For decades and still today, the senior care industry (including skilled care, rehabilitation, and memory care) has remained profitable by filling large buildings with patients while keeping staffing ratios low. Their long hallways, high staff turnover, and emphasis on bare minimum requirements leave seniors feeling isolated and at higher risk for deteriorating well-being. These are among the reasons why seniors fight to age in place, staying in their comfortable, familiar homes. But for many seniors, complex medical needs exceed their ability to age in place safely and strain cherished relationships as children and grandchildren become caregivers. For others, being able to return home after illness or injury depends on successful recovery through rehabilitation.
First-hand experiences with caregiving complexity led to the founding team’s idea of The Restoracy. Celebrating our fifth year of resident-centered care across three locations, our model of care proves itself every day, both through the experiences our residents and their families share, and the key performance indicators exceeding state and national averages.
Doing the right thing sometimes requires going against established standards, and we’re doing just that.
From skepticism to first-choice referrals
When The Restoracy opened its doors, healthcare professionals needed plenty of explanation about what made this model different. Today, the conversation has completely shifted. Discharge planners—the hospital professionals responsible for ensuring patients transition safely from hospital to skilled nursing care—now actively seek out The Restoracy for their patients.
“Discharge planners specifically say they feel peace of mind when sending patients to us. They know their patients will be seen, heard, and will improve,” explains The Restoracy’s Ryan Levengood. “We’ve gone from ‘What’s The Restoracy?’ to “Can you take another one?”
This transformation reflects something deeper happening in healthcare. Hospital partners consistently report that The Restoracy’s patients have significantly lower readmission rates compared to those discharged to traditional facilities. Readmissions—when patients need to return to the hospital shortly after discharge—are costly, stressful for families, and often preventable with proper skilled nursing care.
The difference lies in The Restoracy’s ability to manage medically complex patients while maintaining their dignity and quality of life. It’s not just about helping someone leave the hospital quickly—it’s about ensuring they’re truly ready to thrive in their next chapter.
The power of being known by name, not room number
With just 192 residents across three locations, compared to traditional facilities housing 100-150 residents, The Restoracy demonstrates daily that a smaller scale creates a bigger impact. In their small-home environment, every resident is known by name, their preferences understood, and their individual needs addressed promptly.
This personal approach translates into measurable outcomes that matter to families: faster response times when residents need assistance, fewer falls due to attentive supervision, more personalized therapy sessions, and dramatically higher family satisfaction scores.
One resident who had nearly given up hope of walking again after suffering a stroke was able to walk out of The Restoracy. In a traditional nursing home setting, she likely would have been placed in a large, shared room and left waiting for scheduled therapy appointments. Instead, at The Restoracy, she had daily access to an in-house therapy team and recovered enough strength and mobility to walk out of the building when she went home.
“You gave me my mom back,” her daughter told the staff—words that capture the profound difference personalized care can make during recovery.
Performance that speaks louder than promises
The Restoracy consistently outperforms state and national averages across key quality indicators that matter most to residents and families. We recently earned recognition as being ranked in the top 10% of nursing homes nationwide. We received a deficiency-free survey from state regulators—achievements that reflect our commitment to excellence in every aspect of care.
Our outcomes include higher rehabilitation discharge-to-home rates (meaning more residents successfully return to independent living), shorter lengths of stay without compromising recovery quality, and superior performance in staffing ratios. While traditional facilities often struggle with high staff turnover, The Restoracy maintains lower turnover rates because our team members feel valued, supported, and part of something meaningful.
Our team tracks metrics that others often overlook, but that significantly impact the quality of life: therapy touches per day, time residents spend engaged and out of bed, response times for call lights, and direct staff-to-resident interaction. These detailed measurements provide insight into not just medical outcomes, but the daily experience of being a resident.
Therapy that transforms recovery
One of our most significant innovations has been bringing therapy services in-house rather than contracting with outside providers. This decision to launch Restore Rehab has transformed how rehabilitation happens and how quickly residents recover.
When external companies provide therapy, residents often wait for scheduled appointments, work with different therapists who may not know their history, and experience gaps in their treatment. At The Restoracy, therapists are integrated into the daily rhythm of care. They’re not strangers who clock in for a session. They’re team members who collaborate with nursing staff, understand each resident’s complete picture, and can provide therapy when residents are most ready to benefit.
This consistency leads to faster recoveries and stronger therapeutic relationships. The entire care team approaches treatment more collaboratively, with less compartmentalization between different types of care providers.
Families become advocates for change
The impact of The Restoracy’s model extends far beyond our three locations. Families who experience this level of care become powerful advocates for change throughout their communities.
