There are about 40 million seniors aged 65 years and older in the US, yet only a small fraction of them (about 2.5%) live in assisted living. The vast majority of seniors live independently in their communities. So this raises the question: what is different about this small fraction of seniors who need assisted living? Why do some seniors need assisted living and some don’t?
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The answer is entirely determined by the seniors’ health. This small group of assisted living seniors has reached a point in their lives where they can no longer manage their declining health independently, and so they need assistance.
So, what is it about their declining health that causes them to lose the ability to manage their lives independently? What are the specific features of their health that transform them from being independent to being dependent and needing assisted living? Understanding the answer to this question may give insights into how to successfully manage and stabilize the health of assisted living seniors.
Does this small group of seniors need assisted living because they have such severe health conditions (like severe heart failure or lung disease or hypertension) that just can’t be managed at home?
- The answer is no. With the exception of neurologic diseases, seniors with more severe health conditions reside in SNFs or rehab facilities because their healthcare requires more resources than is available in assisted living.
Is it because assisted living seniors have different chronic diseases than seniors living independently at home?
- The answer is again no. Independently living seniors have the same chronic diseases as assisted living seniors, with the most common chronic diseases in both the assisted living and independent settings being hypertension, heart conditions, arthritis, diabetes, and a variety of others.
So, if most seniors have the same chronic diseases, and if it’s not the severity of the disease that distinguishes them in the assisted living setting, then what is unique about the health of assisted living seniors that is different than the health of independently living seniors?
This is where the insights revealed by health analytics are helpful. HEALTH PROFILES is discovering a pattern that indicates that what compels the need for assisted living is not the residents’ specific disease they have or the severity of their chronic disease. It is the NUMBER of chronic diseases they have.
Eighty percent of independently living seniors have at least one chronic health condition, while more than 50% have more than one. But at some point, for those seniors who accumulate 3 or 4 chronic health conditions or even more, no matter what those conditions are*, the challenges of managing the seniors’ health overwhelms their
ability to do so. There is simply too much for the seniors and their caregivers to keep track of. It is at this point that seniors seek assisted living.
Now – with this insight that it’s the “Sheer Numbers” of chronic health conditions that bring residents to assisted living, what are some beneficial implications and opportunities for managing these individuals?
- Understand and appreciate that the residents who come to your doors do so ONLY because their health has become unmanageable for them. They bring with them not only MANY health needs but also a lifetime of behavior (of both the resident and their families) that has adapted to these needs. And since health is the major focus in their lives, and they will expect YOU to also adapt to their health needs. This is a huge management challenge that deserves a deliberate and focused management approach.
- Employees need ongoing continuing education about the most common chronic health conditions in your facility. The more informed and educated your employees, the better the care they will provide.
- All employees, in every department, can be involved in applying proactive strategies for identifying declining health EARLY in order to apply immediate intervention.
- Realize that the world of healthcare is changing and that Health Referral Networks are the future. To be included in these important referral networks, you will be required to use analytics to measure the health of your residents. The earlier you begin this approach, the better. A great place to start is by investing in HEALTH PROFILES, and this will not only direct how and where to enhance your health management but also provide opportunities to showcase and market your care excellence to your referral networks and your community.
*With exception of neurologic diseases. Click here.
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