Providing “Purposeful Longevity” for Senior Housing Residents Through Healthcare Integration

NIC co-founder and strategic advisor Bob Kramer joined a panel hosted by the Milken Institute to discuss innovative models that integrate housing and healthcare, enabling older adults to thrive.

A new generation of senior housing residents are determined to live with “purposeful longevity”— a greater sense of purpose and connectivity to their own interests and those of the community they live in. Healthy living and overall wellness provide the foundation for purposeful longevity, and senior living providers have an obligation to make it a reality for their residents.

Bob Kramer, NIC co-founder and founder of Nexus Insights, recently participated in a panel hosted by the Milken Institute at its Future of Healthcare Summit. Alongside other leaders in housing and connected health services, Kramer discussed how senior housing and healthcare can integrate to provide the sense of purposeful longevity that residents desire. Kramer and the panelists covered how healthcare for older adults continues to migrate out of hospitals and into private residences, as this population prefers to age in their own homes but requires designated in-home care services to do so. That’s why affordable housing and connected health services are the two most critical policy interventions that local leaders must prioritize before 2030, according to the panel and a new Milken Institute survey.

The Milken Institute’s summit offers a glimpse into the kinds of discussions and topics coming up at the 2023 NIC Spring Conference. The conference will dive into how senior housing and healthcare leaders are “Partnering for the Future” to provide better outcomes for older adults. 

Kramer highlighted that for integration to be successful, senior housing providers and policymakers must recognize the “forgotten middle,” those who do not qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford private-pay senior housing. The number of middle-income seniors will nearly double to 14.4 million by 2029 and over half of them will not be able to afford assisted living, according to the original NIC-funded study conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago. Reaching people with preventive, person-centered and affordable healthcare will be key for senior living facilities to reach this population, and while funding and reimbursement challenges remain, there are several value-based models that show promise.

Kramer noted that senior living must take a new approach to how it provides care for residents and improves health outcomes, which should focus on the priorities that matter most to the individual. This requires understanding how wellness can help residents accomplish the things they want to do with their lives. Paired with the growth of data and analytics to drive better health outcomes, Kramer believes this approach will allow senior living facilities to provide the best care for residents.

Now is the time for senior housing and healthcare organizations to consider how to work together to provide the new generation of senior living residents with purposeful longevity. Watch the panel discussion from Milken Institute’s Future of Healthcare Summit to learn more. 

To continue the discussion on the role of senior housing in healthcare and how all stakeholders—from operators to capital providers, to payers—can work together to improve the well-being of older adults, join other healthcare and senior living leaders in San Diego this March.