AgingIN and Southern Administrative Services Partner to Help Sustain Nonprofit Skilled Nursing Communities with Comprehensive and Creative Options

DENVER, Colo., Aug. 11, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Communities across the country are losing skilled nursing capacity through financial failures, struggling operations or poor management from for-profit companies. All of this results in poor care for older adults. AgingIN and Southern Administrative Services (SAS) today launched a groundbreaking partnership to help nonprofit organizations build and sustain skilled nursing communities to expand capacity and meet growing community needs.

The collaboration, announced at AgingIN’s annual conference in Denver, will begin with the development of a 120-bed GREEN HOUSE Project® skilled nursing community in Savoy, Illinois, near Champaign. Developed in partnership with Advocates for Aging Care, the community will help meet growing local demand for skilled nursing care, which is expected to reach nearly twice the county’s current capacity.

The private-public partnership project secured state approval, including a Certificate of Need, in less than a year. The process that often takes new nonprofit organizations several years demonstrates how experienced project leadership can accelerate development.

Champaign County, Illinois, has about 400 skilled nursing beds, but it is projected to need nearly 750, forcing many families to seek care outside the community. The Green House® Project replaces traditional institutional nursing homes with small homes that deliver person-directed care while helping communities rebuild much-needed skilled nursing capacity. Southern Administrative Services’ experience in development, financing, regulation and operations will help support development and implementation of the community’s 10 cottages.

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, nursing home closures disrupt continuity of care, place additional burdens on remaining providers and disproportionately affect vulnerable older adults.

“Small house communities are key to solving one of aging services’ biggest challenges, restoring skilled nursing capacity,” said Susan Ryan, CEO of AgingIN. “Working with SAS enables nonprofit organizations to continue owning and operating skilled nursing that delivers dollars to their bottom line while sustaining quality care operations for our most vulnerable populations.”

John Ponthie, with Southern Administrative Services, says that in this industry, you can do well, and you can do good. “As a for-profit operator, I’m troubled whenever I see good nursing home operators with a great mission not succeed because they lack the economies of scale, expertise and resources necessary to compete in this ever-challenging healthcare landscape. It is nearly impossible to leverage all the professional knowledge necessary to compete effectively with a very small number of beds, and often the management organizations that exist for smaller operators lack accountability, creativity and support for capital needs. Too many turnarounds fail because they repeat the same broken approaches,” he continues. “SAS has shown that small house and Green House models can deliver exceptional care with good financial results, while still accepting all payor sources, including Medicaid. We want to share that experience with operators who need a better path forward. Instead of selling to an unknown entity, there may be creative ways to preserve the mission, strengthen operations and continue serving older adults successfully.”

At the local level, projects like this will have an immediate impact on families.

“It is important for the community to care for our elderly, especially when they are at their most vulnerable, and their families are facing a crisis,” said Cathy Emanuel, Advocates for Aging Care committee chair, who helped form the volunteer-run organization when the community saw the impact on older citizens after three nursing homes closed.

As more nonprofit organizations seek to address local shortages in skilled nursing, assisted living and memory care, the partnership will help providers develop small house and Green House communities to offer end-to-end expertise in planning, financing, approvals, implementation, operations and person-directed care, helping organizations move projects from concept to opening more quickly.

Organizations interested in developing Green House or other small house communities can learn more about the partnership and available planning, consulting and implementation services at https://aginginnovation.org/news/press/.

About AgingIN

AgingIN is a national nonprofit accelerating the future of aging services through innovative solutions, strategic partnerships and industry collaboration. As the home of the Green House Project and Pioneer Network, AgingIN helps organizations strengthen the workforce, equip exceptional leaders, elevate the resident experience and optimize organizational performance through coaching, consulting, education and strategic support. By convening leaders and fostering collaboration across the field, AgingIN is helping shape what’s next in aging services. For more information, visit https://aginginnovation.org/.

About Southern Administrative Services

Southern Administrative Services is a consulting organization that partners with providers to plan, develop, improve and operate senior living and long-term care communities. The company specializes in helping organizations navigate complex regulatory, financial and operational challenges while advancing innovative models of care.

About Advocates for Aging Care

Advocates for Aging Care is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving access to exceptional long-term care services for older adults in Champaign County. Through innovation, collaboration and community engagement, the organization is working to develop a new model for skilled nursing care that emphasizes dignity, quality and person-directed living.

MULTIMEDIA:

Photo link: https://aginginnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/AgingIN-Greenhouse_800x600.png

Photo caption: To meet the growing demand for care, AgingIN and Southern Administrative Services are partnering to help nonprofit organizations build and sustain skilled nursing communities, including a new 120-bed Green House Project® community in Savoy, Illinois.

LOGO link: https://aginginnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/AgingIN_logo_rgb-1.png

NEWS SOURCE: AgingIN

Keywords: Hospitals and Nursing, skilled nursing care, GREEN HOUSE Project, Advocates for Aging Care, AgingIN and Southern Administrative Services, , DENVER, Colo.

This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (AgingIN) who is solely responsible for its accuracy, by Send2Press® Newswire. Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P137391 APDF15TBLLI

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