HEALTHTAC West 2026: Leading Through Change
By Jacqui Barrineau | August 10, 2026
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Senior living operators navigating acquisitions and management transitions must account for more than licensing changes, system conversions and financial performance. They also must preserve trust among employees, residents and families while preparing local leaders to manage uncertainty in real time.
That was a central theme of “Leading Through Change,” an executive discussion held during HEALTHTAC West 2026, Aug. 2-4 at The Phoenician in Scottsdale, Ariz. Nicole Page, chief growth officer at Dual Path, moderated the panel.
Panelists included Greg Anderson, managing director at Northbridge Advisory Services; LaPriel Henman, regional director of operations at Sinceri Senior Living; Glen Lewis, CEO of RoseVilla; Colin Marshall, vice president of business assimilation at Discovery Senior Living LLC; Danielle Parker, RN, COO of GenCare Lifestyle; and Heather Terhark, chief strategy officer at Viva Senior Living.
Understanding the Type of Transition
Marshall began by distinguishing between a change of ownership, commonly called a CHOW, and a change of manager, or CHOM. A change of ownership can require the transfer of licenses, tax accounts and other elements associated with the operating entity. A management change, by contrast, may leave the ownership structure intact while replacing the company responsible for operating the community.
“Knowing what type of transaction it is determines our next steps,” Marshall said.
That distinction affects the scope of the transition, but Anderson said operators also need a realistic understanding of the work required to replace systems and integrate a community into a new organization.
“We do see a lot of new management companies coming in and old ones coming out, and oftentimes we see a miscalibration of the operational lift,” Anderson said.
“Underestimating the operational lift is often a big hurdle,” he added.
Existing leadership teams are still responsible for occupancy, margins and daily operations while learning new systems and reporting to new leaders. Anderson said this effectively requires them to perform two functions at the same time.
Moving Beyond the Traditional Town Hall
Discovery Senior Living has changed how it approaches employees before a transaction closes. Rather than relying primarily on a large town hall, the company places subject-matter experts alongside department leaders inside the community.
“The old model doesn’t fall short. It just doesn’t work for what we do on the front end, plain and simple,” Marshall said.
A town hall can surface broad concerns, he said, but embedding specialists within individual operating areas gives employees a dedicated contact who understands their work. It also allows the transition team to identify problems within clinical care, culinary services and facilities before the incoming operating team assumes responsibility.
“Our responsibility is to hand it over better than we received it,” Marshall said.
His team’s role is to identify and remove barriers so the long-term management organization can concentrate on growth and asset performance rather than unresolved transition problems.
Henman said Sinceri’s transition process has evolved as the company has grown from 30 communities to 138. The company continues to reassess what worked and what did not, but culture and communication remain consistent priorities.
“With some of our transactions, it’s multiple times a week,” Henman said of communication with executive directors. “They’ve got my cellphone number. They’re calling. They’re asking questions.”
That availability reduces uncertainty for local leaders, she said.
“Our goal is to communicate, communicate, communicate, and then everything else falls into place,” Henman said.
Preparing Before the Close
Viva begins preparing during due diligence, when its team gathers information, identifies contacts and starts meeting with community leadership where legally possible.
Terhark said employees often suspect that a change is coming because outside parties are conducting assessments and walking through the building, even when the full details cannot yet be disclosed.
Once employees are notified, their questions tend to focus on paid time off, insurance and whether existing leaders will remain in place. Viva begins employee onboarding roughly 21 to 30 days before the transition.
“Some things may change, but a lot of things are going to stay the same, or we wouldn’t have invested in this community,” Terhark said.
Anderson said operators should use the due diligence period to examine leadership capabilities, not simply organizational charts.
He described one community where the executive director answered nearly every question directed to department heads. Although she was highly experienced, the pattern raised concerns about whether the rest of the team had the information and skills needed to operate independently if she left.
The assessment also must extend to workplace culture.
“Culture doesn’t show up on a spreadsheet. It’s not a legal document,” Anderson said. “It is something that is squishy, unique and different.”
Operators need to understand how a management change could disrupt that culture and where the leadership bench may be vulnerable, he said.
Equipping Local Leaders to Preserve Trust
GenCare operates six communities and does not have a dedicated transition department, Parker said. Instead, the company has developed transition systems, designated leads for different workstreams and emphasized alignment across departments.
Local executive directors must be equipped to answer employee and family questions without repeatedly referring people to the new management company.
“If you have an executive director who is saying, ‘I don’t know. You have to ask the new manager,’ you’ve lost,” Parker said.
“Maintaining trust is so much easier than having to rebuild it, and that has to start early and happen frequently,” she added.
Transitions at competing organizations also can affect operators that are not making acquisitions.
