousand online courses through an intranet portal; the online courses offer coaching for everyone in the company from housekeepers to top management. That means that courses cover subjects as diverse as customer service and knife skills for those in the culinary department to learning new languages online from Rosetta Stone. Management and communications courses from resources such as the Harvard Business Library are available, and chefs are sent on the company’s dime to the Culinary Institute of America.


Anecdotally, Gill says that he’s seen Children of Silverado associates spend meaningful time engaging with residents of their communities. 14 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE / ISSUE 4 2017


a lot of kids engage in activities along- side the residents, playing ping pong with them, or completing homework activities. One staff member brought her child to work on a regular basis from the day she was born. (Gill recalls that he once spotted her giving visitors a tour of the community when she was seven.) Another child whose mother is a caregiver at Silverado’s San Di- ego community became a caregiver herself. She is now studying to be a nurse. And another child’s experience of “growing up” at Silverado with his mother as a community administra- tor has led him to ponder a career in medicine. Gill says that the young man has become interested in researching a cure for Alzheimer’s. For its part, Ebenezer in Minne- apolis runs a faith-based intergenera-


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