Alex Markowits, President & CEO at Spring Hills Senior Communities, Discusses Expansion Program.
By Olivia Beaton | April 14, 2021
Alex Markowits is no stranger to providing quality care, in fact he says it “was ingrained in his DNA.” He grew up surrounded by a family that was focused on helping others and giving to vulnerable populations. After college, he became a licensed nursing home administrator and he worked with turn-around specialists who would go in and improve nursing homes that weren’t being run properly. In 2000, Markowits and his family had a unique opportunity to raise money and save a community that was going to have to close, saving all of the employees jobs with it, and turn it into assisted living. Fast forward to now, and Markowits is continuing to aspire and create programs that contribute to the highest level of care with Spring Hills Population Health System.
Spring Hills Population Health includes the design, delivery, coordination, and payment for high-quality health care services using the best resources available, including accountable care organizations (ACOs), risk stratification methods, patient registries, and patient-centered medical home and other models of team-based care. Markowits says, “there is a big push to improve efficiency and outcomes while providing patient centered care. We believe that quality of life is just as important as quality of care.”
Though the last year has been challenging in senior living, Markowits believes it has allowed the industry to focus on critical changes that need to be made and allowed powerful ideas and initiatives to come to fruition. He says, “everything needs to align in order to provide and create transformational change.” Spring Hills intends to grow the program by engaging data consultants and partnering with health systems and payers, care specialists, and social service providers. Its team will leverage technologies that streamline communications and care provision to provide comprehensive population health services to patients enrolled in the program.
Aside from their population health plans, Spring Hills is eager to focus on building new communities and bringing existing communities into the future. At Spring Hills, “we believe the most precious thing that you can’t buy, is time, if we are able to give you the best quality of life and care, we are giving you time,” says Markowits. He and his team are leading by example, encouraging residents, staff, and the public to receive their COVID-19 vaccinations. Their pharmacy partnership has allowed easy access to vaccinations for all of their residents and Spring Hills has put focus on providing answers and assurance for people who may have questions or feel uncertain. One of Spring Hills main goals moving forward is to combat the isolation COVID-19 brought on by utilizing technology and cultivating meaningful engagement.
Markowits is enthusiastic about the future of Spring Hills and their Population Health Management Program and hopes that it helps to fix a healthcare system that is broken. While currently focused on building programs in New Jersey, Spring Hills intends to scale its population health management program to support the provision of health care across the organization’s care continuum. They are always continuing to look at evolving and groundbreaking opportunities to put into practice within their communities.