Bryan Welty Of Friendship Village, South Hills On 5 Things We Must Do To Improve the US Healthcare System
An Interview With Jake Frankel
Our overall goal is to retain our staff. Strong staff retention at Friendship Village creates an environment where team members deliver excellent service and build lasting relationships with residents. This sense of connection fosters a welcoming atmosphere, where residents feel truly at home and supported. Our last team members’ engagement survey showed that we had 83% of team members highly engaged, which is important in retention, and it is a good pulse check to show that our community is doing well.
As a part of our interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Bryan Welty.
Bryan Welty joined Lifespace Communities in 2016 as the Executive Director at Friendship Village of South Hills. A premier senior living community in Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania, Friendship Village offers a dynamic and engaging lifestyle to residents. Friendship Village offers an active, resort-style community where residents enjoy social opportunities, exceptional dining and a maintenance-free lifestyle. With a strong focus on wellness and engagement, residents have the flexibility to live independently while knowing additional support is available if ever needed. Lifespace Communities, Inc., is a not-for-profit organization founded in Des Moines, Iowa and based in Dallas, Texas.
Under Bryan’s leadership, Friendship Village earned a distinguished spot in Newsweek’s 2025 rankings of America’s Best Continuing Care Retirement Communities. Additionally, Bryan led his team, and won, the Operations Excellence award from Lifespace and successfully opened an Assisted Living and Memory Care addition.
Before joining Lifespace, Bryan gained experience in the hospitality industry, working his way up through multi-unit food and beverage operations and hotel management companies representing IHG, Starwood and Marriott Hotels. Bryan has served as Director of Catering, Director of Food and Beverage, Director of Sales and Marketing, Director of Operations and General Manager before joining Lifespace Communities.
A lifelong learner, in addition to a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Robert Morris University, Bryan became a licensed Personal Care Home Administrator and an Assisted Living Administrator after joining the Company. Bryan grew up in and is a resident of the South Hills of Pittsburgh. He enjoys traveling and recently visited Portugal with his family to celebrate a wedding. He visits Hilton Head regularly to recharge his batteries and takes advantage of visiting the various walking trails in the area to enjoy nature. Bryan has been married for 39 years and resides in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania with his wife Christy and has two grown daughters Kenzie and Shelby.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into our interview, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Before joining Friendship Village, I worked in hospitality and hotel management. I was sought out by a recruiter looking for hospitality professionals to make the switch to a resort-style senior community. I quickly realized that my previous experiences were transferable because Lifespace Communities are not your typical independent living communities. The strong focus on premier services and amenities, culinary and lifestyle activities helped with the transition. Friendship Village residents and team members also eased my transition with their warmth and happy spirits. Being able to work somewhere with an amazing community and culture makes it all the more special.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
If I were to pick any story, it would have to be about the pandemic. I’m sure if you ask someone working in a community like ours during this time, they’d agree with me in saying the pandemic wasn’t easy. During this time I was so thankful to have the support and resources of Lifespace’s Communities. Thankfully our staff and residents are very creative.
During COVID, Friendship Village remained committed to keeping residents socially and physically engaged. The community introduced innovative outdoor activities, virtual social events and wellness programs that allowed residents to stay connected and continue enjoying their lifestyle. One memory that sticks out to me during this time is that with the resident’s balconies, we filled the exterior courtyards with music and had a group-wide COVID-friendly exercise class.
During COVID, through examples like these, our community was able to quickly pivot and help take care of those who were infected, protect residents to the best of our abilities and effectively communicate any updates or changes along the way.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote?” Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite life lesson quote is one I’m reminded of every day. It’s “live long, die short.” Our goal as team members is to make the time that our residents have on this earth purposeful, memorable and fun. In doing this, we help them however we can so they can remain independent and continue to do the things that they love. We want them to be able to live the life they want to live.
How would you define an “excellent provider?”
