American Retirement Corporation Essay

American Retirement Corporation (ARC) is an operator of senior living communities. The company is a senior living and health care services provider offering a broad range of care and services to seniors, including independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing and therapy services. The company operates around 65 senior living communities in 14 states, with an aggregate unit capacity of approximately 12,900 units and resident capacity of approximately 14,500. Across the United States, the company owns 19 communities, leases 41 communities, and manages five communities pursuant to management agreements. The company operates in three distinct business segments: retirement centers, free standing assisted living communities (ALCs), and management services. The company operates large continuing care and retirement communities (CCRCs) and independent living communities (retirement centers) that provide an array of services, including independent living, assisted living, Alzheimer’s and skilled nursing care. The company’s retirement centers are the largest segment of the company’s business and comprise around 27 of the 65 communities that the company operates, with unit capacity of approximately 8,100, representing approximately 63% of the total unit capacity of the company’s communities. The company’s free standing ALCs provide specialized assisted living care to residents in a comfortable residential atmosphere. Most of the free standing ALs provide specialized care such as Alzheimer’s, memory enhancement and other dementia programs. These communities are designed to provide care in a home-like setting. At each of its free standing ALCs, the company provide personalized care plans for each resident, extensive activity programs, and access to therapy or other services as needed. Jack C. Massey, Dr. Thomas F. Frist, Sr. , and a small group of prominent local businessmen founded American Retirement Corp. in February 1978. Historically, the company operated large CCRCs and independent living communities that provided an array of services, including independent living, assisted living and skilled nursing care in large, often campus style settings. The company formed American Retirement Communities in February 1995, through a combination of certain entities that owned, operated, or managed various senior living communities. American Retirement became a wholly owned subsidiary of American Retirement Communities in February 1997 (Datamonitor, December 2005). ARC began to develop and acquire a number of free-standing assisted living communities in 1999, most of which began operations during 1999 and 2000. In 2001, the company purchased assisted living residences in partnership with CNL Retirement, namely the Broadway Plaza at Pecan Park in Arlington, Texas and the Homewood Residence in Boca Raton, Florida. In Boca Raton, ARC could be availed through the Homewood Residence, a senior community designed to help those who need assistance with daily activities such as bathing, dressing and administering needed medication. According to the Homewood Residence Website, the service they provide is â€Å"just like family†, the extra assistance their clients may need with their daily activities, while helping them maintain the privacy, dignity and independence (Homewood Residence Website). Boca Raton, located in the Palm Beach County, has a healthy economy and wealthy retirees. Its primary growth is relying mainly on the tourism industry. Palm Beach County’s growth, on the other hand, is concentrated in biotechnology, electronics, and computer industries. The largest employers are in the public sector, federal and state government, public schools, and Florida Atlantic University. In Boca Raton, there is also an increased number of older populace. Businesses must deal with the shifts in demands for goods and services brought on by the desires and needs of older consumers (Howell, 1997). The issues facing the delivery of goods and services in general are magnified in the health care arena. Efforts to reach older consumers often are hampered by failure to understand the requirements and preferences of this population. According to the Boca Raton Comprehensive Annual Report (September 2005), the Milken Institute Index listed the Boca Raton market as the fourth in the â€Å"2004 Best Performing Cities Index† in the country for economic strength and job and wage growth. With a shortage of affordable housing, Boca Raton has introduced a workforce housing ordinance and is in the process of developing mixed use options as tools for providing additional housing in areas previously reserved for non residential uses. The Report also proudly states that Boca Raton is the location of several Fortune 500 companies and nearly 3,000 businesses, employing over 38,000 people because of its low taxes, strong employment base, and quality of life, Boca Raton’s business community is thriving (See Table 1). Table 1. Boca Raton’s Top Employers Among the three counties in Florida, Palm Beach has experienced the greatest population growth – in absolute numbers and in population density. It also has the oldest population. According to the 2000 US Census, Palm Beach County has 1,131,184 residents (See Table 2). Residents of Palm Beach County also have a higher per-capita income than in the other two counties. Miami-Dade County is clearly the largest of the three, in geographic size and population. Palm Beach and Broward Counties have similar proportions of their population that are uninsured, approximately 15 percent, and Miami Dade has the highest at 25 percent (Jackson & Beatty, 2003, p. 7). In the issue of income, Boca Raton has a high income per capita. Table 3 provides the data of income distribution by age group and by ethnicity in the year 1999. Table 2. Palm Beach Demographics PALM BEACH COUNTY FL US POPULATION Number Number Number Total population 1,131,184 Square miles (land) 1,974. 11 Population per square mile 573. 01 296. 37 79. 56 GENDER Number Pct Pct Pct Male 546,739 48. 