Embracing Change

Neil Kurtz | posted May 11, 2010 |

There's no question that the healthcare environment is changing. I believe that in this environment, successful companies will be the ones that are able to embrace the change and take advantage of those opportunities. Clearly, Golden Living wants to be one of those companies -- we want to be part of the solution.

Golden Living has a number of new programs and initiatives designed to take advantage of this changing environment. Many are already underway, and are bringing positive changes to our company.

While the future is hard to predict, I can tell you this with certainty: The new environment we face requires us, as a company, to work faster, smarter, and more efficiently while continuing to improve the quality of care we offer to our patients.

Meeting Community Needs
If I were to sum up what our purpose is in a single sentence, it would be: "Golden Living is a healthcare company that meets the needs of the people in the communities we serve."

That means we're no longer just a nursing home company. We are a diversified healthcare company with a variety of services that we will offer to a community, depending on the needs of that community.

This is going to be a challenge, because every community we serve has different needs. But we're working right now to gain a better understanding of our markets and ensure we have the diverse healthcare services needed to effectively meet each community's needs.

Leading with Technology
Golden Living has made a major investment in healthcare information technology because we believe it will help us stay ahead of change and achieve our goal of becoming an integrated, diversified healthcare company.

Technology will enable us to be more efficient and more accurate -- to do things faster, smarter, and for less cost. It also will improve our ability to provide patient-centered care and help turn data into actionable information. But most importantly, technology will free up our caregivers to spend more of their time on direct patient care.

We're going to be thinking more strategically, challenging conventional thinking, and increasing our sense of urgency to figure out how best to meet the healthcare needs of the communities we serve. I know that it is going to be an interesting and exciting journey, but the future is bright for Golden Living and for our patients.