Like many standalone and government-owned senior living and care communities, Spring Valley Senior Living and Health Care Campus (Spring Valley) faced numerous operational and financial challenges. By partnering with Health Dimension Group (HDG), Spring Valley Senior Living underwent a remarkable turnaround, achieving full occupancy, exceeding state-wide inspection averages, and enhancing its public image.
Background
Nestled in the rolling hills of west-central Wisconsin, Spring Valley offers a spectrum of care and services, including short-stay rehabilitation, long-stay skilled nursing care, as well as assisted living support in a beautiful, modern, neighborhood-styled center. Spring Valley, a non-profit 403(b) organization, has been operated by the local village since its opening 61 years prior.
As a standalone health care and assisted living center, oversight of the day-to-day operations fell to the responsibility of the village boards, who, justifiably, were conflicted with many other village-essential priorities. In the extremely complex regulatory environment that defines seniors’ health care, the center fell subject to intense compliance scrutiny, such that in 2023, the boards agreed that this scrutiny, combined with significant financial losses, made the time ideal to forge a partnership with a professional management organization.
Solution
In early 2023, Spring Valley and its boards of directors partnered with HDG on several key initiatives to stabilize the community.
- Poor public perception
- HDG took a multi-pronged approach—focusing on core quality improvement initiatives and triaging all public communications—to assist in repositioning the center and restoring its reputation as a place of caring and kindness.
- Financial challenges
- HDG’s immediate focus was to rebuild the center’s financial infrastructure and bring a best-in-class accounting and reimbursement approach to bear, ensuring the center’s long-term viability. These initiatives included:
- Tightening compliance with the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) process
- Upgrading and training leadership in new accounting software
- Installing spending and reporting systems to gain greater operational efficiencies
Results
In years prior to HDG’s engagement, Spring Vally’s average occupancy had softened to nearly 60 percent with very few premium payors within the resident population.
Once the boards of directors made provisions to secure management services provided by HDG’s third-party turnaround division, HDG stabilized operations at Spring Valley Senior Living and Health Care Campus. Within six months, HDG delivered the village of Spring Valley the following results:
- Occupancy stabilized at 100 percent, with 15 percent premium mix
- State and federal inspection results improved; they now exceed state-wide peer averages
- Senior and mid-level managers received advanced executive leadership training
In addition, Spring Valley’s overall public image has improved. It is gaining the attention of small businesses. The operator located a tenant to lease a portion of the unused center to provide massage and hydrotherapy services to complement overall care delivery. The lease generated additional revenue to the operation to help cover its overhead costs.
