April 7, 2026
This article is one of three interviews conducted by Amber Busch with Tana Gall.
Labor Costs and the Role of Technology in Senior Living
Summary
Senior living has undergone a fundamental shift, driven by changing consumer expectations around lifestyle, location, and connection. Tana Gall, President of Merrill Gardens, explains how urban development, modern apartment design, and technology‑enabled services are reshaping communities to better reflect how today’s seniors want to live. These changes, paired with disciplined cost management, are helping the industry remain both relevant and affordable.
Leveraging Technology to Maintain Affordability
Amber Busch:
We hear so much about rising costs, especially regarding labor. How do you keep your communities affordable?
Tana Gall:
You really have to look closely at every line in the budget and be intentional about each, because labor is labor. Most of our Truewood communities include assisted living, and that’s an area where we don’t compromise. When it comes to care, we pay people full market value for what they’re worth. That’s non-negotiable.
Assisted living is more challenging to make affordable, so we focused on other parts of the business. Dining, for example, looks different. We didn’t change our per-resident food dollars because quality still matters, but we rethought how meals are delivered. By serving food more efficiently, we were able to reduce dining labor by about 30 percent.
That also meant leaning into technology. We introduced robots to help with serving, which allowed us to maintain quality while significantly reducing costs.
Amber Busch:
That’s very interesting! Tell me more about that?
Tana Gall:
In a few of our communities, we use two robots: one for serving and one for bussing. What’s really exciting is what that allows our staff to do. Instead of running back and forth, our servers stay out in the dining room, engaging with residents the way you would in a restaurant.
We use a point-of-sale system where the server enters the order, and it goes directly to the kitchen. The kitchen then prepares it and places it on the robot, and the robot delivers it to the table. The server remains in the dining room, interacting with residents.
The result is a more efficient process, as residents get their meals faster and at the right temperature. An added benefit we didn’t fully anticipate is improved safety. Staff are no longer carrying heavy trays or large bus tubs, which has reduced the risk of slips, falls, and injuries.
Our original goal was to be more efficient with staffing, but the technology ended up delivering additional benefits as well. It’s not a cure-all, but when you’re building something from the ground up with affordability in mind, you must be willing to try new approaches.
Amber Busch:
We’re seeing technology impact so many different industries, helping teams work more efficiently and spend more time on the human side of the work.
But I’m curious, how are seniors responding to that? What do they think about robots in the communities and the other ways you’re using technology and AI?
Tana Gall:
Honestly, I worried about that for no reason. They’ve taken to it incredibly well. People are people, and just because someone is older doesn’t mean they don’t like technology.
I’ll give you an example. A couple of months ago, I stopped by one of our university buildings without an appointment, just to say hello. I walked down the hallway and passed four residents, and not one of them looked up from their phone. I felt like I was in high school or something. It was amazing to see.
Our residents have really embraced technology. iPads and iPhones are how they stay connected with their families. FaceTime is a big part of their lives now. There’s an expectation that our Wi‑Fi is strong enough to support multiple devices in their apartments, because staying connected is important to them.
The Evolution of Senior Living: Design, Location, and Changing Expectations
Amber Busch:
Tana, you’ve been in the industry for 31 years, correct? Years ago, senior housing was often built away from everything, out on the edges of communities. Now we’re seeing communities built right in city centers, surrounded by everything, because people want to stay connected and involved. Beyond location, what other ways have you seen the industry change over the course of your career?
Tana Gall:
That’s a really good point. We do a lot of our development in town centers because we’ve found that intergenerational environments are powerful, for seniors and for everyone around them.
Another major shift has been expectations around apartment finishes. Today, senior apartments don’t look much different from high-quality multifamily housing. Years ago, you might have thought you could skip things like washers and dryers, but now those are essential. Residents don’t want to haul their laundry down the hall to a shared space, they want the convenience of doing it in their own apartment. So, the physical design of communities has changed significantly because of that.
But even more than the buildings, what’s really changed is our understanding of how seniors want to live. They want to stay engaged. They want to volunteer. Many still work—some in consulting roles, some even going into an office. What we’re realizing is that our role isn’t to take things away but to enhance their lives so they can keep doing the things they enjoy.
