2life Communities Ceo To Retire In Leadership Transition Planned For October

2Life Communities is undergoing a leadership transition later this year.

Leader Amy Schectman is retiring from her post as Saul and Gitta Kurlat CEO in October and current 2Life President Lizbeth Heyer is assuming the organization’s top leadership role

Heyer has since joining the organization in 2014 led multiple efforts, including the development, acquisition, and modernization of more than 1,000 subsidized apartments and the integration of a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) partnership into the organization’s strategy.

“I am incredibly proud to lead 2Life into the future at this pivotal time, as the need for affordable senior housing is greater than ever, and the social safety nets our seniors rely on face immense challenges,” Heyer said in a press release about the planned transition

Schectman has since 2010 led the Brighton, Massachusetts-based nonprofit senior living provider in its mission to expand housing and care options for underserved older adults. The organization today has 12 communities in the Boston area and serves over 2,000 older adults.

Among the organization’s newest endeavors is Opus, a 172-apartment continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in Newton, Massachusetts, that has a model tailored to help older adults afford senior housing through more efficient services and volunteerism.

Looking back on her 40-year career, Schectman said her time working for former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis sent her on a path of “always believing in leadership and the power of mission-driven leadership,”noting that when run properly, government can be “a force for justice, equality and goodness.”

Schectman played an important role in launching 2Life’s Opus model that created a cost-effective senior living solution for the middle market.

She described the launch and success of the Opus model as a “moral imperative” for the industry, providing senior living housing, services and care to “solid middle class” folks that were unable to amass wealth to afford luxury senior housing.

“The path to optimal aging has three components, lifelong economic security, social connection and the ability to navigate the health and home care system,” Schectman said. “I think we’re at the cutting edge of figuring it out.”

Volunteerism is a key part of the Opus model, with all residents pledging to conduct at least 10 hours of volunteer service around the community to give back, something Schectman called a “defining feature” of the Opus brand due to the depth of experience older adults bring with them when they move into a community.

By supporting middle market senior living goals, Schectman said the 2Life model has been able to help older adults live “longer, healthier, happier and more joyful lives,” providing care services and programming to older adults in a cost-effective, middle market model.

“We discovered a few ways to crack the code,” Schectman said of the Opus model, noting that the organization created an upfront fee used directly for covering construction debt that allows 2Life to keep monthly fees low for residents.

While the industry grapples with affordability challenges, Schectman said it will be important for senior living providers to figure out middle market availability without diminishing services. She hopes the Opus brand is a leading example of a successful middle market product that could be replicated, despite the middle market being “really hard” to navigate.

“I can tell you it’s not going to be a money maker,” Schectman said of the middle market. “You have to be really mission-driven and it takes a lot of risk.”

Typically when investors take risks, there’s a chance of high reward in the form of strong financial returns. But those returns look different in the middle market, Schectman said, noting that they come in the form of “emotional, physical and social” rewards for helping older adults thrive as they age.

While she doesn’t believe the middle market effort has been an abject failure in recent years, Schectman said much work is needed to improve senior living options for folks unable to afford affluent pricing for housing and care.

Following the Covid-19 pandemic, Schectman said older adults interested in living at 2Life properties were more open to congregate living and building social connections due to the loneliness of the isolating days of 2020 and 2021.

Moving forward, Schectman sees a new “reality” ahead for senior living providers, from how housing and care are funded—potentially with more government assistance—in the future.

“If we don’t invest in senior housing, we’re going to be investing a lot more in Medicaid nursing homes that people don’t want to live in instead of places that keep people healthier for longer,” Schectman said.

Schectman said she’s looking forward to spending more time with her three grandchildren, but she did say that she would keep “my mind open” for new opportunities as it relates to senior care.Just don’t expect her to join another C-suite anytime soon.

“I don’t imagine I will stop caring and wanting to help anyone who really wants to deal with the middle market,” Schectman said.

The post 2Life Communities CEO to Retire in Leadership Transition Planned for October appeared first on Senior Housing News.