"Anthem Memory Care is made up of memory care professionals who have successfully developed and leased more than 60 new assisted living communities. Anthem Memory Care has operated over 1,500 beds dedicated to dementia and Alzheimer’s care and founded more than 12,000 senior care units overall. Having established our flagship communities in California and Colorado, Anthem is committed to creating a network of secured assisted living communities where the highest quality healthcare, housing, and memory care services are consistently provided to our residents." (Source: http://anthemmemorycare.com)
The following letter was mailed to residents in the area in response to some of the questions and concerns that have been raised so far...
Anthem Memory Care is an Oregon-based company expanding their business model into Illinois.
While undoubtedly providing a much-needed service, Anthem Memory Care is nonetheless a business as evidenced by discussions held during Senior Housing News’ 2015 Summit in Chicago as reported this article ...
(Source: http://seniorhousingnews.com/2015/07/16/senior-housing-execs-now-see-life-or-death-stakes-in-development/)
(Source: http://seniorhousingnews.com/2015/07/16/senior-housing-execs-now-see-life-or-death-stakes-in-development/)
‘Life or death’ decisions
“It all starts with the right market,” said Mark Rockwell, principal of Anthem Memory Care, adding that one pocket of a market may have an unmet need while just a few miles away sits an oversupply of product. “You will live or die by your market selection. You can’t operate yourself out of a bad market.” The Lake Oswego, Ore.-based company has locations throughout Colorado and California and recently expanded into Illinois. "It’s more foolish than ever for operators to assume they will win a large share of the market just by being a better operator than the competition," he said. “While great care and operations are certainly an advantage, it will not get you a full building if there are no residents who want to move in,” he said. Anthem practices a three-tiered approach to market research that includes performing in-house research, outsourcing research and then outsourcing research to a final third-party. The local labor pool is one of the many aspects considered in this research, Rockwell explained. “We have passed on a couple opportunities where we thought there was an unmet need but [we saw] that within that geographic area it was difficult to find qualified help,” he said. |
Meet MARK ROCKWELL
(Source: http://www.anthemmemorycare.com/management) Mark Rockwell leads the firm and is responsible for Anthem's growth and mission. Anthem's Strategic Growth Mark Rockwell, Principal, directs the vision for Anthem strategic growth. Mark is the main architect of the financial strategy that will facilitate Anthem's growth. Given Anthem's commitment to providing "best in class" memory care, Mark is an ardent proponent of the organization's mantra: "Anthem Memory Care - it's all about focus" and Anthem's value statement: "Real people, real needs, real care, and real rewards." Rockwell has been intimately involved in senior healthcare and senior housing, with a specific focus on dementia care, since 2007. |
But Proceed with Caution
However, even the senior housing market professionals have concerns about facility design and over-development as reported in this article...
(Source: http://seniorhousingnews.com/2015/01/29/4-ways-memory-care-design-is-missing-the-mark/)
(Source: http://seniorhousingnews.com/2015/01/29/4-ways-memory-care-design-is-missing-the-mark/)
This uptick in construction is the result of two things, said Mark Rockwell, principal and CEO of Oregon-based Anthem Memory Care, during a recent Irving Levin Associates webinar.
“One, there’s a pronounced growth in need. Since dementia is a disease of aging, the incidence rate for dementia increases as the elderly population increases,” he said.
In fact, by the year 2050, the number of Americans 65-plus is expected to almost double, and those with Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, may nearly triple, from 5 million to as many as 16 million, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
And the senior housing industry has taken note.
“There is a real recognition about dementia that wasn’t in place, say, 15 to 20 years ago,” Rockwell said. “So there’s a greater sense that we need specialized care, a respect for people suffering from dementia, and as a result we’re [building] new, creative communities.”
Still, he cautions that the theory “build it and they will come” has contributed to overbuilding, and says developers and operators must be cautious when identifying market opportunities.
“It’s safe to say five to seven years ago you could find unmet needs in every city in the U.S.; I don’t think that’s the case anymore,” he said. “Operators need to be extremenly careful in identifying the market.”
“One, there’s a pronounced growth in need. Since dementia is a disease of aging, the incidence rate for dementia increases as the elderly population increases,” he said.
In fact, by the year 2050, the number of Americans 65-plus is expected to almost double, and those with Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, may nearly triple, from 5 million to as many as 16 million, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
And the senior housing industry has taken note.
“There is a real recognition about dementia that wasn’t in place, say, 15 to 20 years ago,” Rockwell said. “So there’s a greater sense that we need specialized care, a respect for people suffering from dementia, and as a result we’re [building] new, creative communities.”
Still, he cautions that the theory “build it and they will come” has contributed to overbuilding, and says developers and operators must be cautious when identifying market opportunities.
“It’s safe to say five to seven years ago you could find unmet needs in every city in the U.S.; I don’t think that’s the case anymore,” he said. “Operators need to be extremenly careful in identifying the market.”
Prime Location
Anthem Memory Care has apparently identified the Village of Oak Lawn as a "market with unmet need" for its "oversupply of product" and is proposing to build and operate an approximately 43,000 square foot, two-story memory care facility that will be surrounded by a single-family residential neighborhood, a school and two churches rather than operating in an area that is more mixed-use, transitional or commercial elsewhere within the Village of Oak Lawn.