Over the coming years, the senior housing market will expand immensely as millions of baby boomers reach retirement. This market has been on the radar of real estate investors as a potential investment opportunity.
Real estate investing in the senior housing niche has been expanding because of the demographic trend of an aging baby boomer population.
Seniors have specific needs that should be addressed when designing living quarters. There are architects specializing in designing homes and facilities for seniors such as Ozarch.
Senior housing design options are evolving to meet the needs of both the staff at facilities and the elderly themselves.
Creating Homelike Settings
A current trend is towards smaller spaces to give seniors a more home-like environment because they don't want to feel like they are living in an institution.
It is not only physically demanding but also an emotional experience when an elderly person transfers from their own home to a new residence.
To reduce the stress involved and add a level of comfort, offering design options like artwork, color choices, and furniture placement can create the opportunity for seniors to feel like they do have some control over their environment.
An example of a senior care facility providing a setting similar to one's own home is to have multiple bedrooms with common dining and living rooms staffed by around-the-clock caregivers.
The same idea can be applied to traditional nursing homes by breaking down larger complexes into smaller house-like settings.
Simple things like live plants, fireplaces, and seating areas conducive to interaction can also help make a facility feel more like home.
Sense of Community
Seniors need to have opportunities to interact and socialize with each other. Moving into a senior residential facility is akin to young adults moving into a college dorm for the first time. Both can be stressful as it involves venturing away from the comfort of home to the unknown of a new place to live.
Designs should include places like fitness centers, salons, and dining areas where residents will have the ability to socialize with others and feel like they belong.
One trend is to repurpose older properties centrally-located within certain communities to offer residents a feeling of belonging. Research shows that having a sense of purpose plays a role in longevity.
Wellness Areas
The trends are moving towards having a strong focus on designing spaces for yoga, fitness, and wellness classes.
Not only will this help residents be active, stay fit, and live longer, participating in these events can help combat feeling isolated and will encourage socialization.
Outdoor wellness areas are also becoming more popular. Walking trails that are wide enough for groups increase socialization while keeping fit.
Support Staff
The best-designed facility is not complete without also addressing the needs of the staff who play a vital role in taking care of elderly residents.
When designing senior living facilities, there must be enough space for the support staff in order to increase the overall quality of care.
Caring for the elderly requires a lot of love and patience. Providing space for support staff to recharge and relax with lounging areas, break rooms, kitchens, and rooms for sleeping are the focus of many facilities looking to keep their employees happy and effective.
Not only will concentrating on these spaces for employees help them do their job, it can also be used as a way to attract and retain the best staff for your senior living facility.
Using Technology
Technology has as significant an impact on the lives of seniors as it does on the lives of people of all ages.
Products like wireless systems that notify emergency services if an elderly person falls, health-monitoring devices, and even technology that manages medications all help the elderly keep safe and live longer.
As the senior market continues to grow, technology will continue to have a huge impact. The latest technologies can improve both the residents’ care experience and the work environment for staff members.
Moving from paper workflows to electronic medical records (EMR) has already been implemented into the medical community at large. Senior living facilities utilizing EMR will be able to easily capture, share, and track services, treatments, and payments.
Some senior care facilities use technology to manage healthcare transitions prior to residents moving in. They provide them with iPads preloaded with important programs for medication reminders or “face-to-face” check-ins.
These programs enable the elderly to continue to live independently for as long as possible while building a trusting relationship at the same time.
When the time comes that the senior can no longer live alone and needs to move to a care facility, they will already have a relationship with the caregivers making their transition easier.
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