WICHITA, Kan. — Legend Senior Living announced Monday the acquisition of Brookdale in Hutchinson, which offers independent living, assisted living and memory care. It will become the eighth Legend community in Kansas for the Wichita-based company. The community is located at 2416 Brentwood and its new name will be Legend of Hutchinson.
Acquiring a new community involves getting to know the personalities involved. “It’s exciting because you meet some really great people through the process,” Matt Buchanan, Executive Vice President of Legend Senior Living, said.
“A great acquisition opportunity doesn’t present itself without being operated by great people. We recognize that dynamic and recognize we’re coming into a well-operated business. The first priority in any acquisition is continuity of operations,” Buchanan explained. “What tools do the staff need day one to continue providing care to residents? Solve that first, then everything else will happen in due course.”
“The key is communication and offering peace of mind to residents’ families and associates. IT infrastructure, software systems, payroll, vendor service agreements, utility transfer, staff training, onboarding, records transfer; it all has to happen in a very short amount of time,” Buchanan said. “When it comes to adding a community through acquisition, everything is different when compared to going through the process of developing it from the ground up.”
Legend has extensive experience and success at both. “I think it comes down to one thing at a time,” Buchanan said. “In a start-up, we have a year or more to plan for operations. In an acquisition, the team usually has four to eight weeks to plan and prepare. It’s a lot of moving pieces that have to come together all at once to produce a smooth transition.”
Welltower Inc. owns the real estate, which Brookdale leases. Welltower has a long-standing relationship with both Brookdale and Legend dating back more than 25 years and presented the opportunity to transition operations. Legend will be the new lessee for the property.