Boomers Changing the Face of Senior Living

As members of the Baby Boom generation move into senior communities, they are bringing with them their unique perspectives and desires. This group, born between 1946 and 1964, aren’t content with retiring to a quiet life of cookie-cutter leisure, as their parents may have been.

Communities that want to attract this incoming wave of empty nesters and retirees know that Boomers want and deserve to be treated as individuals. In response, communities have moved far beyond one-size-fits-all offerings and amenities.

Two of the biggest recent trends in senior living that Boomers have embraced are flexible dining options and robust enrichment and social opportunities.

Flexible Dining

Boomers want — and expect — to have choices. And when it comes to food, those choices aren’t just about what they want to eat, but when and how.

For instance, residents of Echo Lake, a SageLife community in Malvern, Pa., have three different dining options within the community - a pub, a café and restaurant-style dining room. There’s even a rooftop bar and terrace. In addition, Echo Lake’s flexible meal plan works on a point system. Continental Breakfast is included every day, then residents have points to use as they wish.

“Residents can eat breakfast, lunch or dinner at the community every day, or accumulate points and use them to host friends and family, or to eat lunch plus dinner on some days,” said Echo Lake’s Executive Director, Kathy Ardekani, MSW, NHA. “It’s up to them, which is what they want.”

Dining Director Patrick Moen’s menus also offer a combination of always available favorites for those in the mood for sophisticated comfort foods, as well as changing seasonal offerings and specials to keep things fresh for those who want to mix it up.