Category: Seniors Housing

When kids are out trick-or-treating, they might want to hit up some houses over others.

84% of people 60 years and older give out candy on Halloween — more than any other age group, according to one study.  Seniors love answering the door to superheroes and pirates. But what if they live in a retirement community? There’s a simple answer: Welcome trick-or-treaters to your campus.

You can invite residents’ grandchildren, staffers’ children and even local neighborhood kids to trick-or-treat. The experience will not only benefit residents, but candy hunters as well — they won’t have to face the risks of crossing high-traffic streets at night in their black costumes. Residents can affix pumpkin- or bat-shaped signs to their doors to signal that they welcome trick-or-treaters.

So that residents unable to participate can still join in the fun, you can throw an all-age celebration with decorations, costumes and refreshments. Halloween is also the perfect time to invite prospective residents in for hot cider and pumpkin cookies.

Happy Halloween, all!

Elderly, frail, uneducated and with a lower income? Surprisingly, no. Those most at risk are actually younger, more educated and well off. According to a new study by the Better Business Bureau, 69 percent of scam victims are under 45, and 78 percent are college-educated.

Other surprising facts:

• Eighty-nine percent of seniors approached by a scammer recognized the scam in time, and only 11 percent lost money.
• Three times as many 18‒24-year-olds failed to recognize a scam, and 34 percent reported losing money.

A few reasons for this:

• Younger people think they’re invulnerable to scams.
• They are more likely to shop online.
• Seniors are more scam-savvy.

Another stereotype about age debunked.

We’re all vulnerable to scams, at any age. Find tips on protecting yourself here.

At a time when Taylor Swift is having all kinds of aggravation with Kanye and Kim, here’s something that could cheer her up. Residents of the Julia Wallace Retirement Village in New Zealand, average age 82, have paid tribute to Taylor by recreating her video “Shake It Off.” The video, which took a week to film, already has over 100,000 views on You Tube. Enjoy!

Watch video.

Even if you pack your diet with super foods like blueberries and broccoli, you could still be shortening your life if you’re not following the 80% rule. Why does this simple rule help you live longer?

Because it means eating only 80% of the food on your plate, which is one of nine healthy practices shared by people in longevity hot spots around the world. In fact, researchers found that in Okinawa, Japan (aka The Island of the Immortals), residents say “Hara Hachi Bu” before every meal. This phrase, which translates to “belly 80% full,” is their reminder to stop eating when their stomachs are 80% full.

We may not see an influx of 100-year-olds walking the earth, but the growing interest in leading a longer, happier life is a mature market trend we should all keep an eye on.

Next week, we’ll reveal what you should be eating.

Once again, Varsity participated in LeadingAge National, which was held last week in Boston. We wanted to share a few key themes we heard from keynote speakers and in conversation with conference participants (or attendees).

• What residents miss in care settings: Friendships, privacy and purpose — three brand attributes organizations should be chasing
• Boomers want to be the author of their  story as they age: An insight that can help communities design their offerings
• When investing in technology, pay for outcomes, not the device: Seems logical, but we’re not sure this is fully embedded in provider strategy
• Demographics are disruptive: More attention must be paid to the impact of demographics on aging service organizations
• Live longer. Live better: Nice tagline, and it reinforces that aging is about quality of life, rather than quantity
• Project Namestorm: “Life Plan Community,” an alternative to the name “CCRC,” was introduced
• Transition of leadership: From the top (Larry Minnix) to individual communities, we need to nurture the next generation of leaders
• The LGBT campground: A bold symbol of inclusiveness at the show
• The role of faith in branding and appeal: It’s about mission and non-profit status rather than specific denominational affiliation 
• The transitional generation is impacting communities NOW: We must appeal to the needs and desires of the Boomer while serving long-time residents from the silent generation 

One last insight to leave you with: According to our new study, “From the Outside In,” 0% of residents used the Yellow Pages to begin their search for a retirement community.

Many senior communities pride themselves on welcoming new residents, but these days, they must roll out the red carpet for another group as well: the furry friends of those residents.

