After analyzing millions of Internet visits and interviewing scores of consumers, Brookdale Senior Living has built a new website based on fresh insights into what’s most important to families searching for senior care. The first phase, which is a $4 million investment, went live on brookdale.com mid-August.
“With Brookdale’s website attracting more than 500,000 visits every month, it’s imperative to make it as useful to consumers as possible,” said David Cygan, Brookdale’s senior vice president of marketing. “As the nation’s largest senior living provider, we know our website is a primary source of information, with many people coming to us first as they embark on this journey,” Cygan said. “It’s important that we offer substantive resources that make it easier to find help in evaluating senior care options.” More than 80 percent of adult children turn to the Internet when they look for care for an aging parent, according to the company’s research.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7722159-new-brookdale-senior-living-website/
Many people equate a conversation about hospice as being told they must give up. However, more than 1 million people across the nation have learned just the opposite. They’ve been touched by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s “Moments of Life: Made Possible by Hospice” campaign since its launch on May 15, 2014. The campaign’s intent is to debunk this myth, and show that hospice focuses on compassionate, person-centered care, which enables special moments and memories at the end of life for patients and loved ones.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7154752-national-hospice-and-palliative-care-organization-nhpco-moments-of-life-psa/
For a group of budding business people, living with senior citizens for five days gives impetus to their dreams. It also encourages innovation that could improve the lives of the aging. They are all participants in Brookdale’s Entrepreneur in Residence program, part of the company’s “Rewiring Aging” initiative to enrich seniors’ lives through technology. Recently launched by America’s largest senior living provider, the program offers those entrepreneurs developing products and services for seniors the opportunity to move in for that period of time so they can better understand the true wants and needs of the aging.
“The majority of start-ups focus on younger markets, but we have seen a growing number of entrepreneurs interested in building solutions for seniors and their families” said Andrew Smith, Brookdale’s director of strategy and innovation. “The 80 and above age group is America’s fastest-growing population. We believe there’s an enormous opportunity to enhance seniors’ lives with new technologies, services, products and business models. This program gives entrepreneurs a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we hope will inspire even more innovation for the aging.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7722155-brookdale-senior-living-innovate/
NASA Federal Credit Union announced today the launch of its new Zero Down, No PMI Family Mortgage. The Family Mortgage allows a member to be a non-occupant co-borrower to assist their adult children or elderly parents with mortgage qualifying.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.multivu.com/mnr/7159651-nasa-federal-credit-union-zero-down-no-pmi-family-mortgage
AARP is announcing the winners of a unique contest that encourages filmmakers to tell the story of family caregiving through short films. The competition was launched as part of Ad Council and AARP’s National Caregiver Awareness Campaign to help reveal the hard work and dedication of the nation’s 40 million family caregivers. These stories focus on three family caregiving themes: The Changing Face of Caregiving, Roles Change, and Random Acts of Kindness for Caregivers. The winners share a $25,000 prize and the opportunity for their work to be featured on AARP and Ad Council web and social platforms.
“These three minute or shorter films really open up the world of family caregiving helping people to better understand the intense challenges as well as the deep personal rewards of caring for a loved one,” said Amy Goyer, AARP family and caregiving expert and author of the new award-winning book Juggling Life, Work, and Caregiving. “But more importantly, the stories show how much love is present in family caregiving, whether it comes from a family member, friend or even a stranger.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7607231-aarp-caregivers/
As a leader in the senior living industry, Brookdale has released “Creating Enduring Value: 2016 Sustainability Report,” the first in what will be an annual summary of progress in making a positive impact on people, places and performance. The sustainability report comes after the company established the Brookdale Sustainability Leadership Council and developed a three-year roadmap for achieving its sustainability goals.
“The core of our business approach is simple, which is that Brookdale cares,” said Andy Smith, Brookdale’s president and chief executive officer. “The sustainability practices that we have developed are an extension of our mission of caring, and they reflect our efforts to create enduring value for our stakeholders. These practices will have a significant direct impact on our residents and their families, our associates and the environment, not just now, but for generations to come. As a leader in the industry and the first operator to establish this kind of initiative, we hope to offer a model for others to follow.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7722158-brookdale-sustainability-report/
Seniors 80 and over yearn to be connected but many are not, causing a more than quarter of them to become “virtual shut-ins.” While a new survey shows use of social technology is linked to better wellbeing for people in this age group and demonstrates its potential for combating isolation, it also reveals their frustration and need for assistance in becoming part of the digital world. These findings come from a “Rewiring Aging” survey supported by Brookdale Senior Living, conducted by Kelton, a leading global insights firm in collaboration with the Stanford Center on Longevity. It is the first in-depth study of how online social networking and similar tech-based activities affect the quality of life among America’s fastest-growing demographic segment.
