Innovating for the Good Life: Takeaways from the Senior Living Innovation Forum
With nearly 1 billion seniors worldwide, where and how they live is becoming increasingly critical
A Swiss Army Knife represents versatility, multifunctionality–and innovation. But have you ever heard its characteristics applied to a senior living facility?
It’s something that Tama Duffy Day, Principal of the Senior Living Practice at Gensler, proposes has applications in elder care and living–emphasizing integrated design as a superpower for better supporting an aging population.
Last month, during the Senior Living Innovation Forum, in Napa, Cali., Duffy Day and others highlighted how innovation is permeating the senior living sector. And experts like Patrick Bultema, President and CEO of the Eden Alternative, argued that the sector was poised to benefit from being much more bullish on innovative strategies.
Scores of speakers–including our own President and CEO Rachel Hodgdon–were focused on the human experience of creating inclusive, supportive communities for both senior residents and staff–including how to inspire through awe and community design.
“The pandemic has increased expectations for safer environments for living and working. The pressure is high for senior living facilities to follow the science and find ways to communicate their evidence-based practices to their residents and their families,” stated Hodgon at the event.
Many conversations circled around using technology as a resource to improve the experience of senior living communities, even if focused on something as straightforward as nurse scheduling and staffing resourcing.
Yet as discussions turned to the U.S. News & World Report ratings of senior living facilities, several speakers tried to glean the key features that differentiated the top performers. The recurring answer was resident experience coupled with new innovations and leadership opportunities in service, health and community engagement.
More than 600 senior living communities around the world are enrolled to pursue or have achieved the WELL Health-Safety Rating or WELL Certification, representing more than 30 million square feet and a more than fourfold adoption increase in the sector since a year ago.
These innovators in senior living are helping drive the tremendous growth and adoption of WELL strategies across the sector, especially as the pandemic continues to elevate the importance of health, safety and well-being in our buildings and communities, especially those that serve our senior populations.
The trends and activity are certainly consonant with what we’re seeing in the market, where a host of leaders in the sector have embraced WELL to demonstrate their leadership in health and well-being. Here are a few articles about how this shift is taking root:
- Innovators in Senior Living Redefine Leadership in Health and Safety
- Enlivant Becomes First Senior Living Portfolio to Achieve WELL Health-Safety Rating
- Sunrise Senior Living Announces the Opening of Its Sunrise at East 56th Community in New York City
- The Jewish Home of Rochester Receives IWBI’s WELL Health-Safety Rating – First in the Region
