My colleague and friend, Michele Holleran, PhD, recently posted her predictions for the future of senior living in an industry trade publication. Michele has a 35-year career working with senior living communities and their leadership in many different capacities, including as a strategic planning consultant and as an executive leadership coach. She is uniquely qualified to be a prognosticator for that segment of society and the businesses attached to it. I’m posting this because I believe her views are worth sharing beyond the circles of those who work in the fields of aging and senior living.
Because of our rapidly aging population and the choices individuals and families need to make about where and with whom the older family members will spend their final years, the field of senior living has come out from the shadows and into the limelight in recent years, for better…and worse. Like all industries (yes, senior living is an industry), there are some bad actors around but my personal experience of the last 12 years, observing and interacting with people who manage these enterprises and serve older adults is that they are some of the most caring and compassionate people I have ever encountered.
The Trends
1. Acknowledging the necessity for middle-market products
It is not lost on the owners and managers of senior living properties that boomers and Gen Xers come in a wide variety of income and savings levels. Therefore the products offered to their parents’ generation is not suitable for this generation of elders. Dr. Holleran reminds us in her article that the median retirement savings of boomers is only $202,000, and almost half of 55-64 year olds have no retirement savings at all.
A variety of new products are entering the marketplace, some by legacy senior living companies (e.g Kendal’s continuing care at home), some through grass-roots organizing and development (e.g. co-housing, tiny homes). The popularity of 55+ communities, now known as the “active adult” segment of senior living is thriving and there are entry points at many levels of the income spectrum.
2. Understanding that more people are aging solo
Almost 20% of baby boomer women did not have children. That figure is almost double the rate of all previous generations. Recently, the U.S. Census bureau provided a report on childless older Americans that underscored the rise in that segment of the population. When we compound that with the rate of gray divorce (40% of divorcing persons are age 50+), we end up with a very large population of “solo agers,” older adults who live alone or will be unsupported by family in later life.
3. Focusing on Longevity and Well-being
Senior living operators are well aware of the nationwide trend in the country toward increasing our healthful years beyond 65. Older adults who are contemplating how and where they want to live in their later decades are paying attention to the science behind longevity and wellness. That trend includes brain health as well as strength and mobility.
More and more senior living communities are transforming themselves into oases of healthy living, health eating, and multiple opportunities to work out and be active every day. Gyms are expanding, food offerings are focusing more on a plant-based diet, and communities are hiring wellness coaches to be available to residents.
4. Breaching the walls of the community
It hasn’t been lost on the senior living providers that there is tremendous interest and activity around the idea of aging in place. AARP, the National Institute of Health, and other interested organizations have conducted polls to test the desires of the growing population of older adults in the U.S. and repeatedly found that the majority still want to stay in their own homes as long as they possibly can, hopefully forever. But they are also finding out that most people are not prepared to do that.
Enter senior living. Still fairly new, home and community-based services are part of a growing product line for the senior living industry. In a recent study of 200 not-for-profit life plan communities (also known as continuing care retirement communities or CCRCs), over 60% said they offer home-based services (HCBS), and another third of the respondents claimed to have plans to initiate HCBS in the next few years.
5. Creating opportunities for intergenerational mingling
One of the big objections many older adults have to moving to a retirement community is that they don’t want to lose contact with children and younger adults. Some of the ways senior living designers are accommodating the desire on the part of older adults for intergenerational living and the ability to have contact with people of all ages, is by opening parts of the community to the public.
Incorporating public-facing coffee shops dining venues, fitness centers, and farmers markets are part of a growing trend in senior living. Some senior living communities are being designed and constructed on the grounds of universities and colleges, where residents take classes with younger students. Also becoming more popular are spaces devoted to daycare centers, playgrounds, and parks, often partially staffed by residents, and all open to the public during certain hours.
6. Acknowledging the increased need for memory Care
Specialty residences devoted solely to those who need specialized programming for brain impairment are growing rapidly. Some are within existing continuing care environments, others are stand-alone. Understanding of impaired brain health, generally called dementia, or in some cases identified as Alzheimers Disease, is advancing.
Huge resources are being devoted to brain science and the medical scientific community is gaining ground on developing both better diagnostic instruments and the ability to reverse the disease. Until we get there, however, there is a tremendous need to memory care and senior living is doing a lot to fill the void where home care is unavailable or insufficient. Those communities offering memory care are doing a good job of staying abreast of incremental discoveries about how to offer the best environment for those who have been diagnosed with this condition.
7. Employing technology to create tailored experiences and increase community building
Thanks to dramatic advances in artificial intelligence and related technologies, campuses for senior living will be able to offer their residents a much more personalized service and an environment that is focused on connection, inclusiveness, and belonging. Staffing enhancements in many communities already include life coaches and concierge services for all residents.
Telemedicine, combined with predictive analytics, will allow residents to be more active participants in their own healthcare management and to have a more personalized experience with treatment. Residents will have access to personalized wellness and care plans through technologies that are being implemented already in many communities.
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