nowboomersandagain
What companies do today can make all the difference as the nation’s
baby boomers look beyond their parents’ immediate senior living
needs and start planning their own long-term care
By Anya Martin
FAST FORWARD
› Most baby boomers are
still 15-20 years from moving
into assisted living, but
experts agree—there’s plenty
providers should be doing
right now to prepare.
the first wAve Of the nAtiOn’s 78 miLLiOn BABy BOOmers hAve stArted tO retire. hOwever, if the AverAge Age fOr Assisted Living residents remAins in the 80s, BABy BOOmers wOn’t stArt
› Research show most
boomers don’t know the
difference between assisted
living and skilled nursing—
which means providers have
a big public relations task
before them.
mOving intO cOmmunities fOr AnOther 15-20 yeArs.
So why should senior living communities start preparing for boomers right
now? The answer is two-fold, and it translates into immediate as well as forward-thinking strategies. Both will pay off for senior-serving companies and help meet
the needs of the impending silver tsunami.
› Many boomers are in
senior living communities
now—helping their
parents move in. Providers
should capitalize on that
opportunity to gather
intelligence for future sales
strategies.
Ahead of the wave
Cary, North Carolina-based waltonwood management designed Waltonwood of
Cary Parkway, which opened this spring, to anticipate baby boomers’ desires. The
reason is simple: Boomer children are key influencers on move-in decisions for
independent and assisted living, and they’re often the decision-makers regarding memory care, says mike Kahm, vice president of development for SINGH,
Waltonwood Management’s parent company.
To meet increasingly sophisticated boomer expectations, Waltonwood has ensured that its 23 apartments and common areas in the community’s assisted
living wing are just as spacious and high-end as the community’s 134 indepen-