Fifty-eight percent of seniors surveyed believe technology can improve communication with family and friends. This belief is borne out by the findings; respondents who indicated they interact with loved ones through social technology report having higher life satisfaction and health and being more likely to attain life goals than those who do not use social technology.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7617951-brookdale-seniors-technology/
November is National Family Caregivers Month and AARP is launching a national campaign to bring awareness to the important role that family caregivers play in the lives of their loved ones. AARP's Random Acts of Kindness for Caregivers contest will begin on October 15 with the goal of encouraging people to recognize and reward caregivers - many of whom spend 18 hours per week providing care like bathing, dressing, preparing meals, administering medications, driving to doctor visits or paying bills - in small but meaningful ways.
“Caregiving may be one of the greatest expressions of love and it's woven into the lives of one in six adults,” says AARP Family and Caregiving Expert Amy Goyer, author of the new book Juggling Life, Work and Caregiving. “A staggering 40 million family caregivers provide support for loved ones and, as a caregiver myself, I know that the smallest acts of kindness - like holding a door for someone pushing a wheelchair, surprising them with flowers, or even taking a caregiver's dog for a walk - can be memorable moments in the life of a caregiver.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7607231-aarp-caregivers/
As the largest senior living provider in the country, Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD) is advancing its industry leadership role through a new national branding and communications initiative beginning today. Brookdale’s campaign is designed to provoke audiences to rethink their views of senior living and to capture the essence of the close relationships formed every day between the company's 80,000 associates and nearly 100,000 residents. As part of the campaign, the company is undertaking a broad range of initiatives to evolve the perception of senior living and demonstrate how innovative approaches and services at Brookdale can transform lives.
“We continue to move forward on our objective to develop the preeminent senior living brand, and we believe this campaign will create a cultural redefinition of the value that an innovative senior living provider can bring to people's lives,” said Will Clark, Brookdale’s senior vice president of strategy and innovation. “Brookdale is bringing new life to the traditional view of senior living. We focus our energy on enabling seniors to live their lives to the fullest – and in doing so changing the myths and perceptions of senior living. As the largest senior living provider in the country, we have the opportunity and I believe the responsibility to lead this conversation.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7646051-brookdale-launches-national-campaign/
Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway company, has implemented an internal customer satisfaction scoring system aimed at measuring the overall experience of its home loan origination process.
The internal customer satisfaction score that Vanderbilt has created is a metric calculated from surveyed responses by customers within two weeks of funding their loan. The customers are asked to give a score ranging from zero to 10 on how likely they are to recommend Vanderbilt Mortgage to family and friends based on their home loan origination experience.
“We want to be transparent about the feedback we receive from our customers,” said Eric Hamilton, president of Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance, Inc. “Continuously listening to customers’ needs in order to improve is our top priority. This scored system gives us a structured way to measure how we are doing and determine in which areas we can do better. It’s important for us to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7716456-vanderbilt-mortgage-customer-survey/
The vast majority of Americans say what they want at the end of life is to die in their own homes, as comfortable and pain-free as possible. The hospice philosophy is about making sure that a patient's death experience reflects their wishes by supporting one's life to the fullest dignity, regardless how much time remains. In fact, in many cases patients' quality of life can actually improve when they are admitted to hospice at the appropriate time.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7429131-moments-of-life-by-hospice/
Ever since Donna and John met at work three decades ago, they've had the kind of smooth, comfortable relationship that comes when attraction is accompanied by compatible interests as well as strengths and weaknesses that balance each other. They pictured their senior years as an extension of what Donna Dean calls “this nice, easy life. We didn't see the calamity that was coming.”
Brookdale Senior Living, the nation's largest dementia care provider, has created new resources for care partners as part of National Alzheimer's Awareness Month in November. The candid discussion of many of the disease's most difficult challenges includes an up-close look at Donna's and John’s lives since he developed dementia.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7722131-brookdale-alzheimers-awareness/