We’ve found through our own research that pets are extremely important to the next generation of retirees. As more and more Boomers turn 65, that trend is only expected to grow. Some communities already go beyond standard pet-friendly policies to offer added services catering to four-legged residents.

Pet-focused programs can also be offered in different forms at different care levels so that residents can continue to reap the important health benefits of interactions with animals as they age.

Here are ten pet-focused services communities may want to consider offering if they aren’t already:

1. Dog park
2. Yappy hour (residents bring pets to socialize during happy hour)
3. Pet-related merchandise in the community gift shop
4. Pet care program (walking, feeding, litter-changing, playful exercise, medication administration, etc.)
5. Pet salon or mobile grooming
6. Vet house calls
7. Day care or boarding for pets
8. Community dogs and cats
9. Pet therapy
10. Pet-oriented events like celebrations and adoption fairs

Marketing Insight:

As animal-loving Boomers enter the senior living market in droves, it’s time to fully capitalize on the health and financial benefits of providing their pets with creature comforts.

It can be a challenge coming up with exciting new activities in senior living, but one community used its swimming pool to offer something truly unique, aqua pole classes. Here are some other creative ideas for your pool activity calendar beyond water aerobics and lap swimming:

• Relay races
• Synchronized swimming
• Water walking
• Inner tube basketball
• Kayak races

Water exercise benefits community residents in many ways, including improving mental health, strengthening bones and boosting metabolism—all without harming joints. And according to the CDC, people report enjoying water-based exercises more than exercising on land. Best of all, swimmers have about half the risk of death compared with inactive people.

What creative uses can you find for your community swimming pool?

It kills more people than breast and prostate cancer combined. It takes the lives of one in three seniors. And only 45% of people who are diagnosed, are told they have it. It’s Alzheimer’s, the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S.

More than 28 million boomers will get Alzheimer’s by 2050, and spending on this disease will eat up 25% of Medicare funds. It’s the only disease in the top ten we can’t prevent, cure or slow. But we can take action. And today is World Alzheimer’s Day, the perfect time to start. To learn more, watch the video.

Music has been shown to enhance brain function, reduce stress and build relationships.

And the more connected people feel to the music, the better. One study found that  seniors who sang along to tunes scored significantly better on cognitive tests than those who just listened.

In LA, a group of seniors has even formed its own band. “The Fifth Dementia” is made up of musicians with degenerative diseases and high school students.  Watch the video to see how they find a common language.

The band is part of Music Mends Minds, Inc., an organization created by Carol and Irwin Rosenstein when Irwin, a musician, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and discovered that music was beneficial to him. The organization’s mission is to use music to help control the progression of cognitive decline in seniors and build support systems for students.

The program has been a huge hit, and more musicians are still needed. Know someone who’s interested? Learn more here.

Once again, we participated in the LeadingAge PA Annual Conference & Exposition, which was held this June in Hershey, Pa. Key leaders gathered to discuss ideas that will shape the future of senior living.

We wanted to share a few of the inspiring solutions we heard.

Swimming with the sharks. On her sixth attempt, 64-year-old Diane Nyad successfully battled sharks, venomous jellyfish and hypothermia to swim from Cuba to Key West. Her motivating advice for reaching your dreams: build a strong support team, give it your all, learn from your failures and never give up.

Spinning stories into marketing gold. Asbury’s session emphasized the importance of finding the right human interest story and repurposing it in blogs, newsletter articles and social media posts, all linking back to your website. Strategic storytelling can be a gold mine of leads, publicity and brand awareness.

Tapping the independent living middle-income market. As the economic spread continues to grow, creating an affordable community for the “working class” is a concept worth looking at.

The end of advertising. Advertising isn’t going extinct—we just need to rethink it. It’s about finding new ways to have conversations with prospects, so we can discover and meet their needs. The engagement shouldn’t stop once residents move in; they need to be invested in the community so they’ll share their positive feelings with new prospects.

Our team would welcome the opportunity to discuss these insights or to simply begin exploring questions that will lead to solid strategies for your community’s continued success.