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Let’s say you go out for an evening with friends or your significant other to dinner, a concert or another social event. The waiter asks how you enjoyed your meal, and you diplomatically respond. Afterwards you take a cab to your next destination. That’s when you might confess to one another your real thoughts and feelings about the delicious or not-so-delicious meal, outstanding or not-so-outstanding service, exciting or not-so-exciting entertainment, and fun or not-so-fun social gathering. And the cab driver usually gets an earful of your reviews.

The same is often true in senior living communities.

At one community I recently visited, I discovered drivers who shuttle people from point A to point B on campus had a good pulse of what’s going on within their community. The shuttle driver, just like the cab driver, many times gets an earful from residents about how they feel about community amenities and services. For example, after dinner residents may offer feedback on the new dining staff and service or changes in the menu, or after attending a social event they may share the highlights of the event and recommend having more similar events in the future.

As a leader, do you make it a point to talk with the shuttle drivers and other grounds staff, occasionally invite them to meetings, or have some other method of collecting feedback? If not, it might be something to consider, as they really do have a good pulse on your community, and can share valuable insights into the feelings of your residents.

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I just read an interesting article 90-Plus Is the New Old Age, Are You Ready?, and it made me think of my own mother. At age 90, she is a strong (also stubborn) woman of Italian descent, who lives independently in her own home with her 90-year-old boyfriend of the past 25 years.

Whenever we mention the benefits of moving to a senior living community, her response is always, why? Her logic for living as she does is she is strong, walks, talks, cooks and cleans … so why should she change her living situation… and she is too old to make a change now anyway.

On my calendar for months has been the planned trip with my siblings to celebrate our mom’s 90th birthday in Florida. Prior to her birthday, she fell and was taken to the hospital where they casted her broken hand, but wouldn’t release her because her heart was beating unnaturally fast. So she spent the next 2 weeks in the hospital. When we arrived to celebrate her 90th birthday, she was in rehab! It wasn’t the birthday party we’d planned, but we were happy to know she was going to be okay.

What made us very sad, however, was that while our mom was in rehab, her boyfriend who lives with her felt so ‘lost’ without her being home. Her companion for so many years was almost helpless and frightened because he missed my mom, who had tended to his needs, and he now had no one to cook and help him, no one to talk to. Had they been living in a senior living community, they would have had resources and a support system, and we would have had the comfort of knowing they were safe and provided for.

While it may be too late for my mom and Jim to enjoy the full benefits of a senior living community because they waited so long, it’s not too late to reap incredible benefits from living in a senior living community.

It’s something we talked about with my mom, and will continue to talk about over the next few weeks and months… before it really is too late!

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Over the holidays, I was able to spend a great deal of time with my grandma – my role model and dear friend – who I’ve sadly watched as her memory has slowly been stripped away from her. She is one of the millions of people whom have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Like many, I’ve seen firsthand how devastating this disease is and what a toll it can take on an individual and his or her caregiver.

That’s why I found this video recently featured on CBS News to be interesting and enlightening. A nontraditional therapy for people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease is bringing smiles to both caregivers and their loved ones. The new program uses improvisational theater to help remind those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease about the roles they used to play in life, and revive old memories as more recent ones fade away.

I find improv classes for Alzheimer’s to be exciting and an alternative approach with the potential to help many people by improving their quality of life and allowing them to reclaim some dignity this awful disease is taking from them.

Do you offer improv classes or other innovative programming for memory support residents at your community?

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As marketing, advertising and communications professionals, we’re constantly trying to put ourselves inside the minds of our audiences. Having my own grandmother and grandmother-in-law in different independent living communities, I get regular insight on what it’s like to live as a senior.

So, when I saw what the good folks at MIT are doing to simulate the full physical experience, I was completely fascinated.

MIT’s Agelab has created AGNES, an exoskeleton specially designed for the user to experience what it’s like to be 70 years old. AGNES dims the user’s sight, stiffens joins, alters grip, shortens the gait and much more. You can read about it and watch a video at Fast Company’s blog.

AGNES is intended for designers to understand the needs of older adults, but I think anyone striving to accommodate that demographic could learn a thing or two from this smart innovation.

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This time of year many of us reflect on the past and start planning ahead for the upcoming year. GlynnDevins recently provided you with a great deal of insight when it comes to marketing to seniors. From best practices in direct mail to powerful senior living statistics, we hope you can use these as a resource to help you reach your goals in 2012. We know the holidays are a busy time, so here’s a recap of our 2011 Top 10 lists, in case you missed some of them.

10 Tips for Successful Event Marketing

Top 10 Thoughts to Consider about Social Media  

10 Keys to a Successful Direct Mail Marketing Campaign 

10 Powerful Senior Living Statistics

10 Digital Trends to Look for in 2012 

10 Must-Reads for Senior Living Professionals 

10 Most Popular Blog Posts of 2011 

Senior Living in the News: 10 Fascinating Stories from 2011 

10 Fresh Ideas for 2012

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