Business View Magazine
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ferrals. So that helps us, as well. And then last, but def-
initely not least, is our community involvement. We’re
part of the Chamber, we do a lot of sponsorships, we
try to get our name out at a very grassroots level, and
just stay very well-connected. It’s a small community,
here. Everybody kind of knows everybody else, and
that makes it critical to consistently stay community-
minded.”
In addition to offering its own assisted living and
healthcare services, Kelley sees New Port Inn as an
important informational resource for families in the
area who are looking for senior care options. “Even
if they don’t choose us, these adult children have no
working knowledge of this industry. And it can be a
full-time job to find mom or dad the right place,” she
explains. “So, we really wanted to make it very clear in
all of our advertising and all of the collateral that we
send out: ‘just come to us.’ Even if you don’t choose
us, you can tell us specifically what you’re looking for.
I’ve been in the area twelve years and I know all the
buildings. I know the small ones, the big ones, and ev-
erything in between; all their price points and all their
services. So we’re happy to spend the time with the
families and get them on to the right place if we, for
any reason, aren’t it. We know the local elder care at-
torneys; the places to call to get the VA assistance; or if
they need to talk to someone who can assist with Med-
icaid processing; etc. Whatever it might be, we can, at
least, jump start them and they can do that one-stop-
shopping here versus walking into a place, walking
out, and starting all over again. And that’s worked out
for us because it’s helped build our relationships with
other properties.”
Of course, Kelley always hopes that New Port Inn is, ul-
timately, a family’s choice and she is more than ready
to state the reasons why: “We’ve tried to really create
a family culture and atmosphere” she states. “We try
to do multi-generational things like bringing in small
children and comingling the generations when we can.
The staff and the residents are professionally close
and we try to keep those relationships open so that
it feels like home. And we try to foster longevity with
our staff. I think that’s very important for the seniors
when they move in somewhere – to see the same fac-
es. Industry-wide, unfortunately, there’s a fairly high
turnover; we’re really working hard to keep some sus-
tainability with our team members.”
Kelley says that while no major expansions of the Inn
are being planned for the immediate future, there are
constant improvements being made to the property.
New Port Inn’s Executive Director understands that,
even though the facility’s mission statement may be
“Quality Focused Care, One Resident at a Time,” its
ability to stay in business so that it can offer that high
quality care - and offer it consistently - must be based
on a sound business model that includes continual
property improvement, staff retention, and proactive
marketing. “The biggest thing for any assisted living
facility,” she says, “is to build and stabilize your cen-
sus with a good pay source and to keep your numbers
steady as time goes on.”
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