Design Champion: Rose M. Saenz, development director, Pi Architects (Austin, Texas)
Rose M. Saenz began her career as a licensed vocational nurse, working with geriatric populations across hospitals, home health, and other care environments. She moved to Austin, Texas, in 1999 to join American Retirement Corp. (ARC), now Brookdale Senior Living, in a marketing role during the construction phase of a new assisted living/memory care project. After the project opened, Saenz saw the positive impact the community had on seniors and was motivated to do more. Within a short time, she was promoted to an executive director role, operating a community for more than nine years. In 2012, she joined Silverado as administrator, where she supported multiple start-up communities for the organization.
She collaborated with Pi Architects on the design and development of one of the sites and was inspired by the passion of the firm’s staff to create environments that are functional but also promote the health and well-being of residents. In 2017, she was invited to join Pi Architects and take a seat at the design table, and she did. Today, Saenz helps the firm’s clients understand how to best serve both residents and staff, applying all the lessons she’s learned over the years to the design process. Here, she shares more about her journey.
Environments for Aging: What is your role as development director?
Rose M. Saenz: Deciding on a title was a fun exercise; given my background, we weren’t sure what to call my role. I define it as a supportive role. I support the development process as a liaison between our team at Pi Architects and our clients. I speak the operations and marketing language for senior living and place strong value on a community’s market presence. Many clients have it down and don’t need much of my support, so in those cases I bring market perspectives of the relationship the design impact can have on the sales process. For clients who invite me to share my experiences, I gain tremendous joy helping them to visualize their opportunities and program possibilities.
Why is it so critical for residents to feel a sense of purpose and social connection, and how can design help support that initiative? Programing programming
I witnessed how drastically residents improved while living in communities; they were no longer isolated or lonely, they had better oversight on their care and improved both mentally and physically. I recognized the vital role the environment plays. Many residents regained purpose and connection after moving into a community, and it was largely part of the homelike feel and use of spaces. Proper programing of spaces can organically motivate residents to engage and connect. Add in staff engagement, which results in caregivers accepting programs and encouraging resident participation, and you have a thriving program that attracts people and results in a thriving community.
You have a knack for connecting operations to design—something that so often doesn’t occur. What’s the key to layering operations onto design successfully?
Constant communication and lots of listening! I see myself as an outsider looking into the team to give constructive feedback. I work to understand a client’s overall goal and at the same time balance it with what residents and team members need to flourish for years to come. Internally, I provide ongoing coaching for team members on the “why” behind the designs. Our interactions promote engaging questions and give a deeper understanding to the lives that will thrive within the walls they design.
When we work in communities day in and day out, we can sometimes develop tunnel vision. We’re constantly dealing with life issues, and to step back and see the full operational impact many times requires someone from the outside to spark “what-if?” conversations. I was guilty of having that tunnel vision in the past. With this role, I now can share my understanding of operational challenges while also offering new perspectives. I aim to spark conversations that result in better design outcomes.
When thinking about staff needs, specifically, where do you think more work needs to be done?
Staff members are so vital to the success of any community, but our industry is challenged to recruit and retain staff. We have made progress in recognizing their importance, but at the same time some organizations have not fully embraced the importance of a thriving staff culture. In design, we can do small things that make huge differences to a staff member’s efficiency throughout the day—for example, supply closets close to resident rooms and doors easy to unlock via technology when their hands are full with soiled items. Additionally, including a robust infrastructure for communication systems, telemedicine, and other mobile forms of clinical documentation to function allows flexibility with continued advancements in technology. I also can’t say enough about break rooms—bright, cheerful spaces inspire staff to get through their day, feel valued, and reinforce a culture of caring.
Bigger design thoughts dive into how staff flow in cadence with a resident’s day and what opportunities exist in thinking through staffing patterns and/or alterations to those patterns to better support person-centered care.
You encourage clients to consider wellness initiatives (you even gifted them a wellness journal at the holidays). Why is this a mission of yours, and what was in that journal?
My introduction into assisted living started with a wellness foundation. ARC drilled into me the value of balance in a person’s well-being, utilizing the dimensions of wellness. Activity programs and daily routines in a senior living community should center around these dimensions. Residents feel stress, too, and they need a release. Access to the outdoors, connection with others in flexible spaces, and support from others by easing access to residents are just some examples where we can design in opportunities for these dimensions to be addressed routinely. My depth of experience and knowledge in this area has expanded beyond residents to team members and supporting their wellness. We can all benefit from placing time and attention on our wellness balance.
The journal, “Embrace Your Wellness,” has a design of a tree in balance with nature to remind us how we are all connected to nature and the energy that we surround ourselves with. Inside we included a brief description of the seven dimensions of wellness in hopes that people will reflect on their own balance—it’s a lifelong balancing act. Sometimes just a few notes in a journal can make a world of difference to get us back on track.
What does innovation in senior living look like to you, and what progress do we still need to make?
Honoring resident choice is a passion many of us in this industry feel is important. This new generation of residents demands it, and our models are adapting to accommodate. Thinking about residents’ abilities and innovative designs to empower them to do more improves their independence. The old norm of focusing on a resident’s disabilities is out. Not only will technology support these efforts and provide added choices for residents, but so will design. This is an exciting time of industry evolution, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.
To read Q+As with all of the 2019 Design Champions, visit efamagazine.com/trends/reaching-for-the-stars-efas-2019-design-champions/.
