As 2015 comes to a close, Rod Burkett, CEO and President of Gardant Management Solutions, reflected on the company’s top highlights of the year during a recent awards ceremony at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kankakee.
Those highlights included:
Re-branding Efforts
The company announced a name change to reflect its new forward-thinking direction and anticipated expansion outside of Illinois. Gardant Management Solutions, formerly BMA Management, Ltd., continues to be a leader in assisted living. Gardant has more than 15 years of industry-acclaimed operational history in developing, managing and consulting for senior living, assisted living and memory care communities. The company also launched a new website that is more user-friendly and has a business-to-business focus.
New Property Growth and Expansion
– Gardant took over management for two communities: Beth-Anne Place in Chicago and Eagle’s View Retirement Community and Memory Care in Rantoul.
– New City Supportive Living, a Gardant community in Chicago, welcomed its first residents this year, and White Oaks at Spring Street, a Gardant memory care community that opened in late 2014, closed out its first full year.
– Memory care expansion is planned for two Gardant communities: Heritage Woods of Huntley and Heritage Woods of McHenry.
– Construction of two new Gardant communities — Lacey’s Creek Supportive Living in Downers Grove and Gateway at River City in Peoria — continued. Both buildings are expected to open in 2016.
– At the end of the year, the number of apartments managed by Gardant increased to nearly 3,800. The company expanded development and ownership partnerships, and began pre-development work on several new properties.
National Summit on Affordable Assisted Living
Nearly 40 movers, shakers and thought-leaders involved in senior living and assisted living gathered for a landmark summit on affordable assisted living. The summit, which was led by Gardant, was designed to create a national conversation about assisted living models for seniors who cannot afford many of the private-pay options available in the United States.
Political Advocacy
Gardant and the communities it manages amped up political advocacy efforts in 2015 to protect the Illinois Supportive Living Program. A major political victory occurred when the governor nixed a plan that would have increased the score that determines one’s need for an assisted living. The proposed change would have negatively impacted the state’s supportive living communities and forced many of their residents to find another place to live.
Industry Awards
Gardant received a number of industry awards this year, including:
– Argentum’s Best of the Best Award for family engagement at Gardant communities
– Rising Star Award: Sharon Hester-Johnson, Heritage Woods of Chicago
– Housing Champion honors from the Governor’s Conference on Affordable Housing: Heritage Woods of Rockford
– National Mature Media Award for Gardant e-newsletter
– Argentum Hero Award: David Noles, Heritage Woods of McLeansboro
In the year ahead, Gardant Management Solutions plans to focus on growth and expansion, resident wellness, promoting resident and community engagement and facilitating aggressive rehab.