At Long-Term Living’s 2012 Environments for Aging conference in Orlando, two college sophomores were presented with first prize in the third annual AIAS/SAGE Student Design Competition, a program that challenged architecture students to push the envelope in housing designed for the elderly. Read More »
Renovating existing facilities entails much more than a new coat of paint. Miles Girouard and Amy Ruedinger, RN, discuss the strategies involved in upgrading the physical environment and the care culture at the same time. Read More »
Senior living designers have yet to recognize that boomers entering communities will demand the same resources in senior living just as they have upped the ante by demanding restaurant style dining, fitness centers, spas and coffee shops. Read More »
Bold colors, modern artwork, sleek lines…this isn’t your grandmother’s nursing home. Long-term care owners and administrators have heard it before but it bears repeating. Today’s seniors, more active and engaged in mainstream culture than any other generation before them, appreciate good design. Read More »
Identifying a project manager, or owner’s representative, to lead the project team is becoming a vital factor in accomplishing an integrated approach to the LTC building process. Read More »
Innovative planning can allow traditional senior living spaces to be transformed into neighborhoods of shared spaces and private spaces, encouraging interaction and fostering memory care. Architect James Moyer describes the before and after designs. Read More »
LEED certification is by no means a new concept, but in the LTC industry, many owners and operators have been tentative to embrace the concept and make it work on a large scale. Here's one owner that has done just that. Read More »
In community life, physical spaces help or hinder communication. Room configurations have a definite impact on how people communicate and interact within that space. Read More »
When a book that addresses architecture and design for an aging population landed on my desk last week, I was eager to review it. However, the ideals it promotes are tempered by current harsh economic realities in the LTC industry. Read More »
With the Medicare/Medicaid cutbacks to facilities today, I wonder how facilities built from the ’70s through the ’90s will be maintained. I wonder too how the grand looking nursing homes built in the last 10 years will hold up. Read More »
Many developers and architects are putting old building to new purposes. In Los Angeles, an abandoned hospital will shake off its horror-story reputation to provide a new lease on life for low-income seniors. Read More »
Earlier this month I sat in on a session at our Environments for Aging conference that challenged attendees to consider the kinds of small renovation projects that can ultimately support culture change in a skilled nursing community. Read More »
Edible gardens are providing modern healthcare facilities with the next iteration of the age old “healing garden.” By mixing in herbs, fruits and vegetables, a healthcare environment has the opportunity to take their healing gardens to an entirely new level with an added dimension. Read More »
The acquisition of the HealthCare Design Exchange marks Vendome's entry into the "hosted" event model. It will focus on designing environments through products that fit the needs of the healthcare community. Read More »
2012’s winning senior living projects were feted at this year's Environments for Aging conference. Representatives of the four architecture firms responsible for creating exemplary and inspiring example of environments for aging accepted their awards before an audience of their congratulatory peers. Read More »
The answers vary widely, and reflect lifestyle preferences, health issues and both professional and personal experiences. I’m looking forward to exploring the many strategies and ideas for creating attractive and functional living environments for our aging population at our upcoming Environments for Aging conference. Read More »
Jail isn’t the answer. Nor are warehouses with room and board. And yet, many of today’s institutions that house and deliver care to patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease often appear that way to family members seeking long-term care for a loved one with fading cognitive skills. Read More »
It started with the financial crisis. The senior living design community is now left with a remnant of the business that once was, with terms that make you question if you're not just buying swamp land. Read More »
What do you do with a great building that isn’t providing a great return on investment? Shell Point Retirement Community, a nonprofit ministry of The Christian and Missionary Alliance Foundation, Inc., faced such a dilemma last year. Read More »
A barn style doorway leaves just enough room for the medicine carts to pass through. The other side has a sliding glass window where residents can ask questions or use the telephone. Read More »
Senior housing development in China is a vast frontier for foreign developers, as described in Long-Term Living's feature “Senior Living in a Sandbox: The China Investment.” But before making the investment plunge, developers are advised to do their cultural studies homework. Read More »
This fourth of four Environments for Aging Citation of Merit winners illustrates creative solutions to design and healthcare challenges. The amenity-filled CCRC achieves elegance on a small budget. Read More »
This third of four Environments for Aging Citation of Merit winners illustrates creative solutions to design and healthcare challenges. The rehab center incorporated hospitality features on a small budget. Read More »
Senior living designers must show not only industriousness, but also diplomacy on any given project, as demonstrated by these submitting firms in 2012's Environments for Aging competition. Read More »
Isn't it curious how there's often a disconnect between those who design LTC communities and those who run them? It's critically important for these two groups to come together to create fully functioning spaces that better serve residents and staff. Read More »
This second of four Environments for Aging Citation of Merit winners illustrates creative solutions to design and healthcare challenges. Fresh, contemporary design meets residents’ needs at this CCRC. Read More »
This first of four Environments for Aging Citation of Merit winners illustrates creative solutions to design and healthcare challenges. The homey skilled nursing facility excels in both form and function. Read More »
Investing in a senior living community through targeted interior design can significantly increase its value and marketing potential while creating a comfortable home for residents. Read More »
To have longstanding success, organizations need to view repositioning as a “state of mind,” not an event. Repositioning should take a holistic approach that focuses on the entire organization and its future, resulting in the examination of the organization’s strategic direction and goals. Read More »
The Resident Safety Risk Assessment is intended to serve as a broad evaluation framework for the key design areas that impact resident safety in various residential care settings. Read More »
