Environments for Aging - Winter 2022 - 9

letter from the editor
Space for all
The senior living industry is looking at how
diverse its workforce is, and the design
community should contribute to the effort
EDITORIAL
ADVISORY BOARD
Lori Alford
Avanti Senior Living
CC Andrews
Quantum Age Collaborative
David Banta
BKV Group
Laura Busalacchi
Brookdale Senior Living
Vassar Byrd
Rose Villa Senior Living
Margaret Calkins
Ideas Institute
Daniel J. Cinelli
Perkins Eastman
Michelle Clark
AIIM Capital
Andy Coelho
Sunrise Senior Living
Alexis Denton
Perkins Eastman
Mitch Elliott
RDG Planning & Design
Lorraine Hiatt
ImprovAging
Steve Lindsey
Garden Spot Communities
Dean Maddalena
StudioSix5
Eric McRoberts
RLPS Architects
Jane Rohde
JSR Associates Inc.
Jill Schroeder
Pope Architects
Rob Simonetti
LaBella Associates
S
TRENGTHENING THE SENIOR living workforce is top of mind for most owners
and operators, particularly in the wake of COVID-19 and the toll it's
taken on community staffs. And in an effort to further lean into initiatives
that establish culture and inspire engagement, the industry is placing new
focus on the areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB),
as well.
In fact, the Senior Living DEIB Coalition, a partnership among Argentum, the American
Seniors Housing Association, and the National Investment Center for Seniors
Housing & Care, recently conducted a survey to capture industry trends on the topic.
The inaugural Senior Living DEIB Survey, conducted by Ferguson Partners, is intended
to provide baseline data that can now be tracked going forward. " Up until now,
DEIB hasn't traditionally been the priority for many organizations in the industry. For
those that have focused on it, it has been through an individualistic approach, rather
than a concerted effort within the industry to gather information and provide tools to
improve, " an executive summary states.
Results of the survey, for which respondents were primarily operators and owners,
were released in November and show that, overall, the industry isn't in a bad place
when it comes to DEIB. In fact, organizations show they're already diverse, but areas for
improvement include developing diverse employees for advancement to higher ranks.
The coalition introduced a DEIB Action Toolkit for Operators to further support the
industry in its efforts.
And when it comes to nurturing a more diverse workforce, senior living designers
certainly can and should have a place at the table. Creating spaces that help communities'
employees feel secure and supported is critical to the process (ideas for this from a
more general perspective are shared in our Community Column on page 33).
More broadly, though, the design industry has the opportunity to look inward, just
like operators.
How diverse is the senior living design workforce? Are project teams demographically
representative of the building users they're designing for? What initiatives have been
adopted to encourage diversity in firm recruitment and-like senior living-make sure
diverse employees are making their way up the leadership ladder?
There's no doubt the industry is evolving, and recognizing shortcomings in diversity
and inclusion efforts is certainly a timely and necessary step forward-for all of us.
JENNIFER KOVACS SILVIS
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
JENNIFER.SILVIS@
EMERALDX.COM
winter 2022 | 9

Environments for Aging - Winter 2022

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