Setting the Standard in Assisted Living
An Interview with Steven Vick of Alterra
 By
midpoint this year, Alterra Healthcare Corp. was recognized by the American
Seniors Housing Association (ASHA) as the second-largest senior-housing owner
organization in the United States. In a supplement to National Real Estate
Investor, ASHA indicated that Alterra owned 453 properties, with 21,119 units.
Today those numbers have grown.
The Milwaukee, Wis.-based company was originally called Alternative Living
Services, but changed its name in 1999. By combining a derivative of the word
"alter," meaning to change, with "terra," meaning
foundation, the company's new name became Alterra. It is, by its own accord, the
nation's largest provider of assisted-living healthcare services and the largest
operator of freestanding Alzheimer's and other related dementia residences.
Assisted Living Success talked with Alterra's chief operating officer,
Steven Vick, about the company's mission and extraordinary growth.
ALSuccess: When and why was Alterra established?
Vick: Alterra was founded in 1981. We recognized a gap in the
continuum of housing and personal-care options for the frail elderly. Realizing
the growth in the elderly population who would require assistance with
activities of daily living, we believed those needs could be addressed in a
residential, home- like environment.
ALSuccess: What is Alterra's philosophy of care?
Vick: Our philosophy of care is embodied by our motto of Aging with
Choice and encompasses five objectives:
- To offer a secure, home-like alternative to other long-term-care options.
- To treat each individual as a unique person while preserving personal
dignity and rights.
- To provide an environment that enhances quality of life and permits
residents to function in an active and meaningful way.
- To sustain family members with supportive services and information to
alleviate anxiety concerning their loved one.
- To create innovative programming, providing caring staff and maintaining
an uncompromising focus on quality service.
This philosophy, and our mission to set the standard for maximizing quality
of life and dignity of older adults, has never changed. Today, it is stronger
than ever in our goal to accommodate the increased acuity of assisted-living
residents and not allow their right to choose where they live to be compromised.
ALSuccess: Did Alterra initially plan to become the largest operator of
freestanding Alzheimer's facilities, or was that an outgrowth of the
assisted-living industries' needs?
Vick: Becoming the nation's largest operator of assisted-living
residences and the nation's largest operator of freestanding Alzheimer's
residences really came as a result of recognizing the needs of the older
population to have a more dignified and caring environment than traditionally
had been available to them. This need, and our company's passion to create
alternatives for older adults, fueled itself to the point that we simply felt
the need to make this alternative available to as many people as possible.
Today, we are thankful that the development environment was right in the 1990s
to fulfill that goal, putting us in a position to provide this homelike
environment to more than 17,000 residents in 471 residences every year.
ALSuccess: When faced with several options, why should a consumer select
an Alterra facility as an assisted-living residence? What does it uniquely
offer?
Vick: There are many reasons to choose Alterra, including our
purpose-built residence design that has been copied by many other providers.
However, we feel that the real advantage to an Alterra residence is two-fold:
First, our mission drives us to continue to protect resident choice, despite
increased acuity. Obviously, we operate within a framework of state regulation
that puts parameters on our level of care. But within that framework, we are
continually supported by our residents and families as we set the standard among
other providers. This accommodates the changing needs of our residents. Many of
our residents have come from other assisted-living communities that do not wish
to commit the staff and resources to take care of those increased needs. We feel
we have a distinct niche among providers in this regard.
Secondly, our scale has enabled us to do many things that set us apart. Our
employee-training effort is monumental in scale and reach. Leveraging our best
residences, employees go to learning centers throughout the country and
participate in core training for their first 90 days of employment, in order to
be the best caregivers in the industry. We offer more employment opportunities
for existing staff than any other provider. I believe all of this, when you
consider we are accommodating over 17,000 residents on a daily basis, makes us
the most experienced provider in the industry. This is no more evident than in
our Clare Bridge and Clare Bridge Cottage memory-care residences where we have
more than 5,500 residents with Alzheimer's or other dementia.
ALSuccess: Where are most Alterra assisted-living communities developed
and physically located?
Vick: We currently operate in 28 states. Our development strategy has
been to cluster residences in distinct markets and states so that we can operate
more effectively. This means that in 20 of those states we have more than 10
residences and, in many states, we have more than 20 residences.
ALSuccess: What can you tell us about the much-talked-about increase of
Alzheimer's disease in the general population?
Vick: One in 10 people over the age of 65 and nearly half of those
over 85 have Alzheimer's disease. Today, 4 million Americans have Alzheimer's
disease. That number will jump to 14 million by the year 2050. So many people
misunderstand this population and their need to maintain a dignified
environment. Maintaining their independence and nurturing them as people is an
extremely rewarding experience for us and their family members.
ALSuccess: What does Alterra offer for the Alzheimer's patient and
dementia patient? Are there special considerations and, if so, how does Alterra
meet them?
Vick: Certainly, we have focused on a purpose-built residence design
with many features that meet the needs of those with dementia. Our designs are
meant to minimize confusion and agitation. Color-coded neighborhoods, visual
cues and ample area for wandering are some of the key building-design features.
But again, the building design is only part of creating an environment
conducive to nurturing self-esteem and maximizing quality of life. Alterra
employees in memory-care residences receive additional training to accommodate
this special resident. We focus on knowing each resident in a way that
encourages programming that nurtures his individuality. While many may restrict
some of the behaviors that result from Alzheimer's, we try to nurture many of
these in a way that allows them to continue to be as independent as they can be.
ALSuccess: What is Crystal Health Services? What is Alterra Essentials?
Vick: Crystal Health Services and Alterra Essentials are two ways that
we meet residents at their point of need. Residents may choose Crystal Health
Services for their prescription-drug needs. Alterra Essentials provides a choice
for personal products and durable medical goods. These services, along with
partnerships for other ancillary services such as home health, hospice and
physical therapy, simply allow for residents and families to get the services
they need as easily as possible and maintain their independence.
ALSuccess: What are the future objectives for the company?
Vick: We have accomplished so much in the last few years, including
the growth of our number of residences, unification of them under one brand and
insuring that the infrastructure is in place to support them. With all of those
pieces in place, our focus is really on quality of service and increasing the
value of our product to existing residents through continued innovative programs
and services. We are evaluating everything we do by whether it creates customer
satisfaction, employee satisfaction or operational effectiveness. We don't spend
much time looking to the future in terms of expansion and growth. We feel that
our platform is monumental in the industry, and our responsibility is to
continue to set industry standards for how we take care of each resident.
I'm sure that the industry will continue to grow in terms of number of
residences and capacity, but assisted living has now become a broad, consumer
mainstream option for older adults. This demands that our responsibility be to
continue to improve the products and services so that more and more of our
nation's elderly have the availability to live in an environment where they
choose where and how they live.
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