By: Shelby Grebbin | May 1, 2024
Click here to read the entirety of Adam’s interview in Skilled Nursing News.

As many nursing homes have been forced to close due to economic hardship, a greater degree of specialization in back-office function and front-office work is proving to be necessary to maintain longevity, especially for small operators.

This is according to Adam Berman, President and CEO of Legacy Lifecare, which provides back-end management services to seven non-profit providers across New England.

Berman worked with the very first urban Green House through Legacy’s founding organization – Chelsea Jewish Lifecare. Based on a model designed by the Green House Project, which is dedicated to creating alternative living environments to traditional nursing home care facilities, Chelsea Jewish has condominium-style Green Houses and caters to populations typically underserved by traditional skilled nursing facilities, such as individuals with ALS, multiple sclerosis, and those requiring ventilator-dependent care. Additionally, Chelsea Jewish has multiple campuses offering skilled nursing, assisted living, and various other community-based services.

In creating Legacy Lifecare and working with partners to provide back-office support for nonprofit affiliates, Berman has learned that such support can make all the difference in keeping smaller operations afloat.

“Larger organizations, primarily for-profit but also some nonprofit ones, have been able to leverage their managerial infrastructure, providing them with advantages in areas such as IT systems, marketing, and relationship building with referral networks and hospital systems,” Berman told Skilled Nursing News. “They are more agile and can move faster, which puts nonprofits at a disadvantage.”

Berman said that to an extent, the closure of nursing homes represents a societal shift toward home care, independent living, and assisted living, which he believes should be celebrated. And yet, he worries that without the specific services nursing homes provide, there won’t be enough beds for patients who need them.

“I am just very passionate about what we’re doing and really want to make sure that both nonprofits and any value-driven for-profits are supported,” he said. “There are many value-driven and family-owned smaller organizations, small regional chains, that really do the right thing. We want to support those organizations and nonprofits to ensure that this industry has a very bright future.”

Click here to read the entirety of Adam’s interview in Skilled Nursing News.