Argentum Launches Strategic Vision for Senior Living, Offering New Strategies for Building Long-Term Success

(ALEXANDRIA, Va.) – Argentum, the voice of America’s senior living communities, has unveiled a new strategic vision aimed at extending the success of the past three decades in offering older Americans non-institutional long-term care now and well into the future.

The vision is built on the foundation of People. Trust. Choice.

“The pandemic changed the senior living industry, challenging our communities, both residents and staff, like never before but at the same time instilled a sense of duty and accomplishment in how we protected lives and built resiliency. As we emerge from this time, Argentum and its partners launched a strategic planning process to assess where we have been and identify where we are going,” said James Balda, Argentum president and chief executive officer.

Argentum stressed that the strategic vision seeks to lift the sector as a whole and is not dedicated to the association’s membership. “Our plan is to engage, develop, and support 2 million career opportunities in the profession,” Balda said. “The goals are also to improve policymaker perceptions of the senior living industry and to increase access to the senior living product.”

The three big ideas — people, trust, and choice — are what the industry needs to get right to be successful. Crafted over the course of a year under the leadership of the Argentum Strategic Planning Task Force, the Strategic Plan benefits from the wisdom of hundreds of Argentum members and other stakeholders who participated in interview sessions at events and in other venues, Balda said.

Briefly, the plan intends to:

Develop Our People

Expand the pipeline and retention of qualified and diverse talent to meet the needs of a growing senior population.

• Expand and promote career pathways and pipeline through strategic partnerships, culminating in apprenticeships, incumbent worker training, and recruitment and retention
• Engage the “total career opportunity” through supportive programs for workers
• Advance policy solutions to expand the workforce pipeline and enhance retention

Measure What Matters

Demonstrate our value and maintain trust with residents, families, workers, partners, policymakers, and the public through data, transparency, and best practices

• Define and facilitate the collection and dissemination of quality data
• Strengthen the state regulatory framework by advancing best practices and industry accreditation around health and safety
• Establish industry “brand protection” opportunities/programs

Tell Our Story

Advocate and increase our impact as the voice of the senior living industry.

• Educate policymakers on the value of senior living.
• Provide members with research, tools, and messaging to attract talent
• Provide members with research, tools, and messaging to attract residents

Increase Access

Facilitate the curation of new solutions and offerings to improve access to senior living communities.

• Drive policy solutions to support senior living and healthcare partnership
• Develop policy solutions to support expansion and affordability of senior living product
• Curate technology and resources to improve customer experience and workforce recruitment/retention

Read more on the plan and view related videos here.

About Argentum:

Argentum is the leading national association exclusively dedicated to supporting companies operating professionally managed, resident-centered senior living communities and the older adults and families they serve. Since 1990, Argentum has advocated for choice, independence, dignity, and quality of life for all older adults. Argentum’s programs and initiatives are driven by its membership. For more information about joining Argentum, please visit argentum.org/membership. Learn more at argentum.org.

Media Contact:

Patrick Connole, Content Director & Editor
ARGENTUM | Expanding Senior Living
703-599-7412 | pconnole@argentum.org