David Ammons
David Ammons is president of Retirement Living Associates, Inc. (RLA), a company which provides planning, development, marketing, and management services for new and existing retirement communities. He has worked in and with Senior Living Communities since his graduation from Wake Forest University in 1985. Contact David Ammons at david@rlainc.com or 919-783-0044 ext 21.
For several decades I have heard key players in the retirement industry, at various association meetings and the like, seek more effective ways to help prospects understand what is being offered at a particular community.
In an effort to help us understand differences between communities, I have come up with my own scale. This is a scale we often use at my company, Retirement Living Associates, to more quickly learn what type of community we are looking at when we first hear about it. This scale provides a simple and useful tool when considering the lifestyle and financial implications of various housing options available for retirees.
I appreciate that my scale / categories may be too simplistic, as I am trying to simplify numerous nuances. Community offerings do not simply jump from not offering a particular service, product or amenity at all, to offering the most robust options imaginable. For example, in my categories below I use the inclusion of a dining program offering more than one meal a day as a differentiator. Some communities may have only a small serving area and heating equipment to provide a small food program like continental breakfast. Or they may have a small kitchen and add to their offerings food cooked on site, or they could have a bistro with grill for certain items. I appreciate all of these options and how many seniors find these additions sufficient.
Now to my scale / categories.
1. Vertical Active Adult Community
Several newer communities across the country, including several major cities in NC, have communities that are perhaps best described as apartments for people over the age of 55. The freedom to come and go and to have flexibility that is not restricted by home ownership tasks such as mowing, maintenance and security are primary benefits communicated to attract a younger active senior. The community likely has convenience type amenities such as a limited activities program, spaces for small meetings, business centers or possibly a swimming pool. But the point of this category is to emphasize that a food service program and health care provision are not more than minor considerations. Please note I am not being critical, rather I am just trying to make distinctions to assist in comparing communities. A real benefit to having a limited program is to keep monthly costs lower.
2. Food Service Program Added
These communities are very much like the communities in #1 above but have a fully developed meal and dining package added to the mix. Activities, amenity spaces and other aspects may also vary, with dining program as the key point that has been added to this Category #2.
3. Health Care Program – formalized and with community involvement
For comparative purposes, a significant addition to these communities is a provision for health care. This may take the form of more direct services with caregiver staff employed by the provider or as, I believe, a more likely scenario where personal assistance or true hands-on care with acts of daily living are provided by a contracted agency nearby.