Bloom Senior Living Completes Multi-Year Branding, Cultural and Education Initiative

Bloom Senior Living Completes Multi-Year Plan Focused

Upon Branding, Culture, Education and Customer Service

Bloom Senior Living completed its multi-year, multi-step and multi-million dollar plan focused upon developing industry leading branding, culture, education and customer service. Bloom drew expertise and inspiration not only from its own five decade long healthcare experience but from companies outside the sector (i.e. Walt Disney, Zappos and Quicken Loans) in order to create a culturally-driven and differentiated mission based company focused upon its residents, associates and customers.

"The timing of this big announcement makes perfect sense" according to Bloom's Director of Education & Development, Melissa Campbell. "While Bloom's primary focus over the last six months has been keeping COVID-19 out of its nine communities and its residents safe and blooming, our company also appreciates that battling the global pandemic and completing this multi-year plan are not mutually exclusive. In fact, if anything, COVID-19 only highlights that Bloom has been on the right track and accelerated our efforts. Our owners - intimately involved in the operation - have felt strongly that completing the implementation of these critical operational elements would be essential in accomplishing Bloom's goal of keeping our community physically safe and emotionally thriving, while at the same time building an even stronger company for the future." Ms. Campbell adds that "despite the challenges associated with this unprecedented time, I've never seen our skilled teams so resilient, energized and cohesive and our culture so contagious. They have taken action and made decisions based on the principles they - and our company - value (consistent with our education); selflessly cared for the residents like family; nurtured our company culture and provided leadership and empathy to residents, families and other associates, which has helped Bloom overcome this virus with as many positive outcomes as possible. It's a culmination of our plan and efforts over all these years."

Background & Inspiration

Most remember Richard Tischler, Bloom's Chief Inspiration Officer, as a business man, but his drive was never based on money or ego. Rather, it was about love for his family and business. It was the basis for every decision he made and the motivation for every hour he worked.

Growing up in a Harlem slums railroad flat during 1920's, he adopted a depression-era mentality and dedicated the rest of his life to creating financial security for his family and staff. After teaching himself to read under the flat's one skylight and turning down a scholarship to Harvard because he couldn't afford not to work, he graduated college at just 18. He eventually met Ruth Tischler, Bloom's other Chief Inspiration Officer, to whom he was married for 65 years until her passing from Alzheimer's in 2012. With Ruth's support, he worked day and night to make sure his family and staff lived comfortably and without a doubt far exceeded his own expectations.

When Ruth's health declined, the family was confronted with the dilemma of where she should live - and as the search progressed, they discovered finding the right care was not as easy as they would have liked. Inspired by a mission to do things better, Richard and Ruth's grandchildren joined the business and shifted the family's focus to Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care, the same Lifestyle Options Ruth required. They realized there was an opportunity to incorporate a more modern, lifestyle approach into senior living communities -- making them feel more like home while providing an environment where residents can continue to learn, grow and discover.

The new generation knew the only way to deliver upon its promise was to focus upon its brand, mission, culture, core values, customer service and education.

Bloom Brand and Mission

After years in the works, Bloom completed a rebranding exercise that took a 360-degree view of its company and residents, synthesizing key insights -- from its decades of experience -- to establish what makes its approach unlike other senior living providers. From a company standpoint, Bloom is proud that its communities are family-owned and operated and feel like it. From a resident's (and their family's) standpoint, Bloom discovered they too are longing for more than just the promise of safety, comfort, convenience and quality of life. Those basic needs are expected - and just the ante. At this

stage, life is about beginning a new chapter and more: continual learning, growing, living and discovering. For that reason, Bloom has a higher aim and thinks bigger, and more holistically, by creating a living environment that fosters self-growth and self-actualization for its residents by providing them with the tools, resources and encouragement to flourish as human beings. To do the things they've always wanted to do. To feel the way they've always wanted to feel. To achieve their full potential for happiness and peace. Or, simply put, to bloom and discover their best selves.

