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For more than a century, United Church Homes (UCH) has been focused on providing quality and affordable housing and healthcare options to older adults. Times have changed, but their mission — to transform aging by building a culture of community, wholeness and peace — has not. 

For an inside glimpse into what United Church Homes is all about, we spoke with Michael Hughes, who is senior executive vice president and chief transformation and innovation officer for UCH. 

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
 

What is United Church Homes, and what do you do? 

United Church Homes is a network of over 80 senior living properties. We're connected to the United Church of Christ, which has about a million congregants; it’s a very progressive denomination. The majority of what we do at UCH involves low-income housing for the elderly. We have life plan, skilled nursing, assisted living and other types of facilities. We have a very creative and innovative mindset. Really, it all comes from a desire to be of service, and we have this concept of “abundant life” that is at the heart of it all. 

Can you say more about what you mean by “abundant life”? 

“Abundant life” is a term that appears in the Bible, in the book of John. What it says, essentially, is that if you ever feel despondent or that your life has no purpose, that’s not what your Creator has in mind for you. And when it comes to aging, so many narratives about getting old that you see are negative, even fatalistic — we all see those narratives a lot. 

But what we want to do at United Church Homes is to turn that narrative around. We want to support the positive narrative of aging: That aging is about wisdom, perseverance and resilience, and we want to get that message out into the world. What I like to do in my role is to create more opportunities to put that message out there and celebrate that positive side. 

Can you give me a glimpse into some of the work UCH is doing? 

One of our projects that I’m very excited about is our Longfellow project in Dayton, Ohio. We're taking an entire 19th-century school complex in an underserved part of Dayton and turning that into a facility to help meet the needs specifically of older LGBTQ folks in Dayton. But it’s not exclusive — it's going to be a resource for the entire community. We have a huge theater in the school that is going to be a community theater program. We're going to have a community garden, and there's a big commercial kitchen, so startups from the community will be able to come in and use the kitchen.  

How does AgeTech technology factor into UCH’s mission and plans? 

An agenda baked into my role is what we call digital transformation. Technology plays a role in this, but really it’s about “people processes” more than technology. Human-centered design is a bedrock for every new offering we develop and how we think through problems. It’s all about getting closer to our residents, and understanding their actual wants and needs. 

With regard to technology itself, United Church Homes is going to be far more digital than we have been before, because that's where our customers are coming from. Family caregivers, for example — they're all on their phones. And we need to be more representative online. So we are going to be producing a lot of actual content, including free tips and tricks for caregivers along the lines of “How to help your parent do this or do that.” 

United Church Homes is a testbed participant with the AgeTech Collaborative™. How do you evaluate ideas for potential pilot programs? 

As we age, our function changes, and that can make our world smaller. What drives me is thinking about how can we expand that world with new types of solutions, digital or otherwise — basically giving people continued opportunities for connection, continued opportunities to feel purposeful and be spontaneous. 

When people come to me with an idea for a pilot, I say, “Okay, what's the intent behind this? What is the problem or opportunity you're trying to address? How do you think this will address it? How do you know if it will be successful or not? And what are the tollgates you're putting in to determine if the program is a go/no go, or if you need to pivot?” 

And human-centered design is critical. For example, next week I’m going to one of our facilities to talk to the residents about a pilot program involving Amazon Alexa Show and smart light bulbs. It’s an exciting program, and I’ll explain to the residents how it works, how we’ll set it all up for them, and what the benefits are of this potential new system. But at the end, when I ask: “Would you like to help us test this new system?” — if nobody raises their hands, it’s not a good idea, no matter what I think. 

Do you have any final thoughts you’d like to share? 

We’re driven by a desire to be supportive and helpful. And we feel humbled, because when people come in and stay with us, it’s their home, not our home. We’re grateful to be helping them solve problems and achieve what they want to achieve. 

 
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