icon Blueprint for November

The Future of Senior Housing Starts Now

By
4 min read

I like to joke with other parents that we need to treat our children well, because someday they’ll be choosing our senior living arrangements and I’d like to live someplace nice.

Joking aside, there is a kernel of truth to that statement for many of us. We all hope to age gracefully and spend our time reflecting on a life well-lived, but we don’t always think about where we will live when we get to our “golden” years. We spend our days thinking about building our careers, building a family, or acquiring more and nicer “stuff.” But the stuff that’s really important is the quality of our lives. There may be different measures of quality for each individual, but as a civilization I think we owe it to seniors—especially those with limited financial means—to set basic standards and expectations.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have the financial means to age in place or otherwise plan where they will live as they get older. And for seniors already living in affordable housing, a survey by LeadingAge found 69 percent of affordable senior housing providers are at least financially strained, if not severely financially strained, due to the Coronavirus pandemic. So, as demand rises, resources to meet it may be hard to come by. What do you want for your parents and grandparents? Would it be all that different from what you would want for yourself? In most cultures, there is a circle of life where the parents take care of their kids, and the kids take care of their aging parents. Or, as author Tia Walker puts it more elegantly, “To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honors.”

Our November issue takes a look at how we’re housing our seniors in this country. Our writers examined the demand for senior housing (it is increasing) and the resources we’re setting aside for it (not enough).

The Silver Wave of aging Baby Boomers we keep hearing about is just beginning to swell and won’t crest for another decade or so. People age 65 today can expect to live another 19 years, which is five years longer than expected in 1965, according to the

Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Aging. By 2030, the percentage of the U.S. population over age 65 will be 20 percent, up from 13 percent today.

Many of us will be making senior housing choices for our parents and hopefully for ourselves someday, as one of my southern colleagues likes to say, “If the Lord’s willing and the creek don’t rise.” Now is the time to take action to meet the rising demand. Whether it’s the convenience of an apartment with easy access, a home with on-site health services or something in between, everyone deserves options, no matter their income or station, and the ability to find what’s just right for them.

In this issue we’ll take a look at design trends, including how COVID-19 will affect the evolution of design just like it’s touching everything else. Architects, builders and engineers will need to take into account things like use of public space, ventilation and access to high-speed internet as virtual medical visits become more common. Architects and designers are taking into account facts, such as 84 percent of the LeadingAge survey respondents consider resident social isolation and access to services to be the top challenge in the next three months.

As NH&RA Policy Director Kaitlyn Snyder puts it, it’s not just that seniors need a bigger piece of the pie. We need to think about making the whole pie bigger to accommodate the need.

To me, it’s more than the cliché “circle of life” to think about taking good care of our seniors. We have to think a little selfishly as well, and make what we would want for ourselves a reality for those who need it now.

Paul Connolly
Executive Editor