Good Operations Create Possibility
Published: October 2, 2026
By Todd Andrews, Chief Operating Officer, Asbury Communities, Inc.
Why removing everyday barriers is essential to active aging
When Russ first attended karaoke at Asbury Solomons, he planned to sit back and enjoy the music. Then someone encouraged him to join in.
One song led to another. As Russ became more comfortable, he began selecting music, singing with associates and planning performances with friends. His wife says the experience revealed a side of him she had never seen before, in the best possible way.
Russ’s story illustrates something I have come to believe strongly. In senior living, effective operations do more than improve efficiency. They remove the distance between a resident’s interest and the opportunity to pursue it.
A meaningful experience may begin with a simple invitation, but it continues when a community is prepared to support what comes next.
That preparation is where operations matter.
Making Opportunity Easier to Reach
Active Aging Week gives us an opportunity to celebrate the abilities, interests, and contributions of older adults. It also challenges us to consider how well our communities support those abilities every day.
The need is clear. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fewer than one in seven adults age 65 and older met the federal guidelines for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity in 2022. Adults with disabilities were only one-third as likely to meet those guidelines as adults without disabilities.
Those numbers should not cause us to lower our expectations for what is possible. Instead, they should prompt us to ask a better question: What may be getting in the way?
Sometimes the barrier is easy to see. Transportation may be difficult. A room may not accommodate someone’s physical needs. Technology may feel unfamiliar.
Other barriers are less obvious. A program may be scheduled at the wrong time. Registration may feel confusing. An activity may not reflect a person’s interests. Someone may simply be uncomfortable walking into a new experience alone.
We will not always recognize these barriers right away. That is why listening is so important.
Residents understand their interests, goals, and needs better than anyone. Associates are often the first to notice when a process is not working as intended because they are closest to the daily experience.
When we listen to residents and associates, and then act on what we hear, we can make opportunities easier to reach.
The solution does not always require a new program, a major investment, or a complicated plan. Sometimes it means adjusting a schedule, simplifying a process, changing a room arrangement or having someone walk alongside a resident for the first time.
Small operational decisions can have a deep personal impact.
Well-Being Is Built Into the Day
As Asbury’s Chief Operating Officer, I spend a great deal of time thinking about how our people, processes, spaces and resources come together. At its heart, however, operations is about people.
It is about creating an environment where residents can continue to participate, contribute, and pursue what matters to them. It is also about ensuring associates have the information and support they need to help make those experiences possible.
At Asbury, EngAge Well reflects our commitment to helping people move better, feel better, connect more and experience more. Our well-being professionals help lead this work, but they cannot and should not carry it alone.
Well-being is supported through everyday moments and interactions that are part of community life.
It happens when a driver helps someone reach an activity. It happens when a dining associate discovers that two residents share an interest. It happens when a caregiver notices how someone responds to music or when a maintenance associate makes a space easier to use.
It also happens when a resident welcomes a new neighbor, shares a skill, or invites someone else to join in.
Each action may seem small. But together these actions create a culture where people feel known, supported and able to take part.
This is also why collaboration matters. A resident’s well-being is influenced by movement, nutrition, rest, relationships, emotional health, purpose and continued learning. Those parts of life are connected, so our teams must be connected too.
Asbury’s Kinnections Brain Health program is one example of this approach. It brings together personalized assessment, coaching, lifestyle strategies, technology, movement, and meaningful engagement to support each person’s goals.
No one associate or department can see or do everything. When people communicate, share what they know and work toward the same goal, we can provide support that is more personal and meaningful.
That kind of teamwork also requires humility. We must be willing to ask questions, listen to different perspectives, and recognize that someone else may see something we have missed.
Measuring What Matters
Program calendars and participation numbers provide useful information, but they do not tell the whole story.
They may tell us how many people attended an event. They may not tell us whether someone felt welcome, formed a friendship, shared a talent or rediscovered a sense of purpose. They also may not explain why someone chose not to participate.
We need to look beyond what is easiest to count and ask:
Are we reaching residents who have not traditionally participated?
Do the opportunities we offer reflect different interests, abilities and goals?
Do associates feel supported when they recognize an opportunity to help?
Are our processes making participation easier, or are they unintentionally getting in the way?
Technology and data can help us recognize patterns, communicate opportunities, and make informed decisions. These tools are most valuable when they strengthen relationships. The best systems give associates useful information and more time to listen, respond, and connect.
Russ did not walk into karaoke expecting to become a regular performer. He started because someone helped make that first step feel possible. From there, he found a new way to express himself, build friendships, and encourage others.
His story is a reminder that we do not always need to begin with a major initiative. Sometimes we simply need to notice an opportunity and ask, “What can we do to help?”
During Active Aging Week and throughout the year, I encourage leaders and teams across senior living to think about one question:
What is one barrier your team can remove today so someone can participate tomorrow?
We will not remove every barrier at once, and we will not always get everything right the first time. But we can continue listening, learning and improving together.
When we make it easier for someone to take that first step, we do more than improve the process.
We create possibility.