Personnel

Thrive Senior Living Drives Industry Transition from Clinical Experience to Human Experience

August 9, 2018

ATLANTA–In line with its mission to establish awe and admiration for people of all ages, Thrive Senior Living announces the addition of Tammy L. Marshall as chief experience officer. Marshall will spearhead efforts to continue the transformation of the resident and staff experience from a clinical focus to a human focus.

Marshall, who joined Thrive in May, brings over 25 years of expertise in the field of human hospitality. She most recently served as chief experience officer for The New Jewish Home and previously, served as the first female vice president of mission and strategy. She also led New York City’s first small house living initiative and introduced an empathy and hospitality platform for long term care environments—along with Just Think Hospitality, a business management consultant company based out of New York City.

“The hospital systems across the country who led the charge in moving the patient experience from clinical to human over the last decade were spearheaded by forward-thinking leaders in the role of Chief Experience Officer,” said Les Strech, president of Thrive. “Many of these key leaders worked together on the Board of The Beryl Institute to force this needed change. Tammy has been the lone wolf for aging services on The Beryl Institute Board and is leading the human experience charge. At Thrive, the experiences of our team members and residents define who we are as a company. Tammy is a passionate visionary who will assist in leading our mission to establish awe and admiration for every person.”

The addition of a dedicated chief experience officer further exemplifies Thrive’s commitment to treating older adults with respect through purpose-filled lives and meaningful relationships. Thrive community team members view success through the lens of how well they know each resident. This thinking is rooted in the belief that people don’t leave environments where they are truly known.

Over the last three years, Thrive has been piloting a technique called “life memorization” that begins with the team spending a significant amount of time with residents prior to their move into the community. Each team member is then assessed through a fill-in-the-blank testing method on how well they know the life history of the resident, with additional compensation awarded based on the performance of this assessment. These life histories focus on the details of the human experience—down to the number of sugar packets in their tea—enabling them to more quickly form a deep, lasting bond that connects one human to another to feel “known.” It is this feeling of being “known” in the environment that is essential to a positive human experience.

“As a country, we are facing a social justice issue around the care of older adults due in large part to ageism—and I believe we must work diligently to reverse long held mindsets about what it means to age in America,” said Marshall. “Thrive makes a commitment to knowing its residents as humans rather than objects in need of care and, as a result, our residents are happier and more content. I’m proud to be with an industry leader that ‘gets it’ and look forward to doing my part in helping change the narrative.”

Marshall states that, “Thrive also uses innovative techniques of ‘biohacking,’ the idea of disrupting the pre-formed narrative around aging to challenge what may have been previously written off as normal, and employs team members who are talented at reframing their mindsets. Through our work with every resident, Thrive holds fast to ambitious goals to unify the national thinking and break the cycle of grouping individuals into categories, whether seniors, ethnicities, the disabled or otherwise.”

Thrive Senior Living designs, develops and operates innovative independent living, assisted living and memory care communities across the country with a fresh perspective on senior living. Certified as a “Great Place to Work” by Activated Insights, Thrive strives to enrich lives and be faithful stewards of all that is entrusted to them by respecting and honoring Elders as valuable members of society. Headquartered in Atlanta, Thrive currently operates communities in Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, Georgia and the D.C. metro area.

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