They share their experiences with friends, neighbors, and even hospital staff. Some have written opinion pieces for local newspapers or spoken at community forums about the difference quality skilled nursing care can make. Their testimonials have become some of the strongest evidence that a better model of senior care is not only possible but necessary.
“Families are now asking smarter, more informed questions like ‘How many residents are in each home? How often will my loved one be seen? Can they get therapy every day?’ because they’ve heard from others that there’s something better out there,” notes Ryan. “They aren’t settling for traditional nursing homes anymore.”
This shift in family expectations is pressuring other facilities to examine their own practices and consider improvements, even if they can’t fully replicate The Restoracy’s model.
Healthcare professionals take notice
The success of The Restoracy’s model has caught the attention of healthcare systems beyond our immediate service area. Hospital administrators invite our team to participate in provider network meetings, using our approach as a benchmark for person-centered care. Some competing facilities have quietly attempted to adopt elements of our model, though without the complete cultural commitment, the results often fall short.
The most meaningful feedback often comes from case managers and discharge planners who work directly with families during difficult transitions. As one case manager shared: “I wish every nursing home felt like yours—it would change everything about discharge planning.”
This professional recognition has led to invitations to speak at industry panels and participate in advisory boards, where our team shares insights about implementing person-centered care and achieving superior outcomes through innovative approaches.
Economic impact beyond the obvious
While The Restoracy’s daily rates may not be the lowest available, our model creates significant cost savings for families and healthcare systems through reduced readmissions, fewer emergency room visits, and faster successful discharges home. These downstream savings often more than offset initial costs, making our approach not only a better experience for seniors but also economically beneficial over time.
We’re beginning to explore value-based contracts with insurance providers. These contracts recognize that preventing complications and readmissions saves money throughout the healthcare system while improving experiences for patients and families.
A ripple effect that’s reshaping expectations
Five years after opening, The Restoracy has created ripple effects throughout our regional healthcare ecosystem that extend far beyond our physical locations. Hospital partners now ask other skilled nursing facilities why they can’t provide the same level of care and outcomes. Families regularly walk away from traditional nursing homes because they know better options exist.
The influence has spread to other healthcare sectors. Home health agencies, hospice providers, and even hospitals are rethinking patient-centered design and care delivery based on principles that The Restoracy has proven effective.
Perhaps most surprisingly, the community response has exceeded all expectations. Local schools, churches, and businesses have embraced The Restoracy as a community resource, creating opportunities for intergenerational programming and volunteer engagement that enrich residents’ daily experiences and provide social benefits to the broader community.
The future of senior care is already here
The success of The Restoracy proves that when you shrink the building, you grow the impact. Our three locations in Whitestown, Carmel, and Goshen serve as proof points that this model can scale effectively, not by building massive facilities, but by replicating excellent small homes in more communities.
Looking ahead, our influence continues to grow through additional campuses, deeper hospital partnerships, and advocacy for policy changes around staffing requirements and facility design standards. We envision a future where small-home design and appropriate staffing ratios based on patient acuity become standard rather than exceptional.
This vision represents more than business expansion. It’s about fundamentally changing how society approaches aging and senior care. Instead of viewing nursing home placement as a last resort to be avoided, The Restoracy model creates facilities that families can feel genuinely good about choosing.
Your choice creates change
Every family’s decision about senior care carries weight beyond their immediate situation. By choosing The Restoracy, families aren’t just finding a place for their loved one—they’re joining a movement that’s demonstrating what’s possible when senior care prioritizes people over profits.
Healthcare professionals who refer patients to The Restoracy are similarly contributing to systemic change. Each referral sends a message that excellence in senior care is not just desirable but expected, and that facilities committed to superior outcomes deserve support and growth opportunities.
The conversation around senior care is shifting because places like The Restoracy exist and thrive. We’re proving that seniors deserve care that honors their dignity, supports their recovery, and recognizes that aging is a stage of life to be lived fully rather than a crisis to be managed minimally.
Experience the difference for yourself
Numbers and stories can only convey so much about what makes The Restoracy different. The most powerful way to understand our approach is to experience it firsthand by touring one of our locations.
During a visit, you’ll see residents engaged in activities rather than sitting passively in hallways. You’ll notice staff members who know residents’ names, preferences, and stories. You’ll observe therapy happening naturally throughout the day rather than being confined to scheduled appointments. Most importantly, you’ll feel the warmth and dignity that characterizes every interaction.
The Restoracy’s model proves that excellent senior care is possible when facilities commit to putting residents first. Our five years of success and growth demonstrate that this approach is not only sustainable but essential for the future of senior care.
Ready to see what person-centered skilled nursing care looks like? Schedule a tour of The Restoracy today and discover the difference that small homes and big hearts can make in your family’s senior care journey.