Yardi Boosts Senior Living Platform

Eric Kolber, Yardi

By Mallory Bulman, Associate Editor

Yardi Systems Inc. has added another comprehensive software suite to its arsenal of tech tools. With the acquisition of Optimus EMR, Inc., announced Wednesday, the company will now provide a single platform for skilled nursing and long-term care facilities as a part of its Yardi Senior Living Suite. The suite offers integrated assessments, care plans and automated minimum data set (MDS), which will provide senior care providers with a seamless business solution for everything from enterprise resource planning (ERP) to electronic health records.

Optimus, established in 2001, has grown exponentially since its inception and is currently operational in hundreds of facilities in more than 30 states. Craig Griffin, senior vice president for Optimus, hopes to continue this upward mobility by uniting with Yardi. “Teaming with Yardi creates an exciting opportunity to be part of a new era in electronic health records,” he said.

Eric Kolber, vice president of senior living at Yardi, enumerated the many benefits of an end-to-end software solution. “A single-stack solution is the most efficient approach to data management. The benefits include optimal staffing, maximized revenues, and improved resident care,” said Kolber. “Integrating the Optimus clinical suite enables us to broaden our services into skilled nursing, adult daycare, and home health, which are essential to long-term care.” Kolber says additional benefits to the new system will include more efficient data management, improved data integrity, and more streamlined processes that will eliminate redundancy as well as save time and money.

Kolber assures current and prospective Optimus clients that they needn’t worry about switching over to a brand new, unfamiliar system, saying, “Our intent is to continue to grow and support Optimus EMR, which is a fantastic standalone platform for the long-term post-acute care space…We will take that knowledge base that Optimus has, and that underlying engine that powers some of the most complicated parts, such as the MDS, and we will incorporate that engine into the larger Yardi Senior Living Suite.”

Fil Southerland, director of healthcare solutions for Yardi, sees this innovative software solution as a response to the changing nature of the industry. “We’re really seeing a big consolidation in the industry now where senior housing portfolios are including independent living, assisted living, as well as skilled nursing rehab, home health, and etcetera. So we’re really expanding our product to be able to accommodate our clients’ entire portfolio footprint,” he told CPE.

Yardi’s most recent addition joins the ranks of its other recently acquired software services like MCEnergy, Inc., a provider of market insights and energy management services which Yardi acquired in August. In 2014, the company also added Enerliance, an intelligent HVAC optimization system, as well as Centershift, a self-storage management platform. In 2013, Yardi bought like-minded property and market research supplier Pierce-Eislen.

Yardi plans to maintain and expand the current Optimus teams in Irvine, Calif. and Mansfield, Mass.