Background: Understanding Senior Living Neighborhoods

Timeline of Senior Living

Before diving into the details of Senior Living design, we must first understand the evolution of Senior Living throughout history. Senior living and retirement communities have been in operation since as early as the 1800s and early 1900s. During this time these communities were referred to are “Rest Homes”, which was a short term for describing a location where elderly or senior citizens could receive specific care that they could not otherwise receive in their own homes. These were quaint facilities with limited space for residence and were often philanthropically funded (Wilson, 2007). In 1965, the creation of Medicare and Medicaid shifted these facilities into one that resembles a modern nursing facility. At the same time, Title I was passed aiming to provide adequate income for retirement and the communities, including suitable housing, necessary resources for care, and services that keep the elderly mind active and healthy. Throughout the following years government regulations began to become more strict as codes were introduced to regulate standards within the different facilities. The shift in government standards required facilities to operate more like a hospital under a certification requirement. Ultimately this led to a breakdown of Elderly Care Facilities into different groups of specialty and care, including Independent Living, Assisted Living Homes, Memory Care, Skilled Nursing Facilities, Hospice, and Continue Care Retirement Communities (Achenbaum and Carr, n.d.).

The growth of the Senior Living industry has expanded within the past 50 years drastically due to the availability of facilities throughout the nation. As medical advancements and research regarding aging progress, the number of elderly citizens interested in these facilities increases. Another outcome of medical advancements that have led to the growth of Senior Care facilities is the average American life expectancy shift. A male child born in 2015 had a life expectancy of 76.5 years where as a female had a life expectancy of 81.2 years which created the average of American life expectancy to be 78 years old (SeniorLiving.org, 2019). In addition to the extended life expectancy, a major aspect that has already begun to and will continue to effect the growth of of Senior Care facilities in a massive wave is the Silver Tsunami (Comlossy and Walden, 2013). As baby boomers, citizens born between 1946 and 1964, begin to grow older the number of senior citizens will increase from roughly 13 precent of the population to 20 percent of the population in the United States by 2030. By this time all baby boomers will be over the age of 65, putting one in every five United States citizens at retirement age, outnumbering children for the first time in United States history (Bureau, 2018).

But overall, a large portion of growth in Senior Care facilities relates back to the availability of resources. In other words, the growth of these Senior Care Facilities have encouraged number of senior citizens moving out of their normal lives and into a senior community where they strive to keep the mind active, extending the life expectancy of residents on its own. With the access to healthcare, controlled facilities, and healthy living environments such as Assisted Living and Independent living, the residents are forced to live healthier lifestyles through there meal choices and their daily habits such as smoking. These community centered facilities also encourage daily socialization with other residents within the facilities which has become a proven cause to longevity in an elderly life. Certain communities may offer trips with others in their age group that require the same care as well as encouraging dating apps for those who are interested. A senior citizen in a normal living environment such as their own home is less likely to get the day to day socialization they need to keep their mind and body healthy, but when moving into a Senior Care facility, they are encouraged daily increasing their life expectancy (SeniorLiving.org, 2019). Rather than approaching the idea of putting a senior citizen in a facility due to illness of extensive care needs, most will begin to place them in a control environment at an earlier age to encourage their independence for as long of a period as possible (SeniorLiving.org, 2019).

As the age expectancy and the number of senior citizens in the United States continues to rise, the need for new, efficient Senior Care facilities becomes a growing necessity in our country. The number of current facilities drastically undermines the influx of space and care our country will need by the year 2030, causing a heavy demand for senior living design to prepare our country for the high demand.

References:

Achenbaum, W. and Carr, L. (n.d.). A Brief History of Aging Services in the United States |

American Society on Aging. [online] Asaging.org. Available at: https://www.asaging.org/

blog/brief-history-aging-services-united-states [Accessed 31 Jan. 2019].

Bureau, U. (2018). Older People Projected to Outnumber Children. [online] The United

States Census Bureau. Available at: https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-

releases/2018/cb18-41-population-projections.html [Accessed 31 Jan. 2019].

Comlossy, M. and Walden, J. (2013). SILVER TSUNAMI. [online] Ncsl.org. Available at: http://

www.ncsl.org/research/health/silver-tsunami.aspx [Accessed 31 Jan. 2019].

Keren Brown Wilson; Historical Evolution of Assisted Living in the United States, 1979 to the

Present, The Gerontologist, Volume 47, Issue suppl_1, 1 December 2007, Pages 8–22,

https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/47.Supplement_1.8

SeniorLiving.org. (2019). Senior Statistics & Research | Nursing Home & Elder Care Statistics.

[online] Available at: https://www.seniorliving.org/research/ [Accessed 31 Jan. 2019].