Posted by Brian Geyser on Fri, May 07, 2010 @ 06:14 PM
I am excited to announce that Terrace Communities Online (TCO), our first ever senior living social media project, has just won a Best Practice Award from the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA).
TCO was launched back in September of 2008 as a kind of "senior living social experiment" when I approached Robert Murano, COO of Terrace Communities with a proposal to build a private online community for his seven assisted living residences. The idea was to use social networking and social collaboration technology to connect the Terrace Communities ecosystem together under a branded virtual umbrella - allowing residents, family members, staff, referral sources, partners, and other stakeholders to connect, communicate, collaborate and share. Since then, 19,000 unique visitors have made 50,000 visits to TCO* and the community keeps growing.
Here's a SlideShare of the full article in the May/June issue of Assisted Living Executive. The Terrace Communities piece is on the last page. If you would rather read the article on the ALFA site, click here. Enjoy!
*These statistics are different from the stats quoted in the ALFA article because data give to ALFA for the article were incorrect. We mistakenly left out date ranges from our Google analytics report when we reported to ALFA. Ooops!
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Brian Geyser, APRN-BC, MSN is a clinician, consultant, educator, blogger, online community manager, social media strategist, and the founder of Carenetworks, LLC. He blogs regularly here at Carenetworks.com and would love to connect with you on Twitter, Linkedin, and/or Facebook.
Posted by Brian Geyser on Sun, Sep 20, 2009 @ 04:00 PM
This post was authored by Art Carr, a practical visionary who specializes in senior living and affiliated services. You can visit his Progressive Retirement Lifestyles Blog here, or connect with him on Linkedin.
Although the housing slump may have “bottomed-out”, occupancy declines, especially for independent living, are more widespread [1]. Will the industry re-bound with a business-as-usual mentality? Will new generations of customers be satisfied with today’s level of service?
There is no question that the real estate crisis and decline in portfolio values have impacted occupancy in senior living communities. AND, it’s easy to buy into the concept of “We just need to hold on, the demographics are still there, and we’ll be OK as soon as the housing market recovers”. The reality may be very different.
While the country has been in the economic doldrums over the past couple of years, several dynamics have been changing, largely un-noticed by the industry. First, the demographics are changing – the target market is gradually moving away from the “greatest generation”[2] [World War II vets are dying at the rate of 1000 per day] – and the industry must prepare for the “bobby-sox” generation (as a prelude to the “baby boomers”).
This generation, born between 1935 and 1945, is affluent and benefited from the medical advances and healthy lifestyle initiatives of the 20th century. As a result, they will have longer life expectancies with more males in the target population. They demand value and will be less willing to compromise than their parents and older siblings who were tempered by the depression and WW II.
In the 1990s, assisted living (“AL”) developed as an alternative to nursing homes, and independent living (“IL”) has in large part developed as an alternative to assisted living facilities. The newest option is “aging-in-place” with various surveys documenting the desires for aging adults to stay in their own home. In the past, this wasn’t practical for many people, but we are seeing the development of a number of new companies that use various enabling technologies to provide cost-effective alternatives to senior housing. For example:
A study several years ago indicated that up to 80% of AL admissions were driven by the need for assistance with medication management. Yet, there are now numerous automated medication reminder systems for use in the home.
Numerous organizations have developed cognitive fitness systems to provide brain exercises and delay the effects of Alzheimer’s and other senile dementia.
Rosemary Bakker, a gerontologist with Weill Cornell Medical College has established the website This Caring Home to help caregivers and family members design a “smart home”, allowing individuals with early stage dementia to remain in their own home.
In addition to the psychological appeal of these options, the current economic malaise is forcing prospective residents – and their families – to become more value-conscious consumers. These products and services will take market share from IL and AL communities by offering greater independence at lower costs.
As a result, the standard AL resident in the future may become a medically complex individual with multiple health/psychological conditions.
The impact on the traditional IL model may be even more dramatic.
