Episode 13:2 Bob Kramer on the “Second Pandemic” and Why Innovation Takes a Village

One of the most powerful voices in the business of aging well, Bob Kramer shares his vision for transformational change in senior housing and healthcare, solutions for the crippling staffing crisis, and exciting collaborations with NIC and Nexus Insights.

About Bob

Bob Kramer is Founder and Fellow at Nexus Insights, a think tank advancing the well-being of older adults through innovative models of housing, community and healthcare. Mr. Kramer is also Co-founder, former CEO, and now Strategic Advisor at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). He is broadly recognized as one of senior living’s most influential and high profile thought leaders and connectors. With over 35 years of industry leadership, he has earned the reputation of “agent provocateur” in the seniors housing and care industry. He has been described as an “ice-cutter” and scout in identifying industries and trends that will disrupt the future of seniors housing, aging services, and aging more broadly.

In 1991, Mr. Kramer co-founded NIC to advance access and choice in seniors housing and care by attracting capital to grow the sector. Under his leadership, NIC became the go-to resource for data and analytics for the rapidly expanding seniors housing and care industry and an acknowledged thought leader for new ideas and trends impacting the provision of housing, services and care for older adults. Mr. Kramer stepped out of the CEO role in 2107 and continues to serve NIC as Strategic Advisor.

A former county government official and Maryland state legislator, Mr. Kramer was a leader on health and environmental issues while representing the state capital of Annapolis in the 1980s. Mr. Kramer was educated at Harvard and Oxford Universities and holds a Master of Divinity degree from Westminster Theological Seminary.

Key Takeaways

• The staffing crisis is the second pandemic. Senior living communities are trying to do more with less. Staff are suffering from physical and mental exhaustion.
• Senior living needs to move away from a model based on care and assuming decline and deficit, to an aspirational model based on lifestyle and personalization.
• In the past 10 years, assisted living has focused on marketing care and stopped selling lifestyle, community and engagement. The future is about enabling a sense of purpose, belonging and connection.
• Age-tech has exploded. Ten years ago, the age-tech category was nonexistent. This year, CES (Consumer Electronic Show) partnered with the AARP’s Agetech Collaborative on an entire area dedicated to age-tech startups.