Editor’s Note: This article was updated Nov. 16 with additional information from Caring that changed the total number of communities being recognized and the ranking of organizations.
Caring.com is releasing its list of “Caring Stars of 2019” today, and 144 senior living communities made the cut.
Any licensed senior living community with a profile in Caring’s nationwide directory is eligible for the award from the San Mateo, CA-based website, which serves as a resource for family caregivers. To earn it, communities must have had 10 or more consumer reviews on their listing by Oct. 15, with an overall average rating of 4.5 or higher on a scale of 1 to 5; must have received three or more reviews between Oct. 15, 2017, and Oct. 15, 2018, including at least one review that was posted during 2018 and at least one that had a five-star rating; and must have responded to every negative (1-star or 2-star) review they received on their listing.
“In looking at Caring’s directory and referral data over several years, we’ve seen that Caring Stars communities attract twice as many new resident inquiries and move-ins than communities without the award,” Caring CEO Jim Rosenthal said. “This annual list helps older adults and their families quickly and easily identify those senior living communities best poised to meet their needs.”
Thirty-six states are represented on the list. Just as with the lists issued in 2017 and 2016, the three states with the highest number of winners this year are California, Florida and Texas. California has been in the top five since Caring launched Caring Stars in 2012.
The cities with the most winners this year are San Antonio, TX, with five, and Thomasville, NC, with three.
The operators with four or more communities on this year’s list are Holiday Retirement, with 12; Eskaton, with 11; Pacifica Senior Living, with eight; Senior Lifestyle, with seven; Heritage Senior Living, with six; Brandywine Senior Living, with five; and Atria Senior Living, Highgate Senior Living and Spectrum Senior Living, with four each.
Twenty-eight communities of small-business organizations (typically, those with five or fewer communities) are represented among the winners.
Additionally, 55 communities have been named “Caring Super Stars” for having earned Caring Star awards in three or more years since the program’s inception in 2012.
Nine communities of the small-business organization communities made the Super Stars list. The multi-property operators with the most communities on the Super Stars list are Eskaton, with six; Senior Lifestyle, with five; Atria with four; and Holiday Retirement and Stellar Senior Living, with three each.
