Quantifying the Benefits of Senior Housing

Senior housing owners, operators, and administrators have an intimate knowledge of the benefits of senior housing.  They see first-hand how the resources and sense of community available in a senior housing community benefit the physical and mental health of seniors.  When talking to prospective new residents they can tell anecdotal stories regarding current residents and satisfaction surveys but there isn’t much hard, scientific data to support it.

The American Senior Housing Association (ASHA), an organization of senior housing executives, has teamed up with NeuroVigil,  a California based neuroscience company that merges neuroscience and brain activity recording technology, to study the brains of seniors living in senior housing communities.  The two announced the project recently.  The completely voluntary program will not interfere with seniors’ daily lives and the noninvasive tracking device will not require hospitalization or any type of additional medical care.  Participating seniors’ identities will be kept confidential.

The data collected will be open to analysis in a variety of ways, among them the investigation of “changes in brain activity induced by aging, or changes in diet, lifestyle, or sleep.”  In addition to helping quantifying the benefits of senior housing generally, the study may help identify which senior housing programs are most effective and what changes to the programs can greater increase the quality of life for seniors living in these communities.

Cambridge Realty Capital is excited about the project, which it thinks will allow those in the senior housing business to better tailor their communities to benefit the health and well-being of seniors and to have hard data that will assist them in explaining the benefits of senior housing to prospective residents.  Until then, owners and operators can look to feedback from seniors regarding why they prefer living in senior housing communities.  Those reasons include the following.

Activities and Community

Being a senior can be lonely.  Friends start to die and family members are busy with their own lives.  Many seniors find themselves wanting to do more than just sit and watch TV but it can be difficult to find and get to activities when living alone.  Senior housing communities offered planned, accessible activities and allow seniors to develop new relationships and friendships.  The positive impact of both staying active and having strong relationships is well established.

Safety

Seniors, particularly those that live alone in traditional neighborhoods, can sometimes feel unsafe and there’s some basis for that, as unsavory types often prey on the elderly because they are vulnerable.  Senior housing communities appeal to many seniors because they offer safety and security.

Less Work

Though many seniors are retired, they are often not without work.  Home maintenance, yard work, and preparing food are all in a day’s work for many seniors, particularly those who have little income and cannot afford to pay someone to complete these tasks for them.  Senior living communities offer reprieve from this grind.  Seniors no longer have to take care of the home maintenance and even when the community offers independent living options, many opt in to community prepared meals.

These, of course, are just a few of the main benefits of senior housing. Cambridge Realty Capital knows that developing or updating a senior housing project to make it as effective as possible often requires significant financial resources.  Contact us today to talk about how we can help get your project those resources.