Shelter from the Storm

View This Article in BOSS Magazine

To weather the pandemic and continue to thrive is a fierce challenge for the post-acute care sector. Majestic Care is showing the industry how it’s done.

To feel majestic is to feel honored for your individuality. It’s the feeling you get when you’re championed by those around you, and the joy of knowing that the grace in your heart is plentiful enough to share. It is the feeling that Majestic Care aims to evoke in everyone involved in their organization, from the people who entrust their lives to their care to those who provide it.

There was no way on earth that Majestic Care would let a devastating, once-in-a-century tempest get in the way of that mission. In fact, their organizational structure and leadership made it possible for the company to reaffirm their commitment to quality care, and to grow.

With 15 care centers in Indiana and Ohio, the post-acute care provider offers a range of skilled nursing services including residential care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, memory care, respite care, and outpatient services.

“2020 was a challenging year for us,” CEO Bernie McGuinness said. “We saw our facilities become isolated within their communities. We lost that family involvement that is so vital to the life of all of those we are honored to serve.” To keep loved ones connected the organization brought in iPads and streaming devices; to keep workers safe, the company immediately brought out of the box thinking to bear on an industry-wide crisis, rapidly procuring plentiful PPE and setting up a warehouse to serve their network of care centers. Ionizers now trap 99.9% of all germs before each facility’s air handling system recirculates air for heating and cooling, and a system-wide rollout of new air quality systems is underway.

With a vaccine within reach, all eyes are turning to the future of what is perhaps the industry’s toughest challenge: staffing. “As we look at the new normal for post-pandemic operations, making sure we have the right amount of RNs, LPNs, and CNAs is a concern. We must be able to recruit and retain them by making sure that they're safe, that they feel rewarded, and that they know that they really are healthcare heroes,” he said. “We can’t lose sight that our CNAs, our nurses, our dietitians, our housekeepers kept coming to work every day, no matter what they heard in the media, and served our residents. We want them to feel safe and they feel honored and recognized as we move forward.”

Added CFOO Donn Kump: “Majestic Care values all care team members at all levels. We strive to provide a culture where each employee has the ability to voice their thoughts and ideas. This culture has taught me to embrace listening versus just reacting. My goal is to explain why we do what we do versus pushing out objectives.”

For VP of clinical services Bryanna Wegner, the indomitable spirit of Majestic Care’s people has been the biggest factor in their continued success through the pandemic.

“We love the people and seeing the way our care team embraces challenges to provide superior quality care. This means celebrating our teams, families, and residents. I love that the most.

“I believe that there are a multitude of things that sets Majestic apart from our competitors, but one of the most important in my mind is the way we take care of our care team members. There is no doubt that the way we embrace our teams, empower them, pour into them, positively impacts resident care,” Wegner stressed.

“One of my favorite things is the support that our home office team has for one another and the all hands on deck approach that we have. No matter the position, if a facility needs support someone will get in the car and go. No one is afraid to get their hands dirty. We do whatever it takes to ensure that our care team members and residents are taken care of,” she added.

The duty of care meets the drive of the startup

Majestic Care’s agility makes it easy to forget that they’re a new player in the sector, having opened in 2018 with only six facilities. Today they operate 23 skilled nursing facilities and three assisted living communities. “It starts with our people and with having leadership that can execute a vision, a mission, and a plan for growth,” McGuinness pointed out.

“Our VP of mergers and acquisitions works very hard developing relationships with different healthcare brokers and with our lending partners that come from a place of trust. They see the success of our earlier acquisitions, see the results we produce, and the quality focus of our entire organization. That’s allowed us to close deals during the pandemic.”

Not that doing so was easy. In addition to having an executable strategic plan, the leadership team was and is shored up by its investors and supportive board.

“That support allowed us to stay the course with our plan, identify the right assets in the right markets so we can be a value-add to anyone who joins the Majestic family,” he said. “We've found unique properties to add to our family, large continuing care retirement communities that are in really great urban markets that match our strategy for cluster markets and providing clinical niches.”

Finding the right business partners has also helped Majestic to thrive. “One of our key vendors that has truly become a partner in our growth has been Reliant Rehabilitation. They are at heart of our team as we come into the acquisition process. Through the transition they work to retain 100% of the therapists in the building.

“They’ve bought into our mission and vision to treat our residents regardless of care type, to provide the therapy services that our residents need throughout their course of stay, whether they're there for short-term rehab or long-term memory care. Therapy is a crucial part of quality of life, and we’re glad to have Reliant there as a part of our care team staff,” McGuinness said.

It’s not hyperbolic to say that Majestic’s mission of care is deeply personal. “I wanted to be part of an organization who wanted to grow, but would allow me to grow with them, mentor me from an operational point of view, allow me to grow professionally as an HR leader, but not grow so big they lost sight of who they were, what got them there, and that they’d continue to keep commitments and create a culture where the people and care team members remember the impact you made in their lives,” said Majestic’s VP of HR, Melany Nieset.

“At a point in my life when I was a single mom, working two jobs, just trying to keep my head above water, I remembered the little things (notes, letters of encouragement, and calls) from leaders during my HR journey to help me get to where I’m at now. Majestic’s culture and vision reminds me of how just the little things can make an impact on an individual,” she revealed.

“I wanted to be part of an organization where the culture impacts people’s lives. That they do the little things. So, even if just one care team member is impacted with something I did by demonstrating our culture—whether it’s a letter, stopping to listen, or just sharing some advice—then I know I’m in the right place, the right company and doing the right thing.”

Embedded in Majestic’s foundation is an attitude of gratitude that starts at the top. When asked what the focus of this story should be, McGuinness replied, “I just want to say thank you. It takes a whole team to keep this organization moving every day. It's no small feat to operate these facilities and to continue to move forward, trying to improve our quality and our occupancy and the different standards that we have as an industry.

“I'm truly blessed to work with so many outstanding people and to have the support of so many great partners and leaders that help us grow. This doesn’t happen by accident; we will continue to grow and be successful because of that type of support and the type of people who have joined us on the journey.” No matter what tempest tosses the industry in times to come, Majestic Care will be there for families, team members, and the communities that they serve.