In my previous blog post, I talked in general terms about the input residents would have in the initial phase of strategic planning. We now know that the input will be solicited in a set of 90-minute, 10-resdient sessions that will take place Tuesday-Friday of next week (May 6-9). Residents can sign up until today (Sunday, May 4), at 9 p.m. The link to do so is here.
It now appears that these sessions may be one of the few (and possibly the only) opportunities most residents will have to provide input to the strategic planning process. In other words, next week is our main chance to be heard. Don’t miss it! This blog post is meant to assist residents in taking advantage of that opportunity.
There are two parts to this blog post: first, a description of what is happening next week; and second, some ideas about a central theme of this phase of strategic planning: an assessment of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT). The second part of this post, dealing with SWOT, will of necessity be influenced by my personal opinions, and I’m sure many readers will have assessments that are different from mine and those that I heard about from other residents.
Part 1. The resident-input sessions.
Residents have the opportunity to sign up for any one of 22 sessions taking place next week. Most are in-person sessions, but a few are available on Zoom. Each is scheduled for one of three time slots: 10:30-12:00, 1:30-3:00 or 4:00-5:30. Regardless of your campus, you can choose a session at Kendal, at Crosslands, or (for several sessions) on Zoom. As of this writing (Sunday at 1 p.m.) three of the 22 sessions were already full.
Each session is geared toward collecting input on one of four themes (called “Future Trends”): Changing Healthcare, Support to Age Confidently, Enabling Technology, or Global Issues. The descriptions of these topics (copied from the website) are as follows:
Future Trend #1 Changing Healthcare. Healthcare has been evolving rapidly, even before the pandemic. Many procedures that previously required hospitalization or skilled nursing care are now performed on an outpatient basis; telemedicine usage has increased; and chronic condition management is often integrated into daily routines. Participants in this session are encouraged to consider other trends they have encountered or read about regarding the current and future delivery of healthcare.
Future Trend #2: Support to Age Confidently. Professionals in aging services are grappling with a significant demographic challenge of a rapidly increasing aging population, alongside a decrease in the working-age population. Concurrently, seniors are looking for ways to age confidently and are considering the support services that will help them do so. In this session, participants are asked to consider what it takes to age confidently, what services are likely to be needed, and innovative ways to achieve this knowing the constraints of the available workforce
Future Trend #3: Enabling Technology. Whether you use technology a little or a lot, as you reflect over your lifetime, you can readily see how it has changed our lives – from the availability of information, to communicating with friends and family, to the services that make our lives more convenient. Technology like Uber, Apple Watch, and Facebook will support us as we age by enabling access to transportation, monitoring our health, and linking with others. Participants in this session are asked to consider what technology has been useful and in what ways technology should be incorporated to help us age successfully.
Future Trend #4: Global Issues. Global challenges like sustainability, climate change, and shifting political landscapes have broad effects on all of us. How will these and other global issues affect senior living and the communities we serve and live in.
The schedule for the sessions is given in the following tables. “Covid Vac” means there will be no session at that hour because it conflicts with a scheduled vaccination opportunity. The “Zoom” sessions, like all the sessions, are not restricted to residents of a specific campus.
| Kendal | |||
| 10:30 – 12:00 | 1:30 – 3:00 | 4:00 – 5:30 | |
| Tues | Aging | Technology (Zoom) | Global |
| Wed | Healthcare | Covid Vac | Aging (Zoom) |
| Thurs | Technology | Global | Healthcare |
| Fri | Aging | Technology | Healthcare |
| Crosslands | |||
| 10:30 – 12:00 | 1:30 – 3:00 | 4:00 – 5:30 | |
| Tues | Healthcare | Aging | Technology |
| Wed | Covid Vac | Global | Healthcare |
| Thurs | Aging | Technology | Global (Zoom) |
| Fri | Healthcare (Zoom) | Aging | Technology |
Topics that don’t fit. What if you are concerned about a topic that is important to KCC’s future but that doesn’t fit into one of these themes? My advice would be: pick a topic that you do at least care about to some extent, join that session, and then tell the moderator that you want to make sure the topic you care about is added to the record of the session.
Part 2: Thoughts about SWOT.
A major focus for resident input is what we think are KCC’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis) as they impact KCC’s strategy in the coming years. In this process, there is no need for discussion of current issues that can be resolved through existing channels. The focus should be on where KCC needs to be going.
The “opportunities and threats” aspects of SWOT are obviously forward-looking and need to be covered in these sessions. But the “strengths and weaknesses” can be important too: the strengths, because we want to make sure they aren’t lost in the future; and the weaknesses, because we may come up with a strategy that fixes them.
