SYP4730

Sociology of Aging
Dr. Jones
Spring 2017 Semester

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 Case Study 1: Shady Grove Assisted Living Facility

Our originally intended project of expanding our facility to include 75 newly constructed

state of the art assisted living units for residents has been hindered by the recent negligence and

abuse law suit settlements. These payouts have cut our projected budget of $4.5 million by 40

percent, leaving only $2.7 million to complete our initial design. In addition to the tremendous

hit to our budget, Shady Grove is experiencing the lowest occupancy and subsequent revenue

rates it has had in the past decade due to an unpopular public image created by the recent media

coverage of our malpractice suits.

What this combination of difficulties has illuminated is a much needed redirection of our

resources to combat our existing corporate culture. It is with this in mind that my

recommendation to the board be that we opt not to proceed with the construction of 75 new units.

I recommend that our remaining resources be used to identify where we fall short in the delivery

of client care and services. What actions are leading to these negligence/abuse claims? Surveys

will be conducted with our existing residents and family members responsible for their care to

gain insight into where they feel our services, interactions, and/or staffing may be falling short. I

also suggest a survey of our employees regarding their job satisfaction, our existing training,

policies and procedures, scheduling, compensation, and resources available to them.

Coordinating doctors and referral sources will be consulted to garner additional service delivery

feedback they have received. We could then compile the responses to locate where the data

overlaps or contains similarities to discern where our problem areas may lie. Going forward,

general feedback from our residents will be actively sought through the routine use of

questionnaires to stay abreast of any arising issues or concerns.

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 The human resources department will be tasked with evaluating our existing staff to

confirm that they are meeting their individual job specifications and providing the best possible

care to our residents. If there are identifiable gaps in their skill levels or educations, we need to

provide up-training. Existing training programs and methodologies will be reviewed, and

potential reorientation of the programs to reflect current training needs may be required.

Employees that are not in line with our company mission and that display a lack of competency

may need to be discharged. If additional supervisory roles are determined as needed, they may be

filled by promotable in house employees more suited to those roles, or additional hiring may

occur. Hiring of additional general staff may be necessary to meet resident demand, and to

provide comprehensive coverage to our residents and support to fellow staff members. We would

also need to look at our existing procedures, policies, and guidelines to ensure that they are up to

date and meet state and federal requirements for compliance. Available on the job resources

and/or technologies need to be assessed to confirm that they meet regulations, are available when

needed, and function properly.

A considerable portion of our remaining budget will be used to upgrade our existing

housing units to include the latest assistive technologies. Residents would need to be evaluated

on their current care needs and independence levels, and assigned into assistive care tiers based

on this information. The amount of residents in need of more involved assistive care should have

their units outfitted with the most technology to promote the safest living conditions possible.

Upgrades to the next tier’s housing units would be determined by the residing client’s needs as

well (and so forth) with the goal being to outfit all units with improved technological

functionalities. Our existing residents would be relocated into other units temporarily while the

upgrades are completed, with adequate staffing needed to assist residents while these transitions

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occur. Residents will need to be informed of the intended renovations, either in mass or

individually, to make the process as stress-free and streamlined as possible. When we discuss the

intended renovations with our residents, we should include informing their families. This will

allow us to strengthen our reputation within our current clientele basis by reinforcing that we do

care about providing our residents with the best possible care, and that they have made the right

choice in putting their care (or relative’s care) in our hands.

The final component of revitalizing Shady Grove needs to be an improved image

marketing campaign. By enacting the aforementioned strategies for improvement, we will

already be on the right track to achieving this. We should invest in new ad campaigns in the form

of commercials (via radio and/or local television), pamphlets distributed within the community,

and billboards around town. Our executive team can promote a more positive image of our

facility by engaging with the public at large at churches, community centers, and civic meetings.

Shady Grove will host informational seminars on site and open to the public to showcase the

safety renovations and improved staffing. We will also partner with local officials and

community organizations to promote better standards of care and identify us as leaders in the

assisted living market.

We predict that by remodeling our existing housing units, improving our public image

through marketing, reorienting our hiring and training processes, reviewing existing staff, and

hiring new staff will all bring forth a new reputation for Shady Grove. We expect to see our

occupancy rate improve by 50 percent initially, leading up to a maximum capacity of residents

after 5 years. Once we reach 100 percent occupancy, we can then reexamine the concept of

building new units.

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 We have already obtained new estimates to accommodate these proposed changes in

development using the restricted budget. The timeframe for renovation of the existing units is

approximately 18 to 24 months. The original cost for each new unit was approximately $60,000.

With the proposed renovation the average cost to upgrade each of the original 120 units is

$10,000. Project overages of 25 percent have been factored in to the revised budget. This is a

summarized budget table.

Original budget was $4.5 million Revised budget is $2.7 million

Proposed Cost Allocations Cost Remaining Budget

Project Overages 675,000 2,025,000

Survey 50,000 1,975,000

New training/Up-training 250,000 1,725,000

Additional hiring 230,000 1,485,000

Marketing campaign 250,000 1,245,000

Remodel of all existing units (120) 1,200,000 45,000

Total $2,655,000 Leftover: $45,000

Every effort will be made to save cost throughout this process. The way the current

budget is designed $45,000 remains. This money can be utilized to make any unmentioned

improvements to the overall facility, cover unexpected costs, or placed back into our normal

operating accounts.