Pioneering survey captures clinical leaders’ experiences and challenges — including staffing hurdles, rising resident acuity, and emerging clinical strategies.

August Health, the modern EHR platform caregivers love, published a first-of-its-kind insights deck on The State of Senior Living Clinical Leadership, in partnership with the American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA).

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Based on a survey fielded between July and August 2024, the report captures the perspectives and experiences of nearly 70 clinical executives representing senior living operators across the United States, benchmarking the current state of clinical operations and identifying opportunities to evolve strategies related to staffing, care delivery, and clinical programs.

“This survey allows us to elevate voices within clinical leadership and better understand how the scope of their work is evolving alongside rising acuity, and the strategies they’re implementing to address related challenges,” said David Schless, President and CEO of ASHA.

The survey reaffirmed that staffing and rising acuity remain critical challenges — both of which have wide-ranging effects on clinical operations.

• 65% of clinical leaders cited hiring and retaining staff as one of their top-three challenges, which is unsurprising given broader staffing shortages and turnover across the industry.
• 41% of respondents cited rising resident acuity as a top-three challenge, and staffing models are shifting in parallel. 50% said their communities have expanded the role of med techs, and 28% have brought on more licensed nurses.
• 53% of respondents named polypharmacy as a key medication-related challenge. Polypharmacy, rising resident acuity, and staffing are interrelated for clinical leaders.

The survey also revealed that clinical leaders are exploring new models, methodologies, and tools to provide more effective care.

• Communities are deploying a variety of solutions to address falls, such as sensors, fall management programs, and PT/OT referrals, recognizing that a complex, multi-factorial problem such as falls requires multi-factorial solutions.
• 69% of respondents are exploring or engaging in value-based care systems. These figures reveal an opportunity to learn more about how clinical leaders define value-based care for their communities and how their value-based contracts have been structured.
• 54% of respondents said that having more reliable data related to high-risk residents based on EHR data and incident trends would have a significant impact on their communities.

“As resident acuity increases, the role of clinical leaders in senior living communities has become more crucial than ever,” said Justin Schram, MD, co-founder and co-CEO of August Health. “The insights from this survey help us better appreciate the complex, interrelated challenges that clinical leaders in senior living face each day as well as their overall priorities and strategies to improve staffing and resident care. The more we learn about their experiences, the more effectively we can support them with improved resources, products, policies, and more.”

To view the full report from ASHA and August Health’s The State of Senior Living: Clinical Leadership Survey, visit https://www.augusthealth.com/clinical-leadership-survey.

About August Health

August Health is the modern EHR platform for forward-thinking, care-obsessed senior living operators. The platform is purpose-built for proactive care, enabling communities to shift from reactive tactics to proactive care strategies. Unquestionably user friendly, August Health is easy to learn and easy to use, allowing staff to focus on resident care. The only EHR platform created by a senior living physician and a former Apple engineering leader, August Health is known for improving care quality, simplifying compliance, and providing first-of-its-kind insights and analytics. Communities across the country rely on August Health, including leading operators such as Priority Life Care, Bickford Senior Living, Claiborne Senior Living, Koelsch Communities, and Westmont Living. Learn more at augusthealth.com.

About ASHA

Based in Washington, DC, the American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA) represents approximately 500 organizations involved in the financing, development, and operation of the full spectrum of housing and services for older adults — including active adult, independent living, assisted living, memory care, and continuing care (or life plan) communities. ASHA’s members, both for-profit and not-for-profit, collectively own and/or operate approximately 750,000 senior living units across the United States. ASHA is focused on legislative and regulatory advocacy, and the organization supports research and national initiatives that advance high quality services for older adults so they can live with dignity in the setting of their choice.

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