Assisted Living Executive

trol while still providing top-notch resident care and services. “We looked at how we could do things differently,” Carney explains, not just about how to cut costs.

Among the changes: Residents, family
members, and volunteers were tapped to
conduct activities, leading to a noteworthy
increase in the number of new programs
and corresponding attendance. The
community restructured its care fees to
be more flexible and affordable to more
residents, leading to a 35 percent increase
in the number of residents using assisted
living services. An energy audit resulted
in an estimated 61 percent return on in-
vestment after the implementation of the
findings. Several new apartments were
innovatively designed for flexibility—
giving residents the option of a studio or
one- or two-bedroom apartment, without
the need to change apartments. Offering
complimentary trial stays to prospective
residents resulted in a 100 percent con-
version rate.

Winner: Terrace Communities
New London, New Hampshire
Terrace Communities Online

Terrace Communities offers an intriguing model for how a small regional provider can engage residents, families, employees, and prospects through the creative use of social media.

As early as 2008, Terrace was developing what essentially became a public-facing, private social network. “We knew early that social networking would be useful for us and that this was where the world was heading. We wanted to get involved early and lead the way,” says robert murano Jr., chief operating officer.

Currently up and running at terrace-communities.groupsite.com, Terrace Communities Online (TCO) provides a way for members to easily connect, chat, and share information, photos, files, events, videos, and other media using tools like a group blog, discussion forums, e-mail blasts, calendars, and more. The public can eavesdrop, but only members can interact and participate.

TCO has grown steadily in members and traffic. To date, more than 8,000 people have made 20,000 visits to the site with 46,000+ page views. As of March 31, there were 142 members, 159 blog posts, 105 discussions, and 1,059 photos on the site. TCO helps to centralize communication across the company’s seven communities, educate prospects and families, and give a competitive marketing edge. The site also has received high-profile praise on the social media blog, Mash-able.com. “It works on so many levels and I think we’re really just scratching the surface,” says Murano. “It gives us another way to engage, communicate with, and support residents, families, and other stakeholders.” ❏