Do Resident Health & Engagement Impact Property Performance?
Rachel Munsie
Pooja Doshi Mehta
A Q&A with Rachel Munsie, CEO and Co-founder, and Pooja Doshi Mehta, Head of Business Development & Strategy, for Ounce of Care, a nationwide resident services platform, empowering healthy & thriving affordable housing communities.
We know Ounce of Care goes beyond a health concentration. Why were you both initially focused on health specifically?
Our initial health focus came naturally from our professional backgrounds in digital health. We both recognized a critical gap in connecting lower-income residents to healthcare services in a way that felt trusted and accessible. Having worked in healthcare, we understood both the barriers these communities faced and the potential for technology-enabled solutions to bridge those gaps. Health seemed like the most immediate and impactful place to start, given the clear need and our existing expertise in navigating healthcare systems.
What compelled you to expand to all resident services beyond health?
The expansion happened organically as we worked directly with residents. We quickly discovered that defining what was “health” versus “not health” was incredibly difficult – and often artificial. More importantly, we learned that to build authentic trusted relationships with residents, we frequently helped them first with issues that weren’t strictly healthcare-related. Whether it was financial concerns, safety issues, or social connection needs, these challenges were all interconnected and impacting residents’ overall health and wellbeing. This realization led us to develop our current four-pillar approach: Financial Mobility, Health and Wellness, Safety, and Community Engagement. True holistic impact required addressing the full spectrum of residents’ needs.
How do resident health and resident engagement impact multifamily property performance?
We’ve shifted from measuring just health outcomes to tracking the holistic resident experience throughout their entire journey with us. Strong resident engagement rates (40%+ at family properties and 70%+ at senior properties), engagement frequency (13x per resident annually), utilization rates (~4 services per resident), and satisfaction (4.7+ out of 5 stars), all translate into more financially stable residents and healthier communities. On average, we’re putting over $150 back in residents’ pockets each month through public benefits that we’ve helped them access. This has meaningful impact on low-income household cashflow and emergency cushion. We’ve also partnered with Medicaid health plans to demonstrate our efficacy in re-enrolling eligible residents for insurance coverage (95% re-enrolled) and closing priority care gaps (75% closed). These are proof points around the resident impact, so now we’re working with some of our partners on tying this resident impact to property performance (e.g. arrears, NOI). More to come!
Anything else to add?
What’s particularly telling about our evolution is how our service distribution ended up reacting to resident need. While we started out health-focused, now 44% of our services address Financial Stability, compared to 35% for Health and Wellness. This data reinforces that residents’ challenges are primarily financial, and addressing those needs is what allows them to focus elsewhere. Needs are interconnected, and effective support requires meeting people where they are across all aspects of their lives, not just healthcare.