Nucare Senior Living Turns Focus To Operations After Doubling Portfolio In 2025

NuCare Senior Living added 12 new communities in new markets last year. This year, the company is turning its focus to solidifying operations.

That’s according to CEO Joel Moyer, a former executive with Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD), Encore Senior Living and the Wisconsin Assisted Living Association who founded the operator in 2023.

In 2026, NuCare now operates 24 properties in Florida, Minnesota and Wisconsin after adding 12 communities under management last year. In the past, Moyer has described NuCare as a “boutique” provider of assisted living and memory care.

“We grew significantly in 2025 and now in 2026 we’re focused on getting things in order at these properties, getting them standardized and up-to-speed on operations moving forward,” Moyer told SHN.

This effort on standardization across newly onboarded properties includes adapting to new electronic health record (EHR) and electronic medication administration record (eMAR) systems for on-site staff. NuCare is also in the process of evaluating integrated fall management technology and resident health monitoring to help improve quality of life for residents at its communities, Moyer said.

“Our focus continues to be on memory care and higher-acuity residents oftentimes in smaller settings, and because of that we’re always looking to find innovative technology to assist in our health care monitoring efforts,” Moyer said.

NuCare leaders are also reviewing a new AI-supported medical assessment process to bring clinical and medication data to bear for improving quality of care delivery and coordination. The assessment tool uses resident health and engagement data to create a clinical resident profile “in a matter of minutes instead of hours” to provide in-depth care analysis for residents.

To find new staff qualified to work in NuCare communities, Moyer said the company now relies on AI-supported recruitment software able to compile candidates, while also adjusting pay scales for team members from administrative to clinical roles.

“We’ve made sure to reward those that are doing well and that when we recruit, we’ve sought the best-in-class and we’ve seen that make a big difference in our overall performance,” Moyer said.

Last year when the company expanded to Florida, NuCare partnered with a senior living consultant in the state to facilitate the transition of operations under the operator’s banner, while charting regulatory and reimbursement state-related processes. A similar partnership got underway in Minnesota when NuCare created NuCare Minnesota after teaming up with two operators based in the state.

“When you put together the right leadership team, they hire the right people to provide the support for the care and the care staff and others to be able to do their jobs the correct way,” Moyer said of the company’s multi-state growth push.

The strong M&A market in 2025 could propel NuCare to more growth this year, but Moyer said the company will not expand to new states too quickly. Growing in new states dependent upon finding qualified executive leadership talent with knowledge of operating locally. Without those things, any expansion would “struggle through the start up process,” Moyer said.

Due to increased M&A demand, the state licensing process in Wisconsin has extended from a typical three-month process to over nine months in some cases.

“It’s been important for us to be very selective in our growth,” Moyer said. “We’re talking to people about new opportunities for management contracts or potential acquisitions but we’re more selective than ever.”

In the push to standardize operations, care and services, Moyer sees the opportunity to add new training for staff in 2026 while monitoring trends like AI use in senior living and the industry’s growing data analysis efforts.

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