3 48. 8 49. 1 Female 584,445 51. 7 51. 2 50. 9 AGE Number Pct Pct Pct 15 or younger 201,715 17. 8 19. 0 21. 4 16-24 113,057 10. 0 12. 2 13. 9 25-44 305,041 27. 0 28. 6 30. 2 45-64 249,295 22. 0 22. 7 22. 0 65+ 262,076 23. 2 17. 6 12. 4 Number Number Number Average age (years) 42. 55 39. 53 36. 22 RACE AND ETHNICITY Number Pct Pct Pct White 894,207 79. 1 78. 0 75. 1 Black or African American 156,055 13. 8 14. 6 12. 3 American Indian and Alaska native 2,466 0. 2 0. 3 0. 9 Asian 17,127 1. 5 1. 7 3. 6 Native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 692 0. 1 0. 1 0. 1 Some other race 33,709 3. 0 3. 0 5. 5 Two or more races 26,928 2. 4 2. 4 2. 4 Hispanic or Latino 140,675 12. 4 16. 8 12. 5 Sources: U. S. Census Bureau, 2000 Census; ePodunk Note: Hispanic ethnicity is a separate data category from race. This number should not be added to race totals. Table 3. Incomes in 1999 Boca Raton, Florida BOCA RATON FL US MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME BY AGE ($ IN 1999) Number Number Number Median household income 60,248 38,819 41,994 Householder under 25 24,080 22,861 22,679 Householder 25-34 49,871 39,021 41,414 Householder 35-44 73,110 46,291 50,654 Householder 45-54 82,033 50,347 56,300 Householder 55-64 71,315 42,971 47,447 Householder 65-74 52,321 32,398 31,368 Householder 75 and older 43,971 25,085 22,259 PER CAPITA INCOME BY RACE OR ETHNICITY ($) Number Number Number Per capita income 45,628 21,557 21,587 White 48,463 23,919 23,918 Black or African American 16,275 12,585 14,437 Native American 31,123 16,598 12,893 Asian 22,469 20,429 21,823 Native Hawaiian and Pacific islander 13,569 15,251 15,054 Some other race 14,023 11,431 10,813 Two or more races 20,589 13,514 13,405 Hispanic or Latino 25,476 15,198 12,111 Sources: U. S. Census Bureau, 2000 Census; ePodunk Moreover, the Health Care District of Palm Beach County provides a source of funding for low-income residents to gain access to health care coverage and maintains a comprehensive trauma system in Palm Beach County, Florida. Other services include: rehabilitation/long-term care, nurses in public schools, behavioral health professionals in public schools, senior services and children’s health insurance programs (HCDPBC Website). HCD’s mission is to â€Å"maximize the health and well being of Palm Beach County residents by addressing their health care needs and planning for the access and delivery of services. † Health care has become one of the most vibrant sectors of the American economy, frequently a leader in economic growth, and the largest employer. Its research-based medicine focused on the use of pharmaceuticals, mechanical devices, and surgery, intervention strategies that reflect an earlier view of the body as a machine, paying relatively little attention to internal processes of problem-solving that occur normally (Heirich, 1998, p. 343). According to Andersen, Rice and Kominski (2001), improving access to health care can be greatly facilitated by a new generation of access models and indicators. These should stress the importance of contextual as well as individual characteristics to promote policies to improve access for defined populations. Also, these should focus on the extent to which medical care contributes to people’s health. Access measures should be developed specifically for particular vulnerable population groups. These measures are especially important because of the cross-cutting needs of many of the vulnerable groups: persons with HIV/AIDS, substance abusers, migrants, homeless people, people with disabilities, and those suffering from family violence. Improving equity, effectiveness, and efficiency should be the guiding norms for research on access. Among the most important areas for research are: †¢ Promoting successful birth outcomes—research on the relationships among medical risk factors, the content of prenatal care and birth outcomes †¢ Reducing the incidence of vaccine-preventable childhood diseases—research on the relationships among race, barriers to access, and infectious disease †¢ Reducing the effects of chronic diseases and prolonging life—research concerning the differences in use of high-cost discretionary care according to gender, ethnicity, income, and insurance status and whether these differences represent overuse or underuse of these services. †¢ Reducing morbidity and pain through timely and appropriate treatment— research exploring methods to better define what constitutes timely and appropriate use of physician services References American Retirement Corp. (2005, November 5). Retrieved May 5, 2006, from Datamonitor Database at http://dbic. datamonitor. com/companies/company/? pid=BAC9B41D-2415-44CF-8228-1C8B736DCBA8 American Retirement Corporation Website. http://www. arclp. com/index. html Andersen, R. M. , Rice, T. H. , & Kominski, G. F. (2001). Changing the U. S. Health Care System. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Boca Raton Income Overview. Retrieved May 5, 2006, from Epodunk Website at http://www. epodunk. com/cgi-bin/incomeOverview. php? locIndex=8367 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the City of Boca Raton, Florida. (2005, Spetember 30). Retrieved May 5, 2006, from Boca Raton Government Website at http://www. ci. boca-raton. fl. us/city/Council3. cfm Heirich, M. (1998). Rethinking Health Care: Innovation and Change in America. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Homewood Residence Website. http://www. seniorhousingnet. com/seniors/search/brochure/pr_brochure. jhtml? pid=552999&name=hrbocaraton&trigger=shn&source=a1shzr2t070 Howell, W. C. (1997). Forward, perspectives, and prospectives. In A. D. Fisk & W. A. Rogers (Eds. ), Handbook of human factors and the older adult (pp. 1–6). San Diego, CA: Academic Press. Jackson, C. A. , & Beatty, A. (2003). Organization and Financing of Indigent Hospital Care in South Florida. Santa Monica, CA: Rand. Palm Beach Population Overview. Retrieved May 5, 2006, from Epodunk Website at http://www. epodunk. com/cgi-bin/popInfo. php? locIndex=8814