Discover more about Juniper Communities History and how we are changing the face of aging through our innovative approach to wellbeing. Our communities empower people to live their best life and remain active stakeholders in all decisions.
Founded in 1988 by President and CEO Lynne S Katzmann, Juniper is based in Bloomfield, NJ, and is recognized as one of the premier regional senior living companies in the United States. However, the Juniper Story begins with “Oma”, the grandmother of company founder Lynne Katzmann.
Oma ran her own business in the 1920s, rode a motorcycle in her mid-70s, and was always ready to share her laughter, wisdom, and sheer love of life. Inspired by her example, Lynne founded a company based on a vision of aging that sees us alive in every season of life.
Today, Oma’s story has become our shared inspiration-one that has made Juniper one of America’s foremost, long-term care providers.
Focused on quality, value and innovation, we’re committed to our double bottom line of strong financial performance and superior quality of life.
In its infancy, Juniper purchased rural, under-managed skilled nursing communities. Seeking small, regional operators to improve daily operations and programming, we negotiated acquisitions, raised capital, monitored portfolio investments and designed exit strategies.
Over time it was harder and harder to find qualified lessees to meet the company’s strict standards of financial stability, quality programming and industry commitment.
It was in 1994 that Juniper began expanding its portfolio, pivoting from a focus on skilled nursing to ride the mid-90s wave of alternative assisted living facilities. And by 1996, Juniper realized that to continue to ensure our vision of changing the face of aging, we needed to refocus our efforts.
At the same time we were working to meet our commitment to a double bottom line (doing well by doing good). To meet these goals, we realized we had to begin to manage and operate our communities directly.
And so Juniper Management was formed.
As of the late 1990’s and into 2000, Juniper developed and built three communities – two purpose built for memory and one senior living community. All three were built to green standards of the time and were based on a village concept with separate neighborhoods and a town square.
All three have stood the test of time and remain current today.
In the years since, Juniper has continued to grow via strategic acquisition. Today we operate a total of 27 communities in four states – Colorado, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas. These include all levels of care from independent living to memory care to skilled rehabilitation centers as well as three campus settings.
Our mission of “nurturing the spirit of life” is visible in our physical environments and experienced through our signature programs.
For over 35 years, Juniper’s vision has been to change the face of aging. And we do that by focusing on growth, actively pursuing nationwide opportunities and serving as industry thought leaders and innovators. We believe that our newest program – Connect4Life – is a proven model for population health that is working today and growing for tomorrow.
Because we don’t just believe in our vision, we live it.
