As senior living facilities continue to adapt to the changes brought about by COVID-19 and the spread of infections in many assisted living facilities, new trends have arisen which are reshaping senior living as it was once known.
For many years, assisted living facilities offered patients a blend of home- and spa-like resources coupled with the necessary health care for their needs. But because of COVID-19, a dire need to focus on the residents’ healthcare and safety needs has become priority.
Many senior living facilities made changes to ensure the ongoing safety of their residents. This may have included hiring more medical staff and working more closely with area hospitals, as well as offering more medical services to their residents.
Assisted living facilities care for the most vulnerable of our population, so COVID-19 taught many that they would need to prioritize medical needs over their well-loved amenities.
Due to the cost of implementing necessary changes, many assisted living facilities and senior living communities will be needing more government assistance. Many may begin working with Medicare or accepting other kinds of government relief. This may also lead to federal regulation and a certain standardization of care, which many consider to be a positive step in the right direction.
It’s also likely that many assisted living facilities will see an influx of new residents after the majority of the population receives the COVID-19 vaccine and life begins to return to some form of normalcy again. Many families have likely delayed entering their loved one into an assisted living facility in 2020, but now with three vaccines on the market, and anyone over the age of 65 able to get it, many will likely feel less fearful about their loved ones catching or spreading the virus.
A greater influx of residents will mean that many senior living communities will need to make sure that they have the staff and medical infrastructure in place to care for all of their residents should there be another medical concern in the future.
Many seniors and older adults found the isolation the most difficult part of all of 2020, so many assisted living facilities are changing how they engage their residents more thoughtfully. The emphasis will be less on “independent” living and more on engaging social interactions. Older adults are craving community, to connect with fellow residents, as well as have ample opportunity to see their loved ones.
Families enrolling their loved ones in senior living facilities will also be more likely to choose communities that foster these types of activities.
2020 required significant changes in assisted living facilities across the country, and many more will continue to change as new residents enter into their facilities. There’s still a lot unknown about the changing landscape, but all of the trends so far are good and necessary for all.
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