Bloom's mission is simple yet aspirational: to help its residents flourish. Entering a Bloom community does not mean checking your lifestyle or personality at the door. Residents continue living life to its fullest potential, enjoying their favorite activities while discovering new ones, and blooming into their best selves through learning, growth and discovery.

Bloom's mission to ensure seniors continue living full lives and bloom into their best selves through growth and discovery is not just limited to its residents. By creating an environment that fosters self-growth and self-actualization for others, Bloom's believes that its caring associates could reap those same benefits - ten-fold.

With Bloom's rebrand complete and mission defined, Bloom turned to making them part of the company DNA. Bloom drew inspiration from Zappos and Quicken Loans, companies known for their strong culture. Bloom adopted a series of initiatives focused upon culture, which they believe "is not discussed enough in senior living." Bloom believes if the culture is right, then everything else, including delivering upon its mission and great customer service, along with building a long-term enduring brand, will naturally fall into place.

Bloom's process - focused upon culture - resulted in a contagious way of life throughout Bloom communities based upon a shared set of beliefs, skills, motives, attitudes and roles that are accepted by the entire group and passed along by communication and imitation. Bloom's caring associates are made up of people who understand its culture and share a desire to be part of something bigger than themselves. Bloom reports "culture will continue to be our biggest asset, the glue that holds the company together and distinguishes our programming from other providers. As a result, we will have happier associates and happier residents who will not just work and live, but flourish."

Bloom Beliefs

As one of its cultural initiatives, Bloom -- with its rebranding exercise now complete, mission defined and with Richard and Ruth in mind -- engaged in a year long process by re-analyzing its values, and invited the entire organization's participation, a refreshing approach not often embraced by most companies. "The entire Bloom team defined the guiding principles we treasure the most, live by and protect at all costs. They have become the heart and soul of our company, our deepest held beliefs, highest priorities and central to our character. They provide the framework for our decisions and are the fundamental driving forces behind our company and its culture - who we are, what we believe and where we are headed," according to the Bloom owners.

The secret to Bloom's success, and its ability to operationalize the brand message and carry out the mission, is what sets it apart from other companies and is a result of Bloom living by these Bloom Beliefs.

Bloom U

In order to have strong culture and authentic beliefs, a company must support its associates. After years in the works, Bloom U was launched in order to provide education and development for Bloom associates. According to the Bloom owners, "Bloom's commitment to Bloom U is perhaps its greatest area of pride, growth and success. Bloom built an entire corporate university with an extensive curriculum comprised of e-based and classroom courses, interactive training, videos, workshops, seminars, role-playing and shadowing that is unheard of for a company its size, or any size, in the senior living industry." Bloom U also tells the Bloom Story, introduces associates to the Bloom family, explains the Company mission and Bloom Beliefs and shows associates why Bloom does what it does day in and day out. Bloom U is Bloom's commitment to its associates' development and growth, and Bloom has dedicated extensive resources to achieving this goal. Bloom U is available to all associates 24/7, and associates are certified after graduating from Bloom U.

Consistent with Bloom's philosophy of organic growth, Bloom promoted an industry veteran, and one of its Executive Directors, to Corporate Director of Education and Development overseeing Bloom U and responsible for the training, development and growth of Bloom associates consistent with the Company's mission, cultural initiatives, Bloom Beliefs, clinical standards, policies and procedures, State regulations and customer service guidelines.

The Bloom Room

The forward-thinking folks at Bloom has partnered with expressive interior designers to design a physically-driven cultural "Bloom U Learning Center" at Bloom communities in order to bring to life the company culture and promote productivity and creativity for its associates. While Bloom associates will train in this inspiring designed Bloom Room, residents will also have access.

Bloom has dedicated the time and resources to ensure that culture and education are its top company priorities for carrying out its mission, and the bedrock of its family-oriented company. Bloom states "our commitment towards culture and education is driven by our Chief Inspiration Officers, and we believe these tools will help us deliver upon our mission for the next five decades."

Press Contact

Melissa Campbell

Bloom Senior Living Director of Education & Development

[email protected]

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