The U.S. Census Bureau reports that there are 306 million Americans, 78.2 million of whom—more than one-quarter—are Baby Boomers. The oldest Boomers began turning 60 on New Year’s Day, 2006, slightly more than 40 months ago. The generation that sincerely believed that it would never grow old is doing precisely that.
This generation, “the pig moving through the python”–a disparaging reference to its size–is both the largest in American history and the first to have significant responsibilities for its aging, frequently infirm, parents’ needs—housing, healthcare, insurance, end-of-life planning, and a lot more.
As we Boomers school ourselves about caregiving options for our parents, most of us ought to be thinking about our own advancing age and figuring out how we’re going to pay for our care. We may consider nursing homes, assisted living facilities, or an alternative that will enable us to continue to live at home and receive the care we’ll need, such as <a title=In home healthcare from Great Places! onClick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(’/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=http://www.greatplacesinc.com/features/InHomeHealthCare.aspx>InHomeHealthCare</a>or <a title=Adult day care from Great Places! onClick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(’/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=http://www.greatplacesinc.com/features/AdultDayCare.aspx>AdultDayCare</a>. But it’s a demographic inevitability that as life expectancies continues to extend, we’re going to need help with basic daily functions—dressing, bathing, cooking, to name a few—perhaps for decades.
How will Boomers select OUR senior housing? Proponents of “generational marketing” believe that generational values drive product marketing, and that each generation has unique values that are determined by their life experiences, lifestyles and social values. Baby Boomers are routinely characterized as the “me generation,” the most egocentric in history. This is the generation, after all, that grew up believing that the economic prosperity that existed after World War II would continue indefinitely. “Shop ‘till you drop,” and “He who dies with the most toys wins!” are slogans that are claimed to reflect Boomers’ values and buying habits.
On the other hand, Baby Boomers are also the “Woodstock Generation,” an age group that raged against their parents’ attitudes and mores, embracing the “hippie” lifestyle of “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll.” Many of them rejected the traditional family formation and structure, opting instead for informal, even communal, living arrangements, often seeking self-sufficiency by “living off the land.”
It is this latter modality that has gotten increasing traction as Boomers age. After decades of indulging every shameless, greedy impulse, our generation seems to want to age gracefully and adopt healthy lifestyles. Health, wellness and sustainability have become compatible and complementary to us.
As a result, it may be no surprise that the “greenest” Americans are the oldest Americans. As reported by WSL Strategic Retail (http://www.wslstrategicretail.com) a research firm that provides marketing information to retailers and manufacturers, fully 85 percent of those over 55 try to conserve energy or use natural products, for example, compared to only 65 percent of Americans under age 35.
The emerging model of elder living for Boomers. In 2002, Dr. William Thomas began to develop an alternative to traditional nursing home care that he called the “Eden Alternative.” Here’s how he describes his motivation for changing the culture of nursing facilities:
“I went to the nursing home and sat. Yes, I just sat and watched. . . . I was just observing. I sat in the lobby. I sat in the dining room. I sat in the solarium. What I saw was something I had been too busy to see before. What I saw were the elders suffering – not from the physical ailments that brought them to the nursing home, but from plagues of the human spirit. I saw patients suffering and dying from loneliness, helplessness, and boredom.
“I knew that I had to do something. This brought me to the story of Eden. Every child in America knows this story of world-making. Yes, I thought, ‘Human beings were not meant to live in a cold, sterile environment. They were meant to live in a garden. That is a true human habitat. We must create a place for our elders that is much more like a garden – the Garden of Eden!”
Dr. Thomas developed the Green House® model, a small, “intentional” community that is a radical departure from the traditional nursing home or assisted living facility. This model changes the size of the facility, its interior design and staffing patterns, and, most important, the methodology for delivering services. The Green House website (http://www.thegreenhouseproject.org) describes this approach as “a place where elders can receive assistance and support with activities of daily living and clinical care, without the assistance and care becoming the focus of their existence.”
The Green House serves six to ten elders, blending architecturally with neighboring homes. Each resident has a private room or unit with a private bathroom. The rooms are bathed with sunlight and are organized around a hearth, an open kitchen and dining area. They’re intended to look and feel like a home, with few medical signposts. The floorplans, décor and furnishings provide a sense of warmth, while the use of smart technology (e.g., computers, wireless pagers, electronic ceiling lifts, and adaptive devices) demonstrates sustainable, “green” practices.
Equally important, residents are not subject to the limitations of the typical institutional schedule. They sleep, eat, and participate in activities according to their own schedules. Meals are prepared in the open kitchen and served at a large dining table where staff, elders and visitors enjoy nutritious food and good conversation with people who care about each other.