Today's Senior Living Communities Are Not Your Grandma's 'Old Folks' Home': An Expert Guide to Shopping for the Right Fit
Senior living facilities have improved over the years and are as diverse as the people who inhabit them. Now, they're more than just a place to go — they're a place to grow.
In my hometown, everybody called it the "old folks' home." It's where my aunt worked long ago, and I used to tag along as a boy because I liked the people who lived there.
In the old folks' home, ageist as that term is, people had roommates and ate community meals and maybe joined a weekly bingo game for entertainment.
Oh, how times have changed.
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Four decades later, I'm an adult, and shopping for a new place for my mom, 85, and my dad, 87, to live was a stark reminder of just how much housing for older people has changed. The old folks' home? Maybe it's still out there, but it's definitely not the norm.
The good news is, the marketplace has been transformed in a way that gives older people unprecedented choice over their style of living.
As a licensed nurse and CEO of a complete senior health company serving 5,500 people each day in their homes and in over 45 senior living communities, I know something about how senior living has improved over the years — and how to look for the best fit for you.
Modern options
With more Americans turning 65 now than at any time in history — more than 4 million per year, a total of 76 million people in the biggest generation of older people ever — the balance of power has shifted toward consumers, and older people are moving the market toward their wants.
After decades of transforming business, politics, music, education, arts and culture, Baby Boomers are changing the way America ages.
The biggest shift from the former days of the old folks' home is all the choices in modern senior living.
An AARP survey found that three of every four older people want to age in place at home, but professional home health care aides are increasingly hard to find, with agencies reporting major labor shortages that will grow to as many as 2.5 million unfilled jobs in the next decade.
Many older people, instead, are opting for community life. This route has developed the newest options that far surpass the former basics of the old folks' home.
Today, older people can move to:
- Age 55-plus communities for independent living with shared amenities
- Assisted living with staff that helps with bathing, dressing and eating
- Memory care for people with Alzheimer's and dementia
- Nursing homes with specialist nursing facilities and round-the-clock medical care
- Managed communities that allow people to live within all of the stages mentioned above as health changes over time
The key here is comparison shopping. It's crucial to visit prospective senior living options before you need them — the idea is to see if the community, culture and space feel right for you.
Though some liken the experience of shopping for senior communities to kicking the tires on a prospective car, I think it should be more like considering a college — you may be living there for years, and the experience can change your life.
Key items for your checklist
While the typical old folks' home of my youth had a one-size-fits-all approach to the people who lived there, modern communities should be able to reflect the Baby Boomer culture that values personal control for health choices.
Most older people have numerous doctors and specialists in several different medical offices. Scheduling and transportation can be daunting, so it pays to look for a senior community with professionals who work as a point person to coordinate health care.
Today there's much greater priority on daily wellness and prevention. Workout facilities have become standard for both exercise and rehab; many offer staff who are physical therapists, personal trainers and dieticians.
One of the biggest ways boomers have transformed American culture is at mealtime. Gone are the TV dinners and institutional fish sticks of Boomer youth.
Shopping for the right senior living experience means making sure the dining at any community can not only accommodate but celebrate healthy food choices and individual requirements for people who want vegetarian, gluten-free and other options.
Another important shopping point is to see how much personal risk each community allows you to take on. Sometimes adult children who serve as caregivers at home are more interested in safeguarding their parents than letting them take on the responsibilities and choices of daily life.
However, few older people want to live like a fragile egg in a protective cocoon. How important is it for you to keep your own schedule, or be outside daily or continue hobbies that may carry consequences, such as woodworking, swimming or pickleball? Check out the community ethic before committing to a new place to live.
Not too long ago, the old folks' home was designed and run to be a basic safety net. In our lifetimes, though, senior living has become more than just a place to go — it can be a place to grow.
The senior living market is big enough and diverse enough that you should be able to find the right fit for you. It pays to shop around.
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