Demographics alone won’t tell the story.

Site Selection You can’t ignore

3 Big Realities of eldeRcaRe

of Senior-focuSed healthcare ServiceS and communitieS

MaRKetdYNaMics

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Few would argue that eldercare is not a growth

industry. Whether your organization is planning

a senior-living community, skilled nursing facility,

rehabilitation center, hospice facility, or considering

ambulatory senior services and other related

programs, the need for eldercare is growing. From

one end of the care spectrum to the other, this market

expands as America’s baby boomers continue to age.

Traditionally, organizations that choose to

participate in this market segment have long relied

on demographic information when planning senior

facilities and services; however, a host of new market

forces makes today’s senior planning strategies

increasingly complex. Sweeping shifts in economics

and lifestyle choices — never mind the simple

demographics alone — complicate the picture.

Further obscuring the scene is a diverse and growing

Organizations have long relied on demographic information when planning senior facilities and services.

playing field of service providers. Those established providers,

eldercare-focused organizations and homecare agencies that

early on targeted this market segment, now compete with newer

entrants like real estate companies that build senior communities,

as well as traditional healthcare systems that have set their focus

on seniors in an even bigger way by partnering with niche providers.

Other complications in the planning of a new facility or service

include the regulatory environment and ever-changing legislation.

Certificate of Need review programs, which allow the coordinated

planning of new services and construction, can greatly influence

healthcare facility planning. Significantly, the shakeout from upcoming

healthcare reform may require providers to make changes in services

or programs that support the insured and uninsured, which

complicates planning.

In addition, a number of developments that span the gamut of lifestyle,

family relationships, financial matters, and population shifts make it unwise

to rely on demographics alone when planning senior-focused services or

evaluating sites. Consider these inescapable truths that affect the how,

when, and where of delivering care and housing to seniors:

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Other complications in the planning of a new facility or service include the regulatory environment and ever-changing legislation.

It’s no secret baby boomers are aging. The latest data from the U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services found that by the year

2030, the most distant year available for population projections, U.S.

residents aged 65 or older will nearly double to more than 72 million,

reaching their highest level ever.

The current life expectancy of a 65-year-old man is 82 years, and the

life expectancy of a 65-year-old woman is 85 years, according to the

Centers for Disease Control. When you consider that we have another

18 years of advances in medicine before the projected swell of the

senior population in 2030, great potential lies ahead for further

improving health and extending life expectancy. Such projections

are supported by these developments:

U.S. residents aged 65 or older will nearly double to more than 72 million, reaching their highest level ever.

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not onlY iS the Senior population growing, SeniorSaRe liviNg loNgeR, too

oNe:

• Health education and wellness programs are helping extend life

expectancy through prevention.

• Advances in medicine and medical technology are helping extend

life expectancy through available treatments and new cures.

Telehealth encourages prevention-based healthcare in the form

of consumer programs designed to deliver care and drive healthy

behavioral changes. Similarly, telemedicine programs, which are typically

hospital based and focused on diagnoses and treatment, help reduce

both the number of hospital visits and lengths of stay through the

exchange of medical information from one site to another via electronic

communications to improve health status. Telemedicine services allow

seniors to help manage their own care outside of a hospital or clinic by

remotely monitoring their own health, consulting with a physician or

other healthcare professional, and even receiving care from a specialist.

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• Prevention-based health measures and programs that provide

convenience of care also allow seniors to stay in their homes longer.

Home healthcare services, including skilled nursing and assistance

with household tasks, are an increasingly popular alternative to

nursing homes.

Telemedicine services allow seniors to help manage their own care outside of a hospital or clinic by remotely monitoring their own health.

What specific senior-focused services are best to offer in light of greater life expectancy and health? Where do we locate bricks-and-mortar facilities given the increasing use of telehealth and telemedicine? Buxton analytics and data modeling can help you determine which programs and services suit the needs of your audience based on current and predicted future behavior.

highlightPoint:

Seniors’ healthcare consumption behavior varies greatly by health,

lifestyle and income. Some seniors may enter the spectrum of care

only at the end of life, others early on. No matter their age or position

on the continuum of care, many seniors have more choices today of

where and how to live, as well as which healthcare services to receive

from myriad providers.

