Hank Keith, CFO & Interim CEO, Westminster St. Augustine

Invest: spoke with CFO and interim CEO Hank Keith about the varied ways in which senior living operator Westminster St. Augustine continues to grow in the wake of both the COVID pandemic and Jacksonville’s current economic prosperity. Westminster provides its residents with amenities and quality care that meet shifting market standards, Keith said.

What have been some significant achievements for Westminster over the last 12 months?

Westminster St. Augustine is beginning to implement the next phase of villa homes on our campus. The addition of these new constructions will be a catalyst for growth, resulting in the doubling of the size of Westminster St. Augustine over the coming years.

What measures are being implemented by Westminster to provide high quality, affordable housing for its residents? 

Westminster St. Augustine is a life-plan community, so it is not considered “affordable.” We offer a life-plan community where the residents pay an entrance fee in addition to a monthly fee. Our residents essentially live here for the rest of their lives, and they can move between levels of care during their stay. We set our rates based on market conditions in the Jacksonville area. I would not consider this product “affordable,” though the Westminster organization does offer other products in other areas which are affordable.

How are Northeast Florida’s current demographic trends affecting your business?

Our demographics have performed extremely well, especially in St. Augustine. We lifted our St. Augustine community out of bankruptcy in 2017. Since then, the main road out of the campus has grown exponentially to include a Costco and Wawa in addition to other large businesses, which were quickly followed by a new neighborhood, so we are seeing a huge boom in activity in St. Augustine.

What trends have emerged in terms of resident preferences and expectations?

Expectations today are much higher than they used to be. We believe this could be a generational change. Families are now wanting to be a part of the decision-making process more than they were previously. They are asking questions about the food we serve and the activities we offer, and are also offering opinions about the construction layout. We have observed the emergence of this evolution in the nature of family involvement over the last 10 years.

How does Westminster differentiate itself from other competitors in the senior/assisted living industry?

The most impactful way in which we stand out is the way in which we promote our faith-based, nonprofit mission. We tend to stay within the mid- or upper-level income market, while many of our competitors for life-plan communities are generally for higher end residents. The market has been huge for us moving forward. Westminster recently added 36 units for sale, and they all sold within 45 days.

What unique challenges does the industry face in Northeast Florida?

Coming out of the pandemic, the challenge was labor. This has since settled down, and we no longer have the same labor demands or wage increase demands as we did previously. We are beginning to observe normal wage increases of 3% or 5% and are starting to see more staff come to the table. 

There were also fears that there would be fewer people wanting to move into retirement communities after COVID, but if anything, we demonstrated that it is actually better to live in a retirement community because we can provide more protections. Residents did not need to leave the community, as outsiders were not allowed inside, and we were able to bring in food, care, and anything else they needed, so it was not necessary to leave the neighborhood if they did not feel safe to do so. Our residents found it felt safer to stay in the community rather than their own homes. Home is our biggest competition. 

What goals will Westminster St. Augustine focus on in the next two to three years?

We will be adding an onsite health clinic for residents, which will also be expanded to staff in the near future. Westminster is also working on transforming our auditorium to make it more of a cultural enhancement center, which we had also previously executed at a different facility and was met with great success. We also intend to add another 60 units to our campus, after we finish constructing the current set of 36 units, with the hope of almost doubling the size of the campus going forward. Outpatient therapy is another recent addition, so residents no longer need to leave campus for this treatment. The establishment of a revised wellness program is also in progress, which will be designed by the residents. As we focus on sustained longevity, we prioritize our residents’ wants and needs, including their physical and mental health and well-being.

What have recently been the main drivers of growth for Westminster?

We believe we will continue to observe a tremendous demand for villa units going forward, as well as possibly a need for large-sized apartments. In terms of healthcare, demand is small, and our community is essentially reducing the number of health center beds we have, due to risk and reduced reimbursement. We are seeing reimbursement headed backward and costs going up, so healthcare is not working well for us at the moment, but we will always have skilled nursing onsite. For assisted living, we intend to eventually increase our memory care options at the St. Augustine campus.