Retirement Communities’ Market Trends- Individualized Service Plans, Smart layouts, Green Alternatives

5 Feb, 2020

Retirement community service providers are developing individualized service plans to treat and aid individuals to recover from chronic disease conditions. Individualized service plans are developed by considering factors such as physical needs, mental needs, living situation and compliance to medications. A service plan includes the individual’s unique list of medical conditions and personalized treatment plans. Retirement community care providers make use of big data to derive information on individuals and track their health conditions to provide a specialized service plan to better serve the individuals. Customized service plans are improving treatment outcomes and enabling retirement community service providers to increase their revenues. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has implemented individualized service plans for long-term care patients.

Retirement communities are residential houses that provide short-term and long-term care for the elderly. These establishments provide a range of residential and personal care services for the elderly who are unable to fully care for themselves and/or who do not desire to live independently. The global retirement communities’ market is expected to grow from around $219 billion in 2019 to about $317 billion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.8%.

The care in retirement communities’ service typically includes room, board, supervision, and assistance in daily living, such as housekeeping services. It is imperative for players in the market to provide comfortable and customizable rooms for the elderly. Retirement home developers are increasingly implementing barrier free designs in retirement homes to meet the requirements of the elderly population. Barrier free design is the design for people with physical or other disabilities, involving the provision of alternative means of access to steps such as ramps and lifts for those with mobility problems. Retirement home developers have started offering units in apartment styles with a larger size resembling, but not representing, traditional units, customized to the residents’ needs. Retirement home developers are installing grab bars for toilets, bathtubs and handrails in stairways and hallways, to prevent residents from falling. For instance, Keith Trembley Housing Solutions is a retirement home developer that implements barrier free design for the construction of retirement homes.

Retirement home developers are increasingly opting for green retirement communities, eco-friendly alternatives to minimize carbon emissions, and reduce operational expenditures. Retirement home developers are using renewable energy sources such as solar or wind energy, taking measures to improve indoor air quality, and taking steps to conserve and minimize water use. For instance, in April 2018, Generations LLC, a USA-based provider of senior living communities, went green by installing a 527.8-kW PV solar system on its resort-style independent, assisted living, and memory care community, Paradise Village, in San Diego’s South Bay, USA.