Stephanie R. Harris launched her company in her early 20s while still in law school. She maxed out credit cards and student loans to get the company off the ground and moved into her office to save money. One of her mentors advised her to shut down the business, but she insisted on persevering through those difficult early years.
“I can look back at how the sacrifice was worth the success we have built 18 years later, after growing to nearly 2,000 employees and just over 2,800 residents,” Harris said.
Harris is chief executive officer of Arrow Senior Living, a long-term senior housing company with 29 communities under operation and 12 more in development.
The company has $1 billion in real estate assets. The 2022 Argentum & Lument Largest Providers Report ranks Arrow as the nation’s 43rd-largest senior housing operator. Arrow prides itself on the longevity of its core team, as many of those seats today are held by the same team members who worked in the trenches during the earliest turnaround days.
“Our business performs best when the entire team is well-informed and engaged in evaluating decisions,” Harris said. “One of our key core values is transparency. As such, our company works actively to ensure the teams have access to all data insights. It is our hope that we can continue to engage all stakeholders in decision-making, up to and including enabling more resident and family feedback. It is important to the business that everyone involved can weigh in and understand the why behind the decision.”
Senior living costs are increasing by as much as 6.8% per year, while seniors 75 and older have incomes lower than prior generations, Arrow reports. The company predicts that over the next five years, the demand for more affordable, middle-market senior living will increase, driving the need for better technology to address those needs.
“Arrow is driven by a fierce commitment to achieving results by building a business intelligence platform that utilizes automation and artificial intelligence to manage care risks and outcomes,” the company said. “The innovative technology coupled with a proactive sales approach thread every aspect of the operation. This translates into better value and service offerings for residents and stronger compensation packages for employees, which in turn supports high-level engagement, skills development and deployment.
“The company also prides itself in attracting new talent to the growing industry. Through robust training and coaching support, as well as initiatives to create a more diverse workforce, Arrow has a strong culture of support to acclimate new employees to the business.”
