“Technology at Revera: two steps ahead”

Steve Paraskevopoulos leads the 50-person Technology team that supports nearly 170 individual sites and more than 20,000 employees at the Canada-based senior living company Revera Inc., a leading owner, operator, developer, and innovator in the senior living sector. Through its portfolio of partnerships, Revera owns and/or operates more than 500 properties across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. With approximately 50,000 employees overall, Revera serves more than 55,000 seniors.

Steve’s business experience started in his youth; he learned the value of hard work and good service while working in the family business.

Later, armed with a physics degree, his first few roles included operations, warehousing, inside sales and management. He cut his chops at Lucent Technologies before moving to MDS Sciex, where he led application science teams, product development, engineering and eventually worked in acquisitions and divestitures.

When it came time for a change, his instincts and passion told him that the best next move would be to a pure-play technology role. He joined senior living company Revera as Vice-President, Governance and Solution Delivery in 2011, knowing that the role would provide broad exposure to all aspects of the complex and vital 24/7 business of running long term care homes and retirement residences.

“There are very few roles in an organization that have the level of exposure that Technology has,” explains Steve. “We get involved in nearly every facet of the business. Tech is the back-office enabler of every function in every company these days, and if you do it successfully, and you’re engaged in the business at a strategic level, you can make a tremendous difference.”

"The Revera Technology team’s strategy is built on the decision to be integrators, not developers. That means drawing on best-in-class applications and developing Tech leaders who bring value."

Strategy is the key. As CTO, Steve has a broad understanding of the needs and goals of the business and a clear vision for how technology can support it.

Very little happens at Revera without some involvement from his team. They support applications for dining, entertainment, care and well-being, wifi and communications tools for residents, along with sophisticated infection prevention and control applications, COVID screening tools and AI and machine learning programs that help target major risks in senior living environments.

Technology is generally at the heart of Revera’s initiatives, and the way Steve’s team partners with the business has earned them a seat at the table. Of course, none of this would be possible without the award-winning company’s investments in great talent, solid infrastructure and a cloud-first strategy.

The Revera Technology team’s strategy is built on the decision to be integrators, not developers. That means drawing on best-in-class applications and developing Tech leaders who bring value. They are engaged in the business and knowledgeable about the innovative new solutions that are available.

At Revera, innovation falls under Technology and is supported by a $20 million Innovators in Aging Program, which allows the team to partner with and invest in like-minded start-up companies that bring innovative technologies, products and services that can benefit seniors.

Like all healthcare organizations, Revera was deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to cloud-based enterprise resource planning software, the entire support team seamlessly moved to remote work when the pandemic hit. As time went on, technology played a crucial role in digitally tracking COVID tests and leveraging analytics to make smart, quick decisions on the pandemic response. These were moments when having the trust of the business made it possible to make a potentially life-saving impact.

“We really try to push ourselves up the value chain, so that we know the business well and anticipate where technology can add value,” explains Steve. “We’ve hired smart, senior people who have a thirst to understand the business.”

Steve's role is to encourage these talented people to be as progressive as they can, to push them to think deeply about their customers' needs and to challenge them to find impactful solutions. He asks probing questions with empathy, curiosity and respect to challenge his team’s beliefs and prompt them to flex their intellectual muscles. He holds people accountable for making sure every decision aligns with the strategy and improves the resident experience, the employee experience or the business’s performance.

Looking toward the future, Steve is especially excited about the power of information to drive the business forward.

“We are a very data-rich organization, and we need analytics to drive strong insights, improve decision-making and create value for the organization and – more importantly – for our residents," says Steve. “As our analytics get more and more sophisticated, we can use them to improve the circle of care, shape the culture at our sites and provide residents with more independence and choice.”

It’s all focused on delivering what Revera promises to its residents: more living. IE