Page 5 - Dinuba Sentinel 11-1-18 E-edition

The Dinuba Sentinel Thursday, November 1, 2018 | A5
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The Future of Retirement Communities
Retirement Commu-
nity boards and management continually have to check and recheck to determine if the services of their retirement communities are meeting expectations now and into the future. e buildings
will stand as they get older; however, the services must remain fresh and pertinent to the residents served. Strate- gic planning is ever ongoing with questions like: What is happening in society? How are people aging? What about technology? We need to look at what is important to the
By Ro Linscheid
living longer but also living well. Science has dramatically advanced our life expectancy. ere are residents who have lived on campus 20 years or more. As a retirement com- munity with numerous levels of care there is a constant question of what direction should we go to be able to help the most people? Will we need more assisted living, skilled nursing or independent care? Already, I am seeing
the lines between the dif- ferent levels of care start to blur. Regulations have held Retirement Communities in a decades old model. Strategic thinkers have to think cre- atively to meet the needs and desires of the people who live in the community.
What we do know is
we cannot stand still. We must create as much well- being in each level as we can. ere must be updates to the community and changes to policies to accommodate the seniors of today all the while looking forward to the seniors of tomorrow.
Senior Retirement Living is caring for only a small percentage of the senior population. e Institute on Aging states that 65 percent of elders are receiving their long-term care from family and friends. ere are about 42 million seniors in the United States today. Only 35 percent of seniors today are living in some type of senior living environment. In 2030, the senior population will
be at least 80 million people. Senior Living and health care will be very much in demand in 2030 due to the decrease of the younger population. Fami- lies will not have the person- nel nor the resources to care for someone who needs care and/or supervision. We need to ask ourselves whether the seniors of tomorrow will be excited about living in retire- ment communities. Will we have the amenities that people want and appreciate?
I know of a group of seniors in Lancaster, Penn- sylvania who have developed their own system for senior living. ey have created a
deliberate community within the city. ese folks bought homes that are in close prox- imity of each other. ey help each other get to places such as doctor appointments and more. is group has devel- oped a helpline with volun- teers. e volunteers sign up for what they would be will- ing to do. en the helpline puts the volunteer with the person who needs assistance. ere is no medical assistance in this community. Is this the way of the future?
We will need both the senior living communities and these other deliberate service communities to accommo- date the growing number of seniors. It is easy for Retire- ment Community leaders to relax and let things run when everything is going well. at kind of thinking will not result in a vibrant thriving community years from now. We must think strategically now to keep the Retirement Communities interesting and welcoming for those people who will need us in the future.
people who are looking at our Retirement Community to- day, as well as what the future will look like in 10 to 20 years.
For too many years, se- niors have been told what they needed; now seniors want to
Now What?
set their own style of living. I see this trend at Sierra View Homes Retirement Commu- nity, as I look at the Indepen- dent Living apartments. e apartments did not stay the same every time Sierra View built new ones. Even though the basic oor plan remained the same, features changed
in the apartments because expectations changed. Out- door living space gave way
to indoor living space. Lim- ited amenities went to many amenities. e biggest change came in 2012 with new oor plans and amenities, only after careful study and interviews of potential residents.
In 2018, we are experi- encing the fact that people are living longer than they did 30 years ago. ey are not only
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