That mindset is much more accepted today than it was 30 years ago. We have a far more educated consumer now. Back in the 1990s, many people thought senior living meant going into a nursing home. Today, people understand that’s not the case, and that shift has made a tremendous difference in how the industry operates.
Amber Busch:
I’ve heard people say that going into senior housing is something they really dread, but then once they move in, they wonder why they didn’t do it sooner because it’s so great.
Tana Gall:
If I had a nickel for every time someone said that to me, I’d be sitting on a beach somewhere with you. It’s absolutely true. The value can be hard to see until you experience it firsthand. But once people move in and start living it, many say it’s one of the best decisions they’ve ever made.
Amber Busch:
It’s really the sense of community, having easy access to so many great people.
Tana Gall:
Exactly. If you think about the generation that moved in during the 1990s and early 2000s, many of them went straight from high school into wartime service, then came home and lived in single-family houses. Communal living wasn’t something they were familiar with, so moving into a building like this felt very foreign.
Today’s customers are different. They lived in dorms, condos, fraternities, or sororities. They’ve experienced communal life before, and many are actually looking forward to it again. They remember the social connection and the fun that comes with it. That generation is now moving into senior living, and their expectations are different.
Biggest Misconception in the Industry
Amber Busch:
If you could change one misconception about the senior living industry, what would it be?
Tana Gall:
I think the biggest misconception is that senior living is a place you go at the end of life. And, God willing, we’re honored to be there if that’s part of someone’s journey—but that’s not the full picture.
What I wish people understood is that senior living is a place to thrive. It’s about the next chapter of life, not the last chapter—a chapter. Our role is to help residents find purpose. The people I see thriving the most are the ones who still feel needed, who know they matter.
There’s this idea that when you move into senior living, you’re being warehoused or put out to pasture, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. We’re a place where people can live fully, be their best selves, and define what that next chapter looks like for them.
Amber Busch:
Whether that’s playing bingo or not. It might be cool playing bingo!
Tana Gall:
I love bingo—I’m with you! We’re not doing away with bingo, but what else could we do?
Mahjong is also incredibly popular—though I don’t dare interrupt those games. I’ll ask residents, “Can you teach me?” and they just put their hands up and say, “Sorry, Tana; we’re busy.”
Managing a Multigenerational Workforce
Amber Busch:
One thing I’ve noticed with the new generation of young adults coming out of college and into the workforce is that they have very different views and expectations about work and life. I assume you’re seeing the same thing. Have you adapted how you bring people in or how you structure roles to reflect that?
I was talking with someone recently who suggested that instead of an eight‑hour shift, some people might prefer two four‑hour shifts, especially in households where both partners work. I’d never really thought about that before. Are there ways you’re changing and adapting for younger employees entering the industry?
Tana Gall:
That’s exactly right. The cool thing about this generation is that they care deeply about purpose. They want meaningful work, but they also care about work‑life balance. Scheduling flexibility is one of the biggest ways we try to support that, especially for line staff like servers, caregivers, and med techs. We do our best to be flexible wherever we can.
The challenge comes at the leadership level. When you’re a general manager overseeing 85 to 100 employees, you’re often managing four generations at once: boomers, Gen X, millennials, and now Gen Z. And each group wants something a little different. You can’t completely overcorrect and make scheduling a free‑for‑all, because there still has to be structure and accountability.
So, it really comes back to getting to know people as individuals—understanding what matters to them and finding ways to adapt schedules that work for everyone. Managing a multigenerational workforce is definitely one of our biggest challenges today.
Amber Busch:
It’s been wonderful speaking with you, Tana. Thank you so much for your time and insights—I know our readers will find this really valuable.
Tana Gall:
Thank you, Amber! And thank you for all you do for our industry. This was a lot of fun.
-End of interview-
Click here to read more about Amber’s interview with Tana Gall.
This interview has been edited for readability while preserving the substance and intent of the original conversation.
© Clark Nuber PS, 2026. All rights reserved.