Is Everything “Doom & Gloom”? The answer is that it doesn’t have to be – IF operators heed the wake-up call and are willing to consider new options:
1. Embrace new technology, instead of resisting it. Future generations won’t appreciate things such as internet access, a social networking site for the community, etc. as an added value – they will expect it as a minimum level of service.
Technology should be utilized to promote independence (no matter what level the resident demonstrates at move-in). View this as an investment in extending the higher functioning of the resident for extended periods of time, which should decrease the turnover rate, extend the average length of stay, and increase the occupancy percentage.
Offer the same technology services that are marketed for “at-home” care in a bundled package, so that the senior living community becomes the value-added solution. Sell the advantage of having someone on-site who can and will MANAGE the technology for the senior, at the same time they are receiving other traditional services such as meals and transportation.
2. Meet more than the basic needs for the residents. Abraham Maslow developed a Hierarchy of 5 levels of needs, as depicted in this diagram:
The senior living industry has traditionally done a good job of meeting the basic physical and security needs of the residents. However, there is tremendous opportunity to offer and market services that address their higher-level social, ego and self-actualization needs.
In fact, programs meeting those needs could be the differentiators that trigger the move-in decision. Interestingly, these needs are the most difficult for the senior to achieve while living alone in their home.
Too often society has assumed that seniors forgo these higher-level needs when they “retire”. Yet Lasell Village, a CCRC located on the campus of Lasell College in Massachusetts was created around the principle that retirees would move into an independent living setting where they would be committed to an annual continuing education curriculum. This program is clearly helping the “villagers” achieve their “Peak needs”[3]!
Senior living communities must adjust with the times and add these value-added initiatives if they wish to overcome the inertia caused by the economy and plan for the future generations.
What initiatives are you taking to use technology and/or meet your current or prospective residents’ higher level needs? Please add your comment by clicking on “Leave a comment” below:
Additional Links for New Technology Options:
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[1] NIC MAP®, 9/1/2009
[2] “The Greatest Generation” by Tom Brokaw (1998)
[3] “Peak – How Great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow” by Chip Conley (2007)
Posted by Brian Geyser on Fri, Sep 18, 2009 @ 04:13 PM
New social media success series launching next week
In the coming weeks, we will be profiling innovative senior living, eldercare, home care, and dementia care companies around the country and abroad who are using social media in creative ways to attract, engage, connect, educate, and support prospects and customers. The profiles will include insightful interviews with industry executives, entrepreneurs, marketers, thought leaders and others who are on the front lines experimenting with social tools like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube, Slideshare, and more.
Gain valuable insights from industry insiders who are happy to share their experiences and wisdom.
Our first interview will be with Heather Rasmussen, Public Relations Specialist at Laguna Woods Village (formerly Leisure World), the largest retirement community in California. Laguna Woods has seen amazing results with social media over the past year. Find out how they are tapping into Twitter to increase communication among residents and how requests for tours have dramatically increased thanks to their social media activities. Learn how they use their website and three marketing sites to improve SEO and drive traffic. Finally, discover their innovative use of "online clubs" which allow real resident-run clubs to create and administer their own web pages on the Laguna Woods Village Website, enhancing the site and elevating the Laguna Woods brand.
Don't miss out. This is going to be a good one! To ensure you get this and all future blog posts in this exciting series, subscribe to our blog using the "subscribe" form on this page in the left column near the top. You will get all future posts emailed to you automatically. Your email is kept completely secure and it just lets us know who's interested in what we have to say;-)
Finally, if you are a senior living, eldercare, home care, or dementia care provider (or other care-related organization) using social media and would like to be featured in this series, please contact Brian Geyser directly at brian.geyser@carenetworks.com. Thanks.
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Brian Geyser, APRN-BC, MSN is a clinician,
consultant, educator, online community manager and the founder of
Carenetworks, LLC. He blogs regularly here at Carenetworks.com and
would love to connect with you on Twitter, Linkedin, and/or Facebook.