Despite the fact that I have a nursing background and had worked in a nursing home early in my career, I had no knowledge about alternative options for assisted living or residential care homes that cater to older Americans.
My brothers also had absolutely no knowledge about senior housing options. They shared the misperceptions held by so many that senior housing is white sterile walls where we put our elders before they pass on. Our initial reaction was one of fear and guilt about “placing” our parents and accelerating their demise by taking away their independence and their routines of 50 years together in the same environment.
We were all surprised to learn how much the industry had evolved when we started making site visits to independent living and assisted living communities near their home. Many of the communities felt like hotels with incredible amenities and a full schedule of varied activities for each waking hour.
What’s bad? Cooking, laundry and housekeeping done for you, new computer rooms, exercise facility and entertainment with movies and music several times a week. No more car maintenance hassles or car insurance since the community provided the essential transportation to and from the doctor and shopping center.
We all began to think this is not so bad. In fact, it was a step up in quality of life across the board for our parents from the life they had been leading at home the last few years. Our “aha” experience brought to light the huge public awareness campaign needed to allay the anxieties and misperceptions often wrongly believed about assisted living options in particular.
Nursing homes represent only about a quarter of the total number of licensed senior housing providers in the US. The multiple professional associations representing the for profit , non profit bigger, middle and smaller senior housing providers should consider pooling their dollars for a focused national PR media and print campaign to educate the average consumer about the changing face of senior housing and the options available today.