New Volante Ceo Focuses On Improvement, Readying Operator For Growth

New Volante Senior Living CEO Jeff Fischer has his eye on planning for the future.

Fischer, who joined the South Lake, Texas-based company as its top leader in July after working as president at MBK Senior Living for seven years, now has his plate full executing growth priorities and improving operations.

“This is an exciting opportunity to take a younger platform, work with a new team, grow it, stabilize operations, and expand the platform over the next several years,” Fischer told SHN.

Fischer is a senior living veteran with a career spanning 28 years. Before working at MBK, he was senior vice president of operations at Sunrise Senior Living, and also previously held leadership positions at LifeTrust America and Integral Senior Living. Fischer first entered the senior living industry as a regional director with Emeritus Senior Living in 1999.

Volante Senior Living is the senior living operating arm of investor Inspired Healthcare Capital. The company operates 25 communities across the country, with two communities under development in Oregon.

Stabilizing the platform for future growth

In the years following the Covid-19 pandemic, senior living operators have focused on improving occupancy, margins, and addressing persistent staffing challenges.

Volante is, like many other operators in 2024, still getting back on its best footing to lay a foundation for future growth. In the months ahead, Fischer aims to bring together Volante’s senior leadership team, which includes some senior living industry newcomers, to build a “cohesive unit” before pivoting to new growth.

“We’re going to be stabilizing the team, stabilizing operations, and optimizing technology to streamline what we have,” Fischer said.

Occupancy has continued to rebound for Volante over the last five months, although margins remain challenging, Fischer said. Margin expansion has been a struggle for many senior living companies over the last 18 to 24 months, as persistent expense pressures and rising costs have eroded profitability.

“We’re hopeful that occupancy gains will continue, that operations will continue with improved performance, and that we’ll see some sustainability as we go,” Fischer said.

Fischer also noted that Volante must evaluate its care level structure and cost structure due to the increasingly high acuity nature of today’s senior living environment and in the process better care for assisted living and memory care residents.

Regarding staffing, Fischer stated that Volante will focus on reducing overtime usage and creating new training tools to help staff learn on the job, while also exploring future uses of technology within operations.

“We will be able to give them technologies and tools to make their jobs easier, to make workflows easier and more efficient, so that they can spend as much time as possible dedicated to the care and attention of our residents and families,” Fischer said.

Moving forward, Fischer said Volante seeks to “streamline what we have” in terms of legacy tech infrastructure and systems used at communities, in order to bring the company’s technology partners “under a cohesive structure.”

Fischer noted that all areas of operations have the opportunity to elevate services to attract the next generation of senior living customers. He highlighted community updates and renovations such as open-air kitchens, yoga studios, and other lifestyle-driven amenities as helping to attract a new generation of older adults.

“You may have to get creative,” Fischer added. “You have to get a little more creative in developing those spaces, and they’re all things that are being considered as we move forward.”

Improvements in recruitment and retention, coupled with removing agency staffing costs, have helped propel Volante to greater staffing stability and a focus on reducing overtime to “traditional levels,” Fischer said.

Creating variety for Volante residents, with an emphasis on choice, Fischer believes improving amenities will help attract future senior living demand to Volante communities.

“Having some options and some diversity there is going to be appealing to the generation that we will be serving,” Fischer said.

Building out operations to support the future

Volante launched its operating platform only about two years ago. But Fischer said he believes now is the time to take the younger platform to new heights byd building on its recent success improving operating performance.

Fischer said his role with Volante now offers a chance to build new while also considering growth, including development.

“Looking at both sides of the equation, from acquisitions and development to growth of the platform — it’s really exciting,” Fischer told SHN.

While new development may have been tougher to complete in the past, the lag has allowed operators to improve operating performance and net absorption rates of senior living residences as demographic-driven demand spurs occupancy improvements.

“It will pick back up sooner or later,” Fischer said. “As soon as the economy eases up and interest rates fall into place, then development will pick up.”

Fischer mentioned that Volante has two projects under development and is also looking to acquire value-add communities. He added that Volante’s primary focus will be on communities offering independent living, assisted living, and memory care.

“You have to be ready to run before you fall behind, chasing demographics rather than getting out in front of them,” Fischer said.

Future development must cater to future generations, with deeper wellness and lifestyle offerings, as well as expanded care services, Fischer noted.

“I think those are all things that have to be considered and are being considered as we move forward, and we’ll see where that takes us,” Fischer said.

To prepare for the future and attract new residents to communities, Fischer said operations must think about growth by being “slow and smart” in considering areas of the continuum to expand. Central to that methodical approach, Fischer said, would be putting potential sites for future development under a greater microscope to ensure a deal benefits the organization.

“I think there’s an opportunity for the industry across the spectrum, from active adult to memory care to skilled [nursing],” Fischer said.

Heading into 2025, Fischer said Volante leadership would track the “ebb and flow” of senior living development to shape future growth—whether it be through acquisitions or expanding communities.

“There are robust years ahead and we just have to continue to chip away at it,” Fischer said.

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