Considering the social, psychological, and biological aspects that come with age, older adults tend to require certain services and amenities, especially following their retirement (Anikeeff & Muler, 2012). For a fact, nowadays, older adults tend to prefer shifting to senior living communities that meet all their needs, whether medical requirements, social welfare, or nutritional demands. Therefore, architects and planners today have a daunting task of designing senior living communities that address all these necessities. This paper primarily aims to highlight the basic layout of these senior living communities.
The first and most fundamental component of these elderly communities is health and wellness centers. These health and wellness facilities assist the elderly to lead a more active lifestyle, which is often difficult to organize in ordinary neighborhoods. Various services are supported by these programs, which are ideally intended to make life easy for the elderly. Most importantly, the community must comprise of a health monitoring facility, with a complete set of modern equipment and highly qualified staff, including nurses and physicians to monitor and treat chronic diseases such as diabetes. Providing quality healthcare services for the elderly is one of the most fundamental roles of a senior living community. Such services are hard to come by in ordinary communities, often necessitating the old to seek simple services like a glucose test in the nearest possible clinic or hospital. This is tedious and costly, especially if the senior does not have any family member around (Pearce, 2007).
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The second aspect that must be factored in when laying out senior living facilities is a 24-hour safety and security support system. As mentioned above, this gives the inhabitants the capacity to make a full-time emergency call and access the support services, without the fear of a debilitating disease or injury that could be life-threatening. With the present rise in technology, modern digitized CCTV and other security equipment can be used to track the movement of residents, including their personal care activities and habits. This regular monitoring aids alert workers to any modifications in the residents' health. It also assists the staff anticipates the needs of the residents (Anikeeff & Muler, 2012).
Also, the assisted senior living communities must incorporate meals as well as laundry and housekeeping service centers that meet the needs of the residents. The housekeeping staff should be available on a 24-hour routine to offer emergency cleanup for toileting accident spills and many others. Furthermore, tenants must be guaranteed weekly maintenance services, including changing bed linens, vacuuming, cleaning kitchen and bathrooms, dusting, as well as washing and folding laundry. As for the meals, senior living communities can have dining arrangements that range from room delivery, cafeteria style, to services full-service restaurants. Also, the menus offered to the residents must be customized based on individual health needs, personal tastes, as well as dietary limitations (Anikeeff & Muler, 2012).
Besides, the design of any senior living must incorporate entertainment, social activity, and wellness centers. It should offer café areas, libraries, gaming rooms, and space for other social events such as yoga. Also, it must have structures that encourage social interaction, including discussion group rooms, gardens, movie theatres, and many others. Fitness rooms that offer wellness training and classes are also a prerequisite, including activities such as tai chi, water aerobics, walking, and yoga. Open fields can also be incorporated for those interested in running, jogging, playing soccer, and many others. Lastly, assisted living should have a proper transport system in place. Residents can be allowed to have their own cars or provided with personalized chauffeured services for them to access shopping centers, attend classes, or honor their appointments.
References
Anikeeff, M. A., & Muler, G. (2012). Seniors housing. New York, NY: Springer Science & Business Media.
Pearce, B. W. (2007). Senior living communities: Operations management and marketing for assisted living, congregate, and continuing care retirement communities. Business & Economics.
