While attending the NIC Conference in Chicago last week, we had the chance to hear a number of really interesting panels covering a wide swath of issues in the Senior Housing industry. The breakout session entitled “Evolution of Consumer Choice in Seniors Housing; Opportunities and Challenges” presented the following interesting facts about the “typical senior housing resident”:
●Average age: 86.9 years
● 38% have some level of Alzheimer’s/dementia
● 81% need help with meds and average 9.9 meds daily – 7.6 prescription and 2.3 over-the-counter
● On average, need assistance with 4.5 IADLs (instrumental activities of daily living)
● 4 of 5 need help with housework, laundry, medications, transportation and meal preparation
Although we’re not sure the source of these statistics or the population questioned, we presume it was a mix of independent and assisted living residents. If that is indeed the case, these statistics emphasize the importance of independent living operators to closely monitoring residents to make sure they continue to have the abilities to stay and thrive in independent living. It also makes us think that the demand for assisted living and memory care is only going to grow with the combination of patients living longer and the percentage of residents diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia steadily increasing.
