From Hospital to Hospitality

By Lisa Gibson

As the baby boomer generation ages, a new wave of residents is moving into senior living communities. The boomers are generally more affluent than senior generations of the past and many are relocating by choice, instead of being moved by family members. And they don’t want to make compromises in their lifestyles when they make those moves.

As a result, senior care communities are shifting away from the hospital model and toward a hospitality model, with on-site amenities such as libraries, movie theaters, billiards rooms, cuttingedge wellness facilities, bars, restaurants and cafes. Some have even incorporated concierge services and added group activities. Most of these amenities are being added to independent and assisted living communities, but some are even popping up in skilled nursing facilities for patients in long-term care.

“They don’t want to live without,” says Alan Dostert, president and CEO of Grand Forks-based EAPC Architects Engineers. “They want the same opportunities they had in the private sector. That’s just become a common element of anything we consider elder care.”

In 2029, baby boomers will account for 20 percent of the U.S. population, says David Johnson, Denver-based senior architect with SEH Inc., which is headquartered in St. Paul. “That demographic is demanding an enriching living experience and many of them have the money to pay for it,” he says.

And when family members are moving their loved ones into assisted living or skilled nursing communities, they’re demanding increased service and quality, too. “They’re not comfortable with status quo of 10 or 15 years ago,” Dostert says. “They want quality care for their loved ones.

“It’s amazing how recently facilities were very much a place where you park your parent or your grandparent,” Dostert adds. “It’s really an exciting time to be working on these projects. You’re really impacting their lives. It’s so much more rewarding.”

Life Enrichment

When Edgewood Vista was built in Fargo about 10 years ago, it was on the cusp of the market for hospitality in senior living, says Kelsey Schaunaman, marketing director. “We beat the market and kept it updated,” she says.

After a few recent remodeling projects, the community now includes a movie theater, two libraries, a coffee shop, a soda shop, a private chapel, a billiards room, sitting areas with fireplaces and scenic views, a common area meant to mimic “Main Street,” and a dining hall that hosts orchestras, happy hour and other events. “We wanted to get away from that hospital feel,” Schaunaman says. “We wanted our residents to thrive and we wanted to bring their lifestyles to them.” The campus spans the senior care continuum, offering assisted and independent living, as well as memory and shortterm care.

Residents enjoy the hospitality elements of their campus, but so do their families and the greater Fargo-Moorhead community, Schaunaman says. “When people come into our building, they fall in love with it.” Families use the spaces for reunions, baby or bridal showers and other events.

The idea is to offer as much as possible, Schaunaman says, so residents maintain quality of life when they move in. “Life enrichment is really the trend — increasing that for seniors,” she says.

Managing Cost

WAI Continuum, based in St. Paul, works mostly on senior housing projects, and Scott Koester, the company’s vice president, says the new standard of design can be accomplished without astronomical cost increases. “The key is to provide a flexible environment where the staff and the management can accommodate different activities within the same space at different times of day or different days.” It revolves around multiuse space, he says.

“Designed well, the cost can be contained,” Johnson says. But there’s competition in the market now and senior care facilities are trying to provide the amenities and perks that will keep them in business.

“Basically, the thought process is … there’s a lot of competition for those dollars and for those amenities,” Dostert says. “The people are much more demanding of the facility they’re going into.”

Beyond the generational differences and competition, short-term and post-surgery care has helped bring about the evolution in senior housing design, also. Some assisted living or skilled nursing facilities are serving as temporary homes for patients in postoperative physical or occupational therapy, and quality and infrastructure demands for those patients are evolving, too. “We’ve gotten to a point where we can provide different levels of care for different levels of need for people in different stages of life,” Johnson says.

“We’re trying to remove all barriers and all limitations,” Dostert says. “It’s really making the business of designing elder care projects much more exciting, knowing you’re really having a positive impact on people’s lives.” PB