Vassar Byrd, CEO, The Kendal Corporation (Newark, Del.)
Editor’s Note: This article is part of Environments for Aging’s Industry Predictions series. Throughout January, EFA will share perspectives from respected industry voices on where the sector may head in 2026 and what challenges and opportunities are on their radar.
Environments for Aging’s 2026 Senior Living Design Predictions series continues with Vassar Byrd, CEO, The Kendal Corporation (Newark, Del.).
Here, Byrd discusses some of the opportunities and challenges she sees for 2026, including improving dementia care and how rising costs of capital, construction, labor, and consumables will drive mergers and acquisition activity.
Environments for Aging: What lessons did the industry learn from 2025’s challenges?
Byrd: Multiple sourcing, and a crazy amount of scenario planning!
EFA: Where do you think the senior living industry will head in 2026?
Byrd: With the rising costs of capital, construction, labor, and consumables, the likelihood that we will see more activity with mergers, affiliations, and acquisitions is very real.
There are a lot of ways to do that, and most involve someone giving up their autonomy and identity. Kendal’s approach is unique in terms of our goal being to keep each organization unique and distinct while offering the benefits of scale.
EFA: What emerging trends or opportunities are you most excited about—and why?
Byrd: Providing dementia care in an integrated versus a segregated way through improving technology and intentional training of all employees (regardless of department) and residents.
There is an emerging voice among many not-for-profit providers to find innovative solutions to supporting residents with memory impairment, without the need for a secured memory care unit. I think we’ll look back on the practice of locking people up based on a diagnosis as barbaric.
Anne DiNardo is editor-in-chief of Environments for Aging and can be reached at [email protected].
Headshot credit: The Kendal Corporation
