Culture isn’t created through mission statements or policies alone—it shows up in the everyday interactions between caregivers, leaders, residents, and families. In senior living,
a strong organizational culture can influence everything from the quality of care to caregiver satisfaction and long-term staff retention.
Heather Kesler has devoted over two decades to setting up organizations in which relationships are given the top priority. Being the Founder and CEO of 1019 Senior Living, she holds the view that outstanding care starts with establishing environments in which both residents and staff members feel that they are valued, heard, and supported. Together with her husband and co-founder, James Kesler, Heather has created an organization driven by culture, with a focus on meaningful communication, accessible leadership, and ensuring that every interaction makes a difference.
In this conversation, Heather shares practical insights on what truly shapes workplace culture, why communication remains one of the industry’s biggest challenges, and how leaders can create environments where caregivers—and the people they care for—can thrive.
Keep reading to discover her insights.
I think what it means to us at 1019 is that we base everything we do around our residents and being present with both our residents and our team members.
Most senior living communities have a certain feel when you walk in. A building can feel cold, warm, or even dysfunctional. When you're building culture, that's one of the biggest indicators. When you walk into one of our buildings, you can feel the warmth, and that's based on the interactions with residents and team members. It's a whole puzzle that comes together to create that feeling.
James, my husband and co-founder, and I meet with all of our new team members every Wednesday on Zoom. We use that time to go over our values and get to know each person.
One of the questions I always ask is, "What do you need from us?" The answer we hear week after week is communication.
People who come to our organization from other organizations consistently tell us that's what's been missing. As an industry, we haven't done a very good job of communicating because there's so much happening all the time.
Communication isn't just about policies. We work with residents and their daily lives. We're providing a very intimate service. I believe that all care happens within a relationship, so we're constantly building relationships. Then the question becomes: How do you communicate the important parts of those relationships?
That's what we see people needing the most. Communication looks a little different in each of our communities because it's shaped by the leadership at that building, their communication style, and the team they've built around themselves.
– Heather Kesler, Founder & CEO, 1019 Senior Living
Our weekly Zoom calls are with all new onboarding team members, but beyond that, we have some core communication standards that are non-negotiable.
Each building holds an all-inclusive daily stand-up. We put our own unique spin on it, but the goal is the same. Everyone who's in the building at that time comes together, except for the team member who needs to stay with residents.
During those meetings, everyone talks about what's going on and what they're noticing with residents. That includes maintenance, housekeeping, dietary, and caregiving. Every person's voice is heard because the housekeeper may notice something that the nurse didn't.
James and I are both licensed administrators, and one thing we've learned is how important it is to provide a platform where people can be heard.
Most people who work in senior care have a genuine heart for seniors. The problem in some communities is that the people closest to the residents don't always have an opportunity to speak up, and that can lead to poor outcomes.
That's one of our minimum communication standards. Each leader runs those meetings a little differently, but at the core, every team member on shift has the opportunity to communicate.
I think it's probably one of the biggest factors in retention.
We spend more time with the people we work with than we do with our own families. Nobody wants to work in an environment that's dysfunctional or hostile. Some workplaces can be pretty mean.
My husband, James, was actually a professional magician before becoming a licensed administrator. People used to ask him what he wanted to do when he retired, and he'd always say, "I want to work at the circus."
I'd tell him, "James, I'm not living in a circus car."
When people asked him why, he'd say, "Have you ever seen anyone upset at a circus? Everybody's happy."
James and I truly believe we're living our retirement now because we get to go into environments and make people happy every day. That's the culture we want in our buildings.
Everyone who joins 1019 is making an active choice to be part of our vision and enjoy each day with our residents.
We often talk about making moments matter. We work with many residents living with memory loss, and those moments truly matter. It could be something as simple as walking with someone down the hallway. That 30-second interaction matters. A resident with dementia may forget it a minute later, but being fully present in that moment still makes a difference.
We do that with our residents, but we also do it with our team members.
In today's fast-paced world, relationship-building often gets lost. People want to belong. They want to be seen and heard.
It's very unusual for James and me to visit one of our communities without knowing our team members. In fact, that really doesn't happen. When we onboard a new community, James and I meet individually with every single team member—not to understand their work, but to understand them as a person and to let them get to know us as people.
That relationship truly matters.
Yes, people need good pay because everyone has bills and living expenses. But beyond that, all the other things that shape someone's day matter too. We want people to be happy where they work.
I would say, seek first to understand.
When you're getting to know someone, ask questions. Make it personal. Build the connection.
Then, when someone is having difficulties, you'll already know things about their life. Maybe they have three kids at home and no support system. When their behavior changes, instead of making assumptions, you can say, "Hey, I can see you're struggling. What's going on? How can we help?"
I think that's one of the biggest things people miss today. They don't seek first to understand what's really going on. Just asking the questions can make a tremendous difference.
As Heather shared, building a strong senior living culture isn't about policies alone—it's about creating meaningful relationships that support both residents and caregivers every day.
Heather Kesler is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of 1019 Senior Living, where she has spent more than 20 years helping build culture-driven senior living communities centered on exceptional resident care and meaningful employee engagement. A licensed Health Facility Administrator with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Medical Anthropology, Heather combines operational expertise with a passion for leadership, relationship-building, and organizational culture.
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