Recent changes in the labor and lifestyle patterns of seniors, many

of whom feel challenged by rising healthcare costs, reveal more

about their differences:

not all SeniorSaRe cReatedequal

two:

Out of economic necessity, many seniors must work longer and retire later.

• Out of economic necessity, many seniors must work longer

and retire later. Nearly 7 million seniors aged 65 years or

older are working, a 60 percent increase since 2001. And

growing numbers of these workers are aged 70 or older.

• Out of economic need or simply to make care easier,

many seniors now live closer to their adult children or, in

many cases, with them. According to U.S. Census Bureau

figures, in the last decade the number of multigenerational

households increased 30 percent.

• To accommodate growing demand for multigenerational

housing, more homes are being built with a second

master bedroom, even with separate entrances. According

to the Pew Research Center, the senior population is the

population segment most likely to live in multigenerational

housing, at 20 percent.

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What is the lifestyle of seniors in a particular segment or market? is the senior living alone or with family? Household-level data can help you determine not just simple characteristics like demographics (age and income), but also localized consumer and patient behavior. Buxton’s super-targeted consumer analytics can focus on hundreds of characteristics, including behavioral, financial, demographic and psychographic.

highlightPoint:

Family decision makers — usually the children or relatives of the senior —

play an influential role in the healthcare and living choices of the senior.

These “initiators” or decision makers, many of whom live within close distance

to the care recipient, are also taking time off work to care for aging parents.

Not only do these initiators help with care and make care-related decisions,

many also contribute financially to the senior’s healthcare or living expenses.

A 2011 study found nearly 10 million adult children over the age of 50 care

for aging parents.* The study also found the percentage of adult children

that provide personal care or financial assistance to a parent has more than

it’S not juSt about the patient or Senior:the “iNitiatoR” plaYs a Role

thRee:

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tripled over the past 15 years, to about a quarter of adult children,

many baby boomers themselves.

In addition to affordability, convenience is important to initiators

for eldercare-related services and facilities. Those healthcare providers

that deliver a high level of convenience to initiators, as well as the

patient, will likely emerge as the providers that thrive in coming years.

Family decision makers — usually the children or relatives of the senior — play an influential role in the healthcare and living choices of the senior.

For a particular facility or service, how does the potential

of one market area or trade area differ from another? Which

markets are the most promising for consumer and patient

behavior involving a particular senior-related offering? While

in many cases the relationship between a senior living in one

market and a potential initiator living in another may not be

known, our analysis of data provided by the healthcare client

may help uncover these links.

highlightPoint:

• Study findings released in 2011 by the MetLife Mature Market Institute, the National Alliance for Caregiving and the Center for Long Term Care Research and Policy at New York Medical College.

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Smarter deciSion makingwith BuxtoN aNalYtics

Without doubt, the senior market is growing and changing rapidly.

Because not all seniors are created equal, the stakes are too high

for healthcare and senior-living providers to simply purchase less

expensive real estate in untested locations and then rely on

demographics to paint the market picture. When planning senior

healthcare facilities, senior housing or senior-focused services,

healthcare providers — from behemoths to niche providers —

must make highly informed decisions.

Careful analysis is required. Buxton can help with tools that examine

market data, your organization’s data, and other meaningful datasets,

and combine them with the appropriate statistical methodologies

and research techniques to get clear answers. Use Buxton analytics

to see the big picture and:

• Model your sites to locate new facilities in current markets

already serviced, as well as in potential markets.

• Explore new offerings, services or programs.

• Determine which services or programs to offer at existing

facilities or new developments.

take Your knowledge of the Senior marketto the Nextlevel

for more information, call us at 1-888-2buXton (888-228-9866), visit www.buxtonco.com or email us.