Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Community centered senior living can answer the question: "Where will we live as we age?"

"Community-centered senior living works for seniors and communities" 

"The coronavirus pandemic shined a spotlight on nursing homes in Massachusetts, with more than 5,500 residents dying of COVID-19 (down from 6,722 after the state revised how it reports deaths in long-term facilities). The deaths underscored the risks for residents who live in a communal setting, especially for those who share a room. A design developed decades ago for hospital-like efficiency, the shared room can contribute to substandard care and a dehumanizing, undignified end of life. It must disappear.

This will require investment in new models that support seniors’ right to thrive in life-enhancing environments that are far superior to conventional institutional living. This funding initiative must motivate the developers and owners of nursing homes to create private living spaces for residents. It must also motivate them to include an invitation to “community-centered living” in their nursing home redesign of common space."
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"Where will we live as we age?"
"The concept that Boston could possibly become the Silicon Valley of aging is a fascinating idea. There are, however, questions to be addressed and misconceptions that need to be put aside before we can claim the title. For example, where and how will the older generation live as we age? Who will provide support when needed? Is there the political will to help us answer these questions?

As of July 2019, people age 65 and over represented nearly 12 percent of Boston’s population — and that number is growing steadily. According to a 2018 AARP survey, 76 percent of Americans age 50 and up stated that they wished to remain in their own homes, or at least their own communities, as they aged. Yet the same survey revealed that only 59 percent felt that they would be able to age in place. Respondents cited obstacles including uncertainty about how to access support and services, and how to maintain a sense of community, with increasing age."
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