Results of the first industry-wide effort to summarize the data on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in long-term care were released Wednesday by the Senior Living DEIB Coalition, a partnership including Argentum, the American Seniors Housing Association and the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care.
“As industry challenges continue with recruiting and retaining talent, we hope this effort can serve to catalyze thinking around diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging and how it is critical to future business, how it will strengthen human capital and why it is the right thing to do,” Argentum President and CEO James Balda stated when the project originally was announced.
The long-term care industry is on trend with other sectors in terms of DEIB leadership and forming DEIB committees, according to the survey results. Twenty-seven percent of the respondents said their operations have a dedicated DEIB team, whereas an equal number said they don’t have a formal team but are working to incorporate DEIB policies. Forty-six percent of the respondents said their organizations have no DEIB program whatsoever, however.
Gender identity, race / ethnicity and sexual orientation are the most prominent issues addressed within the organization’s DEIB initiatives, respondents said. The Senior Living DEIB Coalition suggests that providers take a more holistic approach to their efforts, incorporating elements such as ability, age, socioeconomic background and veteran status.
“The ultimate power of DEIB is realizing the value that differences bring to organizations; diverse backgrounds, experiences and thinking can come together to drive performance and results,” according to the executive summary. “Organizations are already diverse, but improvement can be made in how companies prepare and move diverse individuals through organizations. It means that the focus must shift to development, education, experience and exposure to the executive management levels.”
Participants in the survey represented a wide range of organizations, comprising a variety of geographies, sizes and specialties. Fifty-two percent of the respondents operate in only one US geographic market, and the remaining 48% operate in two or more markets.
The majority of survey participants came from assisted living (91%) and memory care (89%), followed by independent living (77%), skilled nursing and rehab (41%) and continuing care retirement / life plan communities (39%). Most participants were operators / providers (68%), followed by owner / equity partner / investment managers (22%) and debt providers / lenders and industry vendors (5% each).
Improving diversity, equity, including and belonging “is not a quick fix” at the organizational level, Brian Jurutka, then-president and CEO of NIC, said at the organization’s spring conference in announcing the survey.
The coalition suggests employers use a technique called SCAN to facilitate change — See, Consider, Adapt and Next level:
- See: Look for areas where the company can improve its DEIB policies, then develop an organizational DEIB statement.
- Consider: Develop DEIB awareness and knowledge within the organization.
- Adjust: Assess the structures to support DEIB; look at what the company already has and what it needs.
- Next level: Determine how to engage others in the DEIB mindset.
Ferguson Partners conducted the survey on behalf of the coalition.
