Disruptive demographics, workforce shortages and market changes have “rocked” the assisted living field in recent years. One expert, however, sees those disruptions as an opportunity to evolve to meet the needs of a changing older adult population.
If the industry does not meet that opportunity, then it risks not being able to fulfill its promises, LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston Co-director Robyn Stone, DrPH, wrote in a recent blog post. Stone also is the LeadingAge senior vice president of research.
Referencing a recent Health Affairs commentary that Stone co-authored this spring, she expanded on recommendations to help assisted living “meet its promise.”
Stone noted that older adults liked the assisted living model, which dramatically volved in the 1980s and 1990s, offering personalized supportive services in a homelike setting, emphasizing resident choice, independence, dignity and privacy. But with a changing population of prospective residents, she said, it’s time, once again, for the industry to examine the current state of assisted living and help the model evolve into what tomorrow’s residents want.
“If we do this work now, assisted living will surely change the future of aging services,” Stone wrote. “But if we postpone this work, I fear our once-revolutionary assisted living model may fail to keep the promise we made to older adults decades ago — that our high-quality, person-centered assistance would always be available to those who needed it.”
That work, she noted, includes improving quality care, strengthening the workforce, balancing autonomy and choice with safety, and promoting affordability.
No matter how well providers “think” they are meeting resident needs, Stone said, it’s time to adopt updated, research-based approaches to providing services and supports, and then track progress through robust quality improvement efforts.
With a growing population of residents who have multiple chronic conditions, Stone said, it’s time to upgrade the assisted living workforce through higher wages, better training and career development. The increasing cognitive and physical needs of the assisted living population also require a new approach to residential care that accepts certain safety risks posed by a resident’s preferred activities by providing person-centered care, she added.
Cost of care always is a top concern for older adults, and Stone said that assisted living will lose consumer appeal if most prospective residents can’t afford it. The sector must persist in finding ways to make assisted living more affordable, she said.
