Episode 10:5 James Lee Flips the Script on Senior Living with Focus on Kindness and Joy

The Co-founder & CEO of Bella Groves talks about how his caregiver-first perspective shaped his new venture, and the pitfalls of treating dementia as a normal part of aging.

About James

Jams Lee is an icon in senior living and aging services, as an executive in large corporations and as founder of several entrepreneurial ventures. In 2021, he transitioned from an executive position in an established senior living organization to launch three interrelated endeavors: Bella Groves, a consulting firm, and a leadership podcast. Bella Groves is a care education company providing dementia training for family caregivers, coaching to guide families in their care for loved ones, and a 32-bed dementia care residence that serves as the hub of learning and modeling care.

James is also owner of Bear Wise Consulting, an executive coaching firm and host of Level Up, a podcast dedicated to sharing self-growth and development ideas. He publishes a twice monthly newsletter on LinkedIn and is a frequent speaker on online platforms and at industry conferences.

Key Takeaways

• The average length of stay in a dementia care community is 18 months and the disease progression is more than 10 years. Senior living’s offering is incomplete.
• Bella Groves’ 32-bed memory care community serves as a working showroom of dementia knowledge.
• Senior living’s two primary technologies are analytical technology to help understand what's going on, and action-oriented technology like social connectivity tools that help take care of residents. A foundation of data analysis is the place to start—outside companies can’t provide the information.
• Genuine kindness happens at a small intimate personal level so the only true way to infuse it is with the people you interact with every day. Create a Ponzi scheme of kindness.