Recent Trends affecting Senior Housing Design
As nursing homes and hospitals diversify and try to capture lost market share, there is a trend to develop more projects into regional rural communities. Nursing homes in smaller out-state communities often tend to be county owned or tied to the local health system, in either event they are typically proud of their commitment and ability to care for the seniors in the community, but are often doing so in facilities that are institutional, out of date, and in dire need of repair.
The current (and future) reimbursement system in most states, make the financial feasibility of these nursing homes difficult at best. Also, there are many seniors in nursing homes that are there due to lack of housing options and would more appropriately be living in a memory care, assisted living or congregate care community.
This leads the local care providers little option to improve their facilities unless the medical model of care is rethought and the senior housing choices repositioned into a continuum of care. Specialty levels of skilled care, such as transitional care, also play into the mix. Market studies done in these communities often show a need for these types of housing and should be the first step in potential campus repositioning.
Consultation from a senior housing development team, such as Ecumen, can go a long way into exploring options which may diversify the payer mix, round out the continuum of care in the rural community, and therefore provide cash flow that will allow much needed improvements to existing facilities.
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