SENIOR LIVING EDUCATION AND INFORMATION TOOLKIT


THE STRENGTH OF SENIOR ADVOCACY OLDER VOTERS COUNT


SENIOR LIVING INDUSTRY IMPACT Senior living has an enormous impact that is far-reaching outside of a community—from local businesses to charitable organizations to academic institutions, and beyond. The existence of a senior living community in your neighborhood, in your region, and in your state is a catalyst for business growth and social benefits.


Argentum partnered with consulting firm Tripp Umbach for an economic impact study (state-by-state data at seniorlivingimpact.org), which showed: • $247 billion: Overall economic impact—total value of direct spending as well as the indirect and induced spending due to the industry operations.


• $23.4 billion: Government revenue—the local and state taxes generated due to direct, indirect, and induced operations.


• $1.1 billion: Social responsibility—value of volunteerism and charitable donations resulting from senior living communities.


• 767.8 thousand jobs directly supported. • 915.6 thousand jobs indirectly supported.


30% 13%


ADVOCACY CAN BE GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH


The U.S. Healthy People initiative, which looks at leading health indicators, has pinpointed “civic participation” as a key social determinant of health. Individual and group activities qualify: voting or volunteering for a candidate, for instance. The literature review at healthy- people.gov points out the studies finding these advantages: • People who voted reported they were in better health than those who did not.


• Volunteers age 60 and over who volunteer had a lower risk of cognitive impairment.


• Engaging in meaningful civic activities can help in developing a sense of purpose.


• People belonging to civic groups were more likely to be physically active.


20 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 Voters


“Older Americans traditionally turn out to vote at higher rates than younger adults,” according to a study from the Pew Research Center. In addition, the majority of poll workers are older adults—58 percent of 2018 poll workers were ages 61 and older, according to a 2018 Pew analysis of the Election Administration and Voting Survey. In 2016, it was 56 percent.


TURNING OUT THE VOTE 2016 Election Count of Validated Voters by Age


27% 29%


Ages 65+ Ages 50-64 Ages 30-49 Ages 18-29


9% 24%


33% 33%


Nonvoters


Notes: 2016 election count of validated voters—those found to have voted in any of the five commercial voter files and who reported voting for Trump, Clinton, Johnson, or Stein. Nonvoters are those who were not found to have voted in any of the files. Corrected for questionable responses. No-answer responses not shown. Source: PEW RESEARCH CENTER, study conducted Nov. 29-Dec. 12, 2016.


STATE RESOURCES


• Senior living providers in every state effectively paid from their own pockets for many COVID-19 expenses. To find the facts for your state, go to: argentum.org/ covid-19-impact-by-state.


• Connect with your Argentum state partners to get resources and ways to lend your voice to important issues in your state: argentum.org/advocacy/state-advocacy.


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