Interview with New CEO, Jay Biere
Tell us why you chose to lead Plymouth Place?
After nearly 30 years in non-profit and for profit Senior Living and Healthcare, I recognized the unique opportunity to lead a premier Senior Living community into the future. With an ever-changing landscape upon us, including a massive influx of baby boomers, the opportunity to build on the greatness of the history of Plymouth Place and focus on touching more lives in the Western Suburbs was exciting to me. Additionally, and most personally, my sons and grandchildren live locally and the opportunity to return from Central Illinois and watch them grow was irresistible. So growth, lots of growth!
What is new to Plymouth Place in 2018?
Plymouth Place has always been, and will continue to be, the premier Senior Living destination for many West Suburban seniors. However, that landscape, as I mentioned before, is changing. The market trends in Healthcare always continue into Senior Living and those trends show an increased demand for customer satisfaction, not only in operational execution, but also in the delivery of hospitality services. No longer is it enough to simply provide “service with a smile”, any senior living provider can do that, we must consistently execute, but more importantly, continue to provide a lifestyle. Simply, Plymouth Place is a lifestyle brand. We must touch the heart, soul and mind of every resident. So, how will we do this? We will listen, learn and lead through an increase in employee, resident and family engagement and develop our operations around those findings and desires. It’s a moving target, but a challenge that excites our team! Very much a Servant-Leadership model, which is to say our leaders will serve our employees and therefore, our residents, similar model as Starbucks or Nordstrom. 2018 is an extraordinarily exciting year at Plymouth Place!
What is something that people may not know about Plymouth Place?
One inspiring aspect to Plymouth Place for me is how absolutely engaged our residents are! In every aspect. Their volunteerism, fellowship, and humor have provided me, and I’m sure every new visitor, a warm welcome. Plus, they have a busier schedule than me! Almost. We offer a full schedule of theatrical performances and entertainers on campus, in addition to trips The Lyric Opera, Goodman Theatre, Theatre of Western Springs performances and on and on. However, it never ceases to amaze me how absolutely well-attended every single one of the events is! I even, just learned, that annually about 40-50 of our residents go on a cruise. This August, they’re traveling to Iceland and Scotland. It’s absolutely inspiring to represent these residents and their commitment to, not retirement, but to Senior Living. Living being the key word. I’m in awe of them. I look forward to sharing my life with them for many years to come.