Skip to content

Is Your Senior Community Truly Inclusive? Find Out Now!




The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in Senior Living Communities

The Importance of Diversity and Inclusion in Senior Living Communities

Creating Welcoming Spaces for the Aging Population

As the aging population continues to grow, the need for diverse and inclusive senior living communities becomes increasingly important. Individuals like LJ Ingram highlight the desire to enjoy their old age with fewer worries, prompting a shift in the way we approach senior care.

By 2030, all baby boomers will be over age 65, emphasizing the urgency of providing inclusive environments for older adults. Additionally, the older generation is becoming more diverse, with factors such as age, cultural background, and gender identity playing a significant role in shaping their needs and preferences.

Challenges in Senior Care

Despite the increasing diversity among the aging population, senior living spaces have traditionally been limited in their inclusivity. Financial barriers often prevent individuals from accessing quality care, with the average cost of assisted living in the US being $4,500 per month.

Moreover, there are disparities in the type of care individuals receive based on factors like race and health status. Black older adults, for example, are less likely to move into assisted living and more likely to go to a nursing home compared to their white counterparts.

Promoting Diversity and Equity in Senior Communities

Efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in senior living communities are gaining traction. Initiatives such as expanding dining hall menus to represent residents’ cultural backgrounds and creating inclusive listening cultures are helping residents feel more comfortable and accepted.

Culture-centered communities are also emerging, focusing on specific cultural groups like Korean and Japanese seniors. These communities celebrate customs, food, and language, creating a sense of belonging without excluding others.

Looking Towards the Future of Senior Care

Innovative models like multigenerational living and partnerships between senior living communities and historically black colleges and universities are reshaping the landscape of senior care. These initiatives aim to foster integration and inclusivity within the industry, making a more diverse world.

Individuals like LJ Ingram and her wife have found solace in communities that prioritize inclusion and belonging, allowing them to be their authentic selves. Their experience underscores the importance of creating safe spaces where all individuals feel welcome and accepted.

Summary

Overall, the push for diversity and inclusion in senior living communities is crucial in meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse aging population. By embracing cultural differences, promoting equity, and fostering a sense of belonging, senior care facilities can provide a more holistic and supportive environment for older adults.



—————————————————-

Article Link
UK Artful Impressions Premiere Etsy Store
Sponsored Content View
90’s Rock Band Review View
Ted Lasso’s MacBook Guide View
Nature’s Secret to More Energy View
Ancient Recipe for Weight Loss View
MacBook Air i3 vs i5 View
You Need a VPN in 2023 – Liberty Shield View

When LJ Ingram was caring for her elderly parents, she thought about what she and her wife wanted for their future. “We’d rather enjoy our old age with fewer worries” and with fewer worries on the shoulders of their children, says Ingram, 69.

Millions of American families can relate. By 2030, all baby boomers will be over age 65 and 1 in 5 Americans will be considered an older adult, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Not far behind them, the oldest members of Generation X turn 59 this year. And with aging often comes decisions about where to live.

Something else is happening, too: “The older generation is becoming more diverse,” says Marvell Adams Jr., executive director of the nonprofit Caregiver Action Network and co-founder and CEO of W Lawson Company, a consulting focused on equity in aging.

According to the National Institute on Aging, diversity can mean several things, including:

  • Age
  • Cultural background
  • Cognitive and physical skills.
  • Education and socioeconomic environment.
  • Gender identity
  • Language
  • Neurodiversity
  • Race and ethnicity
  • Religion
  • sexual orientation

But the full range of diversity doesn’t always appear in senior living spaces, such as retirement communities, independent living, assisted living and memory care facilities. “Traditionally, our senior and senior services infrastructure has been isolated in many ways,” Adams says.

For Ingram, finding a senior community that would welcome her and her wife was crucial. Families from other backgrounds also seek culturally inclusive communities. And it’s a demand the industry has begun to address.

For many people, money is one of the biggest barriers to joining a senior living community. The average cost of assisted living in the United States is $4,500 per month, or $54,000 per year, according to the National Council on Aging (NCOA). The price can be much higher, depending on the location and services needed.

“When you get into assisted living and living plan communities where there are levels of care to progress through, there can be an entry fee and a hefty monthly fee, and the residents tend to be mostly wealthy and white,” he says. Adams. “If you have the means, you can self-segregate within a similar age group and with people you are used to being around your whole life.”

Other things are involved too, including health status and cultural preferences.

In a study of 5,212 people enrolled in Medicare, black older adults were less likely to move into assisted living and more likely to go to a nursing home compared to white older adults. This was partly due to finances and health status. But “unmeasured factors related to systemic racism and/or black-white differences in care preferences could help explain our finding,” the researchers wrote in Gerontology journals: Series B.

For some people, it can all come down to something as tangible as the food on the menu.

Senior communities are increasingly working on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) initiatives. These include big and small things that help residents feel more comfortable, says Sarah Kokinos, vice president of community living at Erickson Senior Living, which is based in Baltimore and has offices in 11 states.

For example, Kokinos says, DEIB measures could include:

  • Expand the dining hall menu to include foods that represent residents’ cultural backgrounds.
  • Create an inclusive listening culture to provide people with hearing disabilities the ability to participate socially
  • Organize educational events where residents share their origins and life stories.
  • Add the Pride flag in marketing materials to signal a commitment to inclusivity.

“We are working to create a safe space that allows them to come to our community to be their authentic selves,” Kokinos says.

Erickson has created a Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Council to benefit both employees and residents. In a survey of 60 nursing home companies, 40% reported having DEIB programs in place. Most of these organizations focus on diversity in spaces of gender, race and ethnicity, and sexual orientation.

Culture-centered communities are those that focus on a particular culture, Adams says. Examples include Eben Silver Town, an independent living and personal care home community serving Korean and American seniors in Suwanee, GA, and California-based J-Sei Japanese Community, a multigenerational, multicultural organization. These residences are not designed solely for one group, but rather focus on a particular culture in such a way that they highlight their customs, food and language, without excluding others.

Other diverse senior housing opportunities include multigenerational living models, which aim to connect seniors and families with children so people of all ages live together. These locations include HOME in Chicago and Bridge Meadows in Portland, OR.

Adams is also working on the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Intergenerational Housing Initiative (HBCU IHI), which aims to connect historically black colleges and universities with senior living communities. Under the initiative, more than 100 senior living communities are affiliated with American universities, but none with HBCUs. “These communities build the integration that I believe needs to exist for our industry to thrive and move forward into this more diverse world,” Adams says.

As for Ingram and his wife, they chose Riderwood, an Erickson senior living community in Silver Spring, MD, the same place Ingram’s parents had lived in their later years. “As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I can stay true to myself at Riderwood,” Ingram says. “There are several groups on campus that prioritize inclusion and belonging. “We feel comfortable being who we are, knowing that everyone is welcome and accepted.”

—————————————————-