February 6, 2023 —As I was preparing my 2022 CEO report for our Board of Directors, I took a few moments to reflect on our many accomplishments throughout this past year. We tend to overlook our achievements as we are often putting out fires, such as elevator malfunctions, floods from sprinkler pipe breaks, staffing concerns, resident needs, pandemic management, economic challenges, and regulation changes.
As one forecaster predicted, 2022 would be a year of the “best ever” and the “worst ever.” While I will focus on our “best evers” in a moment, we certainly suffered a “worst ever.” We will never forget the devastating and untimely loss of our dear friend and colleague, Marlaina Agnor Burnett. She will live in our hearts and minds forever, and we will be reminded of her sweet smile with every sunflower we see in life.
Here are a few KaLex “best evers” for 2022:
• Introducing three new, dynamic members to our core leadership team.
• A major refinancing of our bonds.
• Reaffirming our BBB-Fitch rating for a stable outlook into the future.
• Developing new partnerships: with Functional Pathways, our therapy partner; with Rockbridge Area Health Center which now has a new medical practice location at KaLex; and, with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which planted over 1200 tree saplings on our campus.
• Initiating our 3North Landscape Use plan.
• Finalizing our Phase 3 project.
• Maintaining our 5-star rating in our Borden Health Center.
• Initiating professional leadership/staff training and development.
• Achieving a decrease in our staff turnover rate.
• And hiring Alfredo, our first robotic staff member!
It was a busy year, and 2023 promises to be the same. Our outlook and focus in 2023 will be to continue many of our current projects and to add a few more to our plates. Our concentration will be:
• Managing revenue and expense pressures.
• Continuing our recruitment and retention efforts.
• Advancing our technology.
• Establishing creative business models and partnerships.
• Continuing our strategic planning for our future stability.
• Raising the bar in all that we do as a team.
As is true for every year, our residents’ talents and hard work on their resident committees in 2023 will continue to help the staff in making KaLex the best place to live and work.
I want to take this opportunity to recognize and thank the KaLex Board of Directors, Management Team, staff, and residents for their hard work, dedication, and their loyal commitment to Kendal at Lexington. I am so fortunate to be your colleague, and I look forward to 2023. Happy New Year!
—Jan Bigelow, CEO (originally published in the February 2023 residents’ Connections newsletter.)