When Washington state-based Wesley embarked on a total redevelopment of its more than 80-year-old campus, executives reached into their history of mission and service to target a growing area of need: the middle market.
Founded by a Methodist pastor in 1944, Wesley is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization affiliated with the Pacific Northwest Conference of the United Methodist Church. Today, the organization consists of the original campus in Des Moines, WA, and three other campuses within a 10-mile radius, with a fifth campus under development.
Two campuses offer the full continuum of care as continuing care retirement / life plan communities, whereas the others are what Executive Director Kevin Anderson refers to as the “mini continuum” of senior living: independent living, assisted living and memory care. All of the organization’s campuses also provide home health, home care and hospice services.
Anderson, speaking Wednesday during a LeadingAge policy update call, said that Welsey always has operated as a CCRC for middle-income individuals, but during a repositioning of two campuses, the company decided to really target the middle-income markets, which comprises 60% of the population it serves.
The company also provides for the low-income population by setting aside its older, smaller studio apartments for rent. Anderson said the company couldn’t sell those studio units, so it rolled them into its social accountability program to provide an option for a growing population of potential residents. And studio residents have all of the same amenities available to them as other residents, minus the guarantee of care associated with a typical life plan community.
Wesley also takes half of the rent received from those low-inome residents and puts half of that amount into its Des Moines campus, with the other half going into its Wesley Foundation Bishop McConnell program to supplement any needs those residents have down the road for assisted living or home care.
Investing in the middle market
For those looking to replicate Wesley’s success, Anderson said, much goes into making a community suitable for the middle market, and he acknowledged that it is becoming more difficult for anyone to build anything anywhere. He said that operators should focus on how to make a building “respectable” without spending money on things that don’t matter to residents and potential residents.
“A roof is a roof,” he said. “We’d rather put money into interior finishes than a roof line. Put your money into accommodations and nicer amenities than what we do in basic necessities — like a roof.”
The formula is simple, he said, and involves looking at where people grew up and their expectations.
“Middle-income people want a fair product for a fair price,” he said.
Looking to the future, Anderson said, Wesley’s expansion plans include staying within a 30-mile geographic area to control quality and costs. Future buildings, he added, will be a combination of full-continuum and mini-continuum campuses, along with stand-alone independent living. Having the benefit of proximity will allow the provider to continue to offer services and house a home health office at multiple sites, Anderson said.
“What ties it all together for us is home- and community-based services,” he said. “We’re able to provide services all across our campuses and in the community in a very geographic area.”
