February 26, 2024
As the global population ages, it will bring both opportunities and challenges for senior living. The projected number of Americans aged 65 and older is expected to double from 46 million to over 98 million by 2060. It will be the first time in history the number of older adults outnumbers children under age five. In addition, older adults will live longer than ever before. One out of every four 65-year-olds today will live past age 90. These remarkable gains are due to improved public health, better nutrition, and better healthcare.
With many people now expected to live into their nineties or beyond, there will be many new challenges and questions to answer. Even though people are living longer, they are not necessarily living healthier.
The nature of the assisted living prospect has changed dramatically over the past 15 years, with even greater changes to come. The senior living industry, including The Westbury Senior Living, will need to consider ways to adapt to residents with more complex and extended chronic care needs.
Some ways to adapt to residents with more complex needs include additional staff training. Not only will staff need the skills to care for residents progressing in their disease processes, but they will also need to understand how to quickly identify changes in their condition. Being proactive in this effort will allow teams to provide the care the residents need precisely when they need it.
Third-party vendors will be crucial to helping our assisted living staff be proactive.
The following will be crucial for caring for a resident population:
These vendors provide resident-specific care needed to help older adults continue to thrive in the assisted living environment.
Some strategies that will help us to adapt to the aging population with more complex and extended chronic care issues include remembering every resident is unique in their condition and diagnosis. This means better educating staff and residents on any updates to their health conditions and understanding how this may change their plan of care to keep them safe and healthy. Communication is key within this process to facilitate the best outcome.
We can prepare and educate our staff to care for a population with more significant needs by preparing and educating them in conjunction with communicating their needs. This is crucial to caring for the aging in an ever-changing world of medicine. Additional education, within an in-service or individual training, is imperative to the resident population’s continuity and quality of care.
It is more important than ever to take a proactive approach when a change in condition occurs with a resident. To ensure our teams recognize even small changes within residents, we must be proactive when anticipating changing conditions with aging. We can ensure our team will recognize these issues by attempting to schedule with consistent staff and offering leadership guidance in concordance with all areas of treatment.
Once you identify a change, take the appropriate next steps by discussing how this will affect the resident’s plan of care to best suit their needs. After establishing a clear plan of care, communicate it directly to the team involved in the resident’s day-to-day treatment. This discussion should be prompt and clear, as these changes need implementation as soon as possible.
Caring for a sicker population in an assisted living setting is a challenging issue that requires a multifaceted approach. Aging in place is an important goal for an older adult and should also be a priority of the senior living industry. To meet this goal, we must ensure we can fulfill the needs of our aging residents.
The Westbury Senior Living in Columbia, MO offers independent senior apartments, assisted living, and memory care with a variety of services and a range of floor plan options. Amenities include restaurant dining, 24-hour bistro, concierge service, housekeeping, events and entertainment, personal care, transportation services, and more. Centrally located near University Hospital and Boone Hospital with convenient access to major shopping centers and attractions, including Mizzou Tigers, Columbia Mall, The Broadway Shops, MKT Nature and Fitness Trail, Finger Lake State Park, and LA Nickell Golf Course.
