Business View Magazine | March 2020

160 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE MARCH 2020 and encouraged. Construction and development is another aspect of this thriving business. In fact, one of their projects just opened in February in Pittsburgh – an assisted living facility that was a former hotel. The Hamister Group developed the property over two years and is now managing it, as well. The company is always looking to develop and/or acquire property and, though the development is more expensive, they have had great success in that area. Because of the impending “silver tsunami” and an increasing demand for assisted living, the Group has seen more healthcare- related opportunities coming their way. That being said, they do have an investment committee that looks at all incoming potential acquisitions or developments. If it’s a good fit, they will take it – whether hotel or healthcare. “It’s an exciting time to be in this business,” says Turesky, “because we try to remain cutting edge. We’re looking at such things as tele-medicine in our healthcare properties, which is very unusual for assisted living. In the State of New York, 100 percent of our beds are certified in enhanced assisted living. What that means is that we can provide skilled care, just not ‘24 hours a day.’ So it’s an opportunity for our residents to age in place. They’re not approving all the beds to be certified any longer in NY; we were on the cutting edge when the state first came out with that concept. We’re moving to electronic medical records; more of that is happening in assisted living now, and most of our facilities are already on that. We have electronic medication administration, as well. We’re focused on staying ahead and not just moving along with what the industry tells us to do.” What sets the Hamister Group apart from the competition in assisted living is the use of technology – the telemedicine – and they present the advantages of that as it applies to the residents and their families. If something happens, the resident may not have to go to the emergency room, or a rehab center - they