Lewis said RoseVilla, a single-site continuing care retirement community in Portland, Ore., attracts employees from organizations that have experienced difficult ownership or management changes. Those workers often are looking for stability and a strong workplace culture.
RoseVilla has operated since 1959, and some caregivers have been with the organization for 27 or 28 years, Lewis said.
“They are arriving at our community and our organization really craving stability and a really solid culture,” he said.
Rather than adjusting its strategy in response to nearby acquisitions, RoseVilla continues to emphasize its established values and workplace environment.
Addressing Families’ Immediate Concerns
For many families, the most immediate question is whether a new owner or operator will raise resident rates.
Viva designates members of its transition and regional teams to answer that question consistently. Terhark said families may ask repeatedly during the first 90 days after learning about a transition.
“We don’t raise in-house rates at that time,” she said.
If an acquisition occurs at the end of the year, Viva asks the previous operator to issue its annual rate increase notices through its normal process. The company may change market rates for new residents following a competitive analysis, but it does not immediately increase existing residents’ base rates.
Changes in a resident’s care needs may affect charges, and new programs may carry ancillary fees, Terhark said. The core message to families, however, is that the transition itself will not trigger an immediate rent increase.
Parker said residents often are less concerned with the corporate name on a community’s monument sign than with whether the building will still feel like home after the transition.
Residents “care less about the name on the monument sign and more about waking up the day after the transition and still feeling like it’s their home,” she said.
GenCare acknowledges the outgoing operator’s role in creating the community, establishing relationships and building memories for residents. Parker said this allows the incoming team to respect what already exists before beginning its own chapter.
Building Trust During the First 72 Hours
Henman said a successful first day begins well before the official transition date. Employees should have met incoming leaders, completed onboarding and received answers about pay and benefits.
Sinceri now uses digital onboarding several weeks in advance, which Henman said has improved the process. The company also places its regional team and a senior leader on-site during the first 72 hours.
“Trust is earned. It is never granted,” Henman said.
The objective is to avoid breaking the trust already established within the community while supporting employees behind the scenes.
Sinceri continues to use town halls, followed by individual conversations that may continue for several hours. It also uses LifeLoop to distribute communications and provides families with access to its Family First Hotline.
“If we’re able to provide all of those answers and solutions up front, it gives them the peace of mind they need to feel OK,” Henman said.
Terhark said operators should make a deliberate effort to engage family members who may not attend group meetings or openly ask questions. Residents and employees are visible during the transition, while relatives may enter quietly and leave without approaching the new team.
Families want to know whether caregivers and nurses will remain, what programs may change and whether the transition will disrupt their loved one’s life. Incoming teams need to seek them out, Terhark said.
Responding to Better-Informed Consumers
Parker said consumers and families in the Pacific Northwest arrive with high expectations and a strong preference for transparency. GenCare reviews potential trust-breaking details before meeting with families, including website links and inconsistencies in public messaging.
“We cannot overpromise. We should not ever overpromise,” Parker said.
When the company does not have an answer, it says so and follows up later.
Marshall noted that artificial intelligence tools are making it easier for families to research incoming operators and generate lists of questions about ownership and management changes.
That trend is contributing to a more informed consumer base and placing additional pressure on operators to prepare for detailed questions.
Lewis sees that dynamic within RoseVilla’s waitlist. The community is 100% occupied, with 300 people waiting to move in. The average age of those on the waitlist is 67, he said.
Prospective residents want to understand whether RoseVilla will remain the organization they selected after they make a significant long-term financial commitment.
The nonprofit has responded by developing a five-year strategic plan and a 10- to 15-year master plan with input from its board and residents. RoseVilla posts its strategic plan publicly so prospective residents can understand the organization’s direction.
“We want future residents, or people who have an interest in RoseVilla, to understand what they’re buying and where they’re going,” Lewis said.
Culture as a Workforce Strategy
During the audience discussion, panelists also addressed labor shortages and wage pressure.
Anderson said operators need market intelligence and creative approaches to compensation, while recognizing that employees may leave for an additional dollar per hour. He also emphasized the importance of culture and an organization’s reputation as a workplace.
Marshall said retention offers operators their best opportunity to reduce the effects of persistent labor shortages and rising costs.
“The real solution is culture,” he said.
“They have the tools they need. They are heard. They are respected. They are supported,” Marshall said of employees in a strong workplace culture. “They are all of those things, and they stay. They don’t leave.”
Terhark added that incoming operators should reassess resident acuity, evaluate staffing across all shifts and determine whether the community needs additional clinical technology, such as fall detection or passive listening systems.
As ownership and management changes continue across senior living, Lewis said educated consumers can strengthen an organization by demanding greater transparency and participating actively in the community.
“I welcome that because it means they are informed consumers who are going to be actively engaged in the community and help us become better as an organization,” he said.
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