Assisted Living Homes – The Demographic Time Bomb
The US population is getting older and living longer. The demographic 'blip' known as the baby boom is going to start having a major impact on our society as a whole with the large numbers of babies born in the years immediately following WW2 now starting to come to retirement age. The most recent Census information shows that by 2000, there were 34.1 million senior Americans (those aged 65 and older) making up 13% of the total population.
Furthermore, this same demographic will only continue growing at an alarming rate. Projected to double by the year 2030, this same group will soon encapsulate as much as 20% of the population. The fastest growing group within this demographic, the number of senior citizens over 85, will grow from roughly 3.8 million to over 7 million during the same twenty year period. Of this group, a quarter live in nursing homes while half require some level of assistance with daily living tasks.
Financial markets throughout the economy are struggling and collapsing. The high default rates on "subprime" and adjustable rate mortgages have led to the now very familiar 'credit crunch' phenomenon which has affected every major economy across the world. Bank collapses and property foreclosures are still regular occurrences and, although the US is now officially out of recession, the residual effects will be felt for years to come. The assisted living provider market is no exception, and has also been slammed hard by these difficulties.
While the real estate market stagnates, an increasing number of elderly Americans find themselves in need of assisted living facilities. To fund such moves, they of course hope to sell their homes, which proves to be much more challenging given current market conditions. Difficulties are further increased by the United States' shortage of quality assisted living facilities.
Also, because the take-up rates have slowed considerably, fewer assisted living providers are funding new elder care and seniors housing. At Executive Care Group USA, we own and operate the Balmoral Assisted Living, an Independent Living Facility at Lake Placid, to the south of Sebring in South / Central Florida.
This resort-style facility also includes dementia care memory suites which cater for the growing incidences of elderly residents with early onset Alzheimer's or other dementia issues. At Executive Care Group USA we have taken the view that the massive growth in the elderly population and the recent stirrings on Capitol Hill over the Healthcare Bill will require action and - as elderly care / assisted living providers - we will have to address that problem head-on and not pretend it doesn't exist.
We have therefore started a bold action plan to buck the market. We are investing in our existing facilities and looking to take advantage of the current slump in real estate to purchase land to begin a new development program of building new, state of the art, hotel / resort style Assisted Living and Independent Living facilities across Florida. Our investment now will benefit the elderly care and seniors market today but we are confident that we will reap the returns in the medium term future.
The difficulties in funding today are, we believe, a short term problem and so we have instigated a 'compassionate care' program which recognizes that not everybody can afford to pay from day one and not everyone will be able to pay pre-credit-crunch rates. We therefore assess each case on its merits and offer creative solutions which allow Florida's elderly residents to enjoy the best elderly living today but at prices which reflect the current poor market conditions.
About Danny Sharpe: Operates the Balmoral Assisted Living Facility in Lake Placid, the leader in family owned award winning Assisted Living Homes. His company provides senior assisted living facilities with nursing and dementia care: assisted living homes family owned boca raton.
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senior independent living communities) says, “An assisted living facility may be ideal for those who need some assistance with activities of daily living, but are able to live and function for the most part on their own.”
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Senior Homes