It’s that time again! Every Monday we recap the most engaging information from the previous week.
First up, this week’s most shared piece of content is about senior trends in 2017, as told by industry experts. In an article on OurParents.com, industry experts predicted that Boomers will be moving to senior communities more quickly, have more care options and will see changes in retirement living costs.
Next, this week’s most clicked content was an article about Kindred Healthcare. Kindred is selling its 91 skilled-nursing homes and moving towards a virtual portfolio (including preferred partnerships with other nursing home operators). The first partner announced was nursing home powerhouse Genesis HealthCare.
Most Shared: Baby Boomers will make “THE MOVE” more quickly than their parents
OurParents asked a group of senior care experts to offer their thoughts on what was ahead for senior living in 2017. Noting that the growing number of Baby Boomers will make up 18% of the U.S. population in 2030, the group overall said will mean heightened demand for senior housing and services.
Denise Brown of CareGiving.com was quoted as predicting that Baby Boomers will be making “the move” (into a retirement community) sooner than their parents did. because they themselves had to be personal caregivers to their own parents.
Source: ourparents.com
Another prediction for 2017, made by Creating Results’ own Executive Vice President, Kimberly Hulett, is that seniors will have more assisted living and memory care options than ever before.
Other senior living predictions for 2017 include:
- Increased use of technology for seniors (shocker…not!): In fact, a new 2016 AARP research study found that 76% of adults 50 and older owned a type of computing device and of those 71% are using such devices to stay connected to loved ones. Elizabeth Newman of McKnight’s Long Term Care News predicts that more seniors will start to explore telehealth options. This will likely to apply more to those in rural areas.
- More affordability for seniors: This was more of a demand than a prediction, made by Michael Guerrero of Elder Care Resource Planning. Records show that the number of low-income seniors who need aid is continually increasing. Teri Dreher of North Shore Patient Advocates predicts more Baby Boomers + an increase in competition = Lower Prices for some types of senior living.
- Improved policies and programs for seniors: Political and social pushes are being made to put senior care on the national agenda, to increase awareness and to empower people to realize the vital role they have as caregivers. Elder care specialist Michelle Seitzer hopes for changes such as paid caregiver leave and options for home and community-based care outside of nursing homes.
To read the full article, click here.
As marketers, we have to be conscious that both older adults and the adult children who “help” them with moves will do the majority of their research online. (The chart below illustrates how mature movers use the web throughout their move journey.) As such, our digital presence and digital marketing have to meet the demand.
Most Clicked: Two Of The Largest Post-Acute Providers Working Together?!
Kindred Healthcare is selling its 91 skilled-nursing homes and moving toward a strategy that will rely on preferred partnerships with other nursing home providers. The first partnership that was announced was with nursing home pioneer Genesis HealthCare.
Genesis has 500 skilled-nursing homes spread across 34 states and operates in various markets within the senior living industry. Genesis CEO, George Hager Jr., explains that this partnership is critical in the value-based purchasing era we’re currently living in.
This partnership is something that leaves us marketers with a lot of questions and no answers (yet!).
- Is this the new trend within the post-acute care community?
- How will this change the approach to marketing for post-acute providers? Will that mean different marketing strategies for our clients?
- Will our target market prefer the virtual network system to which they are being transitioned?
To read the full article, click here.
RELATED: Kimberly Hulett addressed what will be an ongoing trend of sponsorship changes within senior living, including partnerships such as Genesis and Kindred, in this post from November of last year.