TOWNSHEND, Vt. – A local senior housing nonprofit, Valley Cares, is announcing momentous plans to change its organizational name to Valley Village. This organization in Townshend, Vt., opened its housing in 2007 to provide affordable assisted living and independent living for seniors. Their community is unique in combining a model of subsidized affordable housing with a continuum of supportive healthcare services to help people age in place with others.
The decision to change the organization’s name resulted from a strategic planning process they engaged in, with the help of local consultant ReGeneration Resources, during the winter of 2023-2024. In the years leading up to that, the assisted living had experienced a high vacancy rate, which significantly impacted the organization’s financial stability.
“We received a lack of appropriate applicants for our assisted living,” said executive director JoAnne Blanchard. She explained that they were receiving applications from people who were more appropriate for memory care facilities or skilled nursing facilities, or applicants who lacked the resources to pay for assisted living services and did not yet have appropriate Medicaid coverage.
“We also found that some people did not know we provided assisted living and independent living for seniors, but instead believed we were like other Cares groups in the area. There are many wonderful Cares groups in Vermont, but they do not provide independent and assisted living for seniors, like we do.” Then Blanchard added, “Based on our name, before she was hired, one of our staff members thought we were a landscaping company.”
With their strategic planning expertise, Greg Hessel and Joe Heslin of ReGeneration Resources reviewed numerous background documents. They conducted interviews with senior staff and board members. They also interviewed partner organizations such as Grace Cottage, the town, and other facilities, and held meetings with staff, assisted living residents, and independent living residents. Their findings were that several external factors were in place that should create an environment where Valley Cares has opportunities to help: an aging population, a housing shortage crisis, and a lack of adequate supports such as transportation, workforce, etc., for older Vermonters to remain in their homes as they age. ReGeneration Resources also found that staff and residents had very high opinions of the organization and its leadership.
However, the strategic planners also identified a few areas that could be improved: management had limited time in their schedules to perform marketing and outreach, and the application processes for affordable housing and Medicaid coverage significantly slowed the referral and admission process, resulting in potential residents moving elsewhere where they can get in quicker.
Valley Cares’ team is working on a multipronged approach to improve these areas. They are devising ways to decrease the time needed to process referrals to the assisted living by assessing and gathering more information from candidates when they come for a tour. They are also overhauling marketing efforts, including creating a new website and increasing online and social media marketing, exploring the addition of amenities that might make life more pleasant or comfortable, and examining ways to increase people’s readiness for assisted living.
To accommodate new priorities, the organizational structure changed slightly, with the nurse supervisor, Mary Jo Dansereau, assuming a new role as assisted living director, to allow executive director JoAnne Blanchard to focus more on marketing and admissions. As the assisted living director, Dansereau will continue to work with Heidi Carley, RN, to oversee care staff. She will also take over supervision of the housekeeping and activities departments.
Blanchard is excited about the changes and the opportunity to get out in the community more. She said Valley Cares, soon to be Valley Village, is working with legal counsel on the rollout process for our new name, so that everything is done properly. “In weeks and months to come, you will see more of this transition in name from Valley Cares to Valley Village.”
The board of directors voted in April to adopt the new name, Valley Village, with the tagline “Care. Compassion. Community.” “This new name underscores our commitment to providing housing, exceptional care, and a strong sense of community,” Blanchard stated.
Blanchard beamed as she looked at the organization’s new logo, complete with the tag line. “We are excited about all the results of our strategic planning, but especially about our new name.” She noted how the logo is made of a quilt, borrowing on the metaphor that many and varied pieces can be connected to create a spectacular whole without any of the pieces losing their distinct characteristics. “This is our community,” she said, “Valley Village.”