Seniors are living longer, they’re seeking care much later in life, and more are moving into assisted living communities as couples. These are some of the changing demographics facing senior communities today—with the promise that they’re look significantly different again in just a few years.
What’s responsible for these changes and how are they forcing providers to rethink their amenities and living options? In a recent interview with Environments For Aging, Susan Eckert, President of Harmony Senior Services (Roanoke, Va.), talked about some of the changes her organization is facing and how she’s adapting the built environment in response.
Environments For Aging: What changes do you see in your senior population?
Susan Eckert: What I’m seeing right now, much like everyone else, is that people are coming in much older than they did 10 years ago. My assisted living (AL) residents are coming in at the age of 87 or 88 and my independent living (IL) residents are coming in at the age of 83 on average. Another big thing that’s changed over the last few years is the number of couples we’re seeing in our buildings. There was a time when 1 to 2 percent of the total AL population was couples—now I’m seeing 15 percent. In IL, upwards of 25 percent of my residents is couples. That’s a big change. What’s happening is they’re waiting a long time to come in, they’re still married, but they don’t want to be separated when one of them needs assistance.
Another issue is that here come the baby boomers! This is a different type of person than those from the World War II generation. As an owner, I’m looking at this older person coming in and thinking about what do I need to do to accommodate their needs, and then what do I need for these baby boomers. Ten to 15 years from now, my buildings are going to have to look different than they do today.
What will be different?
Dining and technology will be the two biggest things. Residents are not going to want to go into a big dining room and have the same seat every night, seven nights a week. They want flexibility, so I’m starting to design buildings that have different dining venues. We’ll keep a lovely formal dining room, but I’m also building grills where you can go in and get a hamburger or light informal meal. We’re also trying to put in grab and go for those who want a salad or sandwich to take to their apartment.
In regards to technology, I want to be able to provide two things: One is to be able to give every IL resident an iPad when they come in. To do that, I have to have Wi-Fi, so I’m now trying to put Wi-Fi in all of my buildings throughout the entire facility. We’re also doing Internet cafes so people have a place to go and sit at a table and work on a laptop, but I also want to have a classroom-type setting so they can learn more about what they can do and where they can find information online. They’re eager to learn.
Do these changes require bigger facilities or a reallocation of space?
Reallocation is the answer, and maybe a little punch-out here and there. For instance, I have a building in Richmond, Va., that has an incredibly large dining room. I know in another five years when the tides change and new people come in and there are more baby boomers, perhaps I have to change that. Maybe I’m going to divide up that dining room and change it into two or three venues. I have a pub in that building right now, but maybe during that day, that’s where I put my grab and go. It’s going to take some reinventing, there’s no question.
What are some other resident needs and changes that are affecting the design of your communities?
We’re putting non-denominational chapels back in. Years ago we did this, during the 1990s and early 2000s, but we got away from it. We’ve always provided transportation for residents to their churches, but now people want to do memorial services right in the building so if a person passes away, the residents can recognize that person in their own community, in their home. It’s looking at body, mind and spirit.
The other thing—and it’s kind of cyclical—is we’re back to designing bigger apartment units. I think it’s because they’re coming later in life and they’re lived in that big house forever so it’s really hard to think about coming to a small studio or one bedroom apartment. If they’re going to finally leave their house at the age of 86, they want to come to a big two-bedroom. So that’s what we’re building.
