2.0
P PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK
SAVVY, ACTIVE, AND SELECTIVE, TODAY’S RE- TIREES (or soon-to-be retirees) say, “We’re living lon- ger, and we want to do it better.” So how are retirement communities meeting those needs? If you haven’t vis- ited a modern continuing-care retirement community (CCRC) lately, you’d probably be surprised at the ways they diff er from the cookie-cutter “old folks’ homes” of the past. Many of these innovations are a response to today’s retirees’ priorities.
Plugged in A recent study shows more than half of people over age 63 play video games at least occasionally; those who do report higher levels of well-being and less depression. Today’s retiree not only knows how to email, Skype, download media, and surf the Web but also expects a residential community to provide the broadband Internet connection to do so. Alongside the traditional golf course, an increas- ing number of CCRCs have walking and bike paths and well-used fi tness rooms. Although water aerobics, chair exercises, and bingo still are favorites, according to Abby Figueroa, executive director of a large residential senior community in Albuquerque, N.M., more residents are requesting yoga, tai chi, and meditation sessions. Com- petitive mental games like Jeopardy may be played on tablets. And Wii bowling is taking the senior world by storm, at least in Illinois, where over 80 assisted-living facilities participate in tournaments.
High-tech health Recreation isn’t the only area where technology has created big changes. Figueroa describes “care stations”
where a resident swipes an identifi cation card (contain- ing insurance information, baseline health statistics, and health providers) and takes his or her own blood pres- sure and other vital information, which then is trans- mitted remotely to a personal physician who can adjust medications as needed. Such access is crucial in a time when, according to MetLife, there is only one geriatrician for every 9,400 adults age 65 and older. Not only are retirement community residents likely to
be wearing a pendant or bracelet to call for help, these de- vices also often monitor body temperature and heart rate. In addition, a recent trend away from long hospitalizations has led to nurse and therapist care even in independent- living communities, monitoring signifi cant conditions in a resident’s room and providing daily IV infusions and other treatments that once were performed only in a hospital. You’re likely to see medical personnel and caregivers
alike charting everything from dosages to bath prefer- ences on electronic tablets. Ideally, a single database of electronic medical records (EMRs) for each individual could guard against duplicate or interacting medications and treatments by multiple doctors. But this process, still in development, has its problems, according to Caren
SEPTEMBER 2015 MILITARY OFFICER 77
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