Fortunately, working here I see a top-notch living community that provides a vibrant lifestyle, fosters connections, and supports residents in maintaining independence. At Friendship Village, the focus is on enriching lives through engaging activities, wellness programs and a strong sense of belonging. I would describe all of our workers as holistic thinkers with great listening skills, who are endearing and empathetic. All of our team members are supportive of residents in all areas of living and they often go above and beyond to meet the needs of our residents.
What are your favorite books, podcasts or resources that inspire you to be a better healthcare leader? Can you explain why you like them?
When I first started working here, one resident gave me a book from our library titled “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End” by Atul Gawande. The book helped define the aging process and made me think more about how exciting and fulfilling it can be to live in a vibrant community with socially active residents. This opened my mind to different possibilities in the aging process and how beneficial it is to be in a community setting like Friendship Village.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Throughout my tenure, I’ve been able to be a part of some exciting new projects here. Currently, we are putting the finishing touches on a $5 million refresh for a project in our independent living and skilled nursing. We have beautiful new common spaces including a new dining room, multi-purpose room, theater and billiard room.
One thing I’m fortunate for is that Lifespace and Friendship Village are always interested in being innovative and trying new technology. Before we implement any new technology or project we pilot the initiative to collect feedback from our residents before we make any community-wide changes. Recently we tried and tested a wearable watch-type device. One thing we value as a team member is resident feedback, and we are always looking for opportunities to provide the very best in products and services.
If you had the power to make a change, what would you do to improve the U.S. healthcare system for seniors?
I would love to see more seniors having access to communities where life is more about thriving. It’s well documented that a significant proportion of older people in the U.S. report being lonely and isolated, which can increase the risk of premature death to levels comparable to smoking daily. Our most recent United States Surgeon General called loneliness and isolation a public health crisis and talked often about the lack of connection in our country.
Communities like Friendship Village improve seniors’ lives by meeting their social, intellectual, physical and spiritual needs. At Friendship Village of South Hills, residents rekindle passions, make meaningful connections and discover new experiences. Friendship Village is a dynamic environment where residents forge new friendships, explore passions and engage in lifelong learning. With regular social events, fitness classes and cultural outings, residents enjoy an enriching lifestyle that keeps them connected and fulfilled.
What concrete steps would have to be done to manifest these changes? What can a) individuals, b) corporations, c) communities and d) leaders do to help?
As individuals, we need to educate ourselves and plan for our retirement. Planning for retirement in your younger years is essential. Choosing a senior living community like Friendship Village is about embracing a lifestyle of convenience, social connection and personal enrichment. Without the burdens of home maintenance, residents can focus on what matters most — whether that’s traveling, exploring new hobbies or spending time with friends and family.
How do you think we can address the problem of employee shortages and burnout?
Our overall goal is to retain our staff. Strong staff retention at Friendship Village creates an environment where team members deliver excellent service and build lasting relationships with residents. This sense of connection fosters a welcoming atmosphere, where residents feel truly at home and supported. Our last team members’ engagement survey showed that we had 83% of team members highly engaged, which is important in retention, and it is a good pulse check to show that our community is doing well.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Over the years that I’ve been working in senior living, I’ve witnessed subtle changes. Our successful living committee is centered around Health and Wellness and one of my favorite quotes we share in this committee is “Don’t start stopping”. By this I mean get involved, stay active and generally just keep moving. Our community has been credited as one of the best Continuing Care Retirement Communities in the United States and I believe that is because our residents are so active and social.
How can our readers further learn more online?
Check out our website to learn more! https://www.friendshipvillagepa.com/retirement-community-upper-st-clair-pa-friendship-village/?utm_medium=organic&utm_source=gmb&utm_campaign=community
Thank you so much for these insights! This was very inspirational and we wish you continued success in your great work.
Bryan Welty Of Friendship Village, South Hills On 5 Things We Must Do To Improve the US Healthcare… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.