Don’t be shy about expressing your personal SWOT ideas in your session. Residents probably know a lot more about life at KCC than the board (or even the management) does. It’s our job to tell them what we experience.
In what follows, I will provide some ideas for what a SWOT analysis of KCC might contain. Of course, this is all opinion. Much of it is my own opinion, but a good bit of it has been shared with me in conversations with other residents.
Here, then are some opinions about various items a KCC SWOT analysis might include.
Strengths:
- Great reputation; long waiting list
- Good staff in most positions
- Good ability to retain staff
- Good relationships among admin, staff, residents
- Thoughtful approach to “wandering” residents with dementia (no locked wards)
- Montessori and other creative approaches to dementia
- Impressive nursing and hospice care
- Remarkable resident leadership & initiatives in many areas
- Residents active in recruiting new prospects
- Excellent grounds and surrounding natural areas
- Financially strong
- Good start at sustainability efforts
Weaknesses
- Lack of sufficient support for “life of service” residents
- Insufficient emphasis on management and planning “with, not for” residents
- Top administrators not very visible; none who serve as “point person” for each campus
- Confusion around “community” vs. campus: to what extent are all four campuses the same or different?
- Unclear strategy for achieving resident diversity
- Procurement policies could be improved in some cases
- Thin staffing in some areas
- Uncertain role of Cartmel & Conniston
- No specific climate commitment
- No real plan for replacing aging IL units
- Failure to provide expected technology (e.g. campus-wide WiFi)
- Failure to keep “insurance” financial reserves separate from operating funds
- Some older housing has poor insulation and leaky envelopes
- Medical records system not adequate
- Marketing is too local
- More resident involvement in marketing needed (e.g. open houses)
- Some residents are reluctant to move to assisted living when the time comes
- Prospects should know they are expected to contribute to the community
- Communication (e.g. contractors who are confused about what they are supposed to do)
Opportunities
- Focus on sustainability leadership among CCRCs
- Leadership in Montessori & related dementia programs
- Make unique character of KCC clearer in marketing materials
- Take more advantage of resident expertise, especially in administration
- Offer a separate “attainable” community
- Make use of robotics where appropriate
- Improve transportation, particularly (as technology matures) autonomous vehicles
Threats
- Housing market collapse
- Loss of non-profit status
- Overworking and overwhelming staff
- Weather catastrophe
- Infrastructure failures
- Increasing difficulty in hiring and retaining staff
What would you add? Which of these do you disagree with? Let me (and other readers) know in the “Leave a comment” section below. And don’t forget to press the “Comment” button when you’re done, or your typing will be lost.
On the Kendal Journey 
Hello, George,
Thank you for posting this latest edition of ON THE KENDAL JOURNEY regarding the Strategic Planning process.
Your list of suggested SWOT points is very thorough and well taken. I have none to add.
From our conversations in the past, and from a recent email which I sent to you, you already know how dubious I am about most strategic plans.
Too often, management rushes through the process — as they are doing this coming week in four short spurts — leaving many stakeholders out in the cold. I do hope that many Kendal residents will rally against this “Top Down/Command & Control” process.
More than that, I think the #1 weakness at Kendal needs to be highlighted: that is the lack of visibility of management. I do not think there is much of a thorough understanding of life at Kendal, or management would be much more WITH residents than simply FOR residents — we are not second-time infants.
Frankly, I place little stock in the movement of other CCRC communities’ becoming glitzy, flashy, and run like a Carnival Cruise.
The Quaker Spirit of Kendal runs CONTRARY to the desires and goals of many Americans. I think we DO NOT want to go the way of a lot of current thinking.
Of course, I have a long-standing trip beginning on May 6 for 10 days in CT with my sister, and the irony is the fact that I will NOT represent for any of these sessions.
I will ZOOM in when I can. I give you my permission to quote me at will. GOOD LUCK and many thanks for your leadership.
Peter Buttenheim Kendal #133
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George, A personal note. I don’t expect to participate in this planning process because I don’t have the energy for it at this time, though I think it has all the importance you present. I will hold the people participating in the light. That’s all I think I can do. I’ll try to keep my mouth shut, too. Thank you very much for what you do to help KCC revitalize the original vision that made Lois and I want to be part of Kendal when we came here. In gratitude and friendship, Gray
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Um. Just now reading this and it’s just past the deadline. I find it puzzling that your blog is the only communication on the opportunity to join these groups. It would seem that the administration might have issued something. Or did I miss it?
Thank you for “On the Kendal Journey.” It’s the best information available to us relatively new residents.
Best regards, Donna Brennan
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I think the only way to find out about these sessions was the KRA website. And notices on the website appeared only in the last few days.
Since many of the sessions did not fill up completely, you may still be able to join one even though the deadline has passed. I think Betty Warner would know about that.
— George
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