✨✨General Discussions

A “crazy” idea that deserves serious attention: quarterly open board meetings where residents can hear financial realities, ask questions, and build trust. Katherine Pearson highlights Scott Townsley’s argument that transparency is not a burden but a safeguard—especially as CCRCs face market change, insolvencies, and residents’ growing need for confidence in governance and stewardship. Read this thoughtful piece now and consider sharing.

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Richmond, Shreve

NaCCRA Board Member & VP

Forum Moderator

Thank you Richmond for this timely discussion. Rather than a "crazy idea", Mr. Townsley's focus on transparency seems like as sound an idea as one can find these days. Add to this the sometimes "crazy" and frequently missing but essential ingredient of "trust", and we may be putting our finger on two Key Performance Indictors (KPI's) for CCRC success in the 21st Century.

The shifting CCRC demographics toward Baby Boomers and their seeming inclination toward greater engagement suggests that the criteria for CCRC success is necessarily shifting as well. The easy availability of huge data bases with which to do side-by-side CCRC comparisons may be just the tip of the information iceberg that current and prospective CCRC residents will have available to them. It may be safe to assume it will not be long until the relative "transparency" with which a CCRC board and management team conduct a CCRC's business, including the "trust" they either do, or do not engender in that process, become key comparative performance indicators in the CCRC business. 

Just yesterday I was able to generate a fairly detailed AI report comparing my own CCRC to the "top rated" CCRC''s in the region. The data base already includes certain transparency indictors. Indicators of trust are beginning to show up as well. They are already showing up in routine CCRC resident surveys, which of course means they are "discoverable" by AI and prospective residents. 

It is interesting to note that in 1984 Pennsylvania was an "early adaptor" in the regulatory environment, in that case in the matter of transparency. That same year I was appointed "receiver" and Acting CEO of a health care organization that fell under the jurisdiction of the PA Dept. of Insurance. Certain progressive PA "oversight" (aka "transparency") regulations enabled the Commonwealth to intervene fairly quickly, thereby essentially protecting the health care services to which folks were entitled.

I wanted to add a few words about how transparency can be done well. Here at Plymouth Harbor in Sarasota, FL we are a non-profit stand-alone CCRC. Our Board of Trustees (Board of Directors) includes three residents (elected by the residents) who have full voting rights and participate in ALL Board meetings. A resident’s term on the Board is three years. 

Our management has taken a very open approach to almost all matters. We have a Resident Association Finance Committee (approximately 12 residents) that receives a detailed financial briefing from our CFO every month – a few days after the Board of Trustees receives the same data. This is a complete review covering all accounting measurements and information, as well as key indicators like Days Cash on Hand, Operating Margins, Employee Retention Rates, Investment Performance, etc. Committee members can ask questions of the CFO about any aspect of our financial condition. Our CFO and CEO are very candid and open. Only salaries and employee performance ratings are off limits.

Our Residents Association also has other committees such as Dining, Information Technology, Health, Programs, Gratuities, Welcoming, etc and management maintains the same level of transparency when interfacing with these resident committees.

Our management also has a professional survey conducted each year of residents and employees, and those results are shared with ALL residents. Additionally, quarterly CEO meetings and monthly informal meetings with our senior management provide residents an opportunity to ask questions on any topic. Transparency is the normal standard.

Although it sounds idyllic, there are occasional issues that can generate friction between management and residents. But for the vast majority of the time, our management is open, candid, and transparent. And residents appreciate and have benefited from this approach.

Although I have been a resident here for eight years (and served for three years on our Board of Trustees), I must admit that we current residents are the beneficiaries of the management-resident cooperation developed over many years. This year we are celebrating our 60^th anniversary as a CCRC.

And we have much to celebrate…