A Look At The Many Benefits Of Senior Living Communities
The elderly population is growing both in the United States and all throughout the rest of the world as a whole. There are many things that can be linked back to this. For one thing, the incredibly large Baby Boomer generation is reaching their elderly years, something that will certainly begin to increase the elderly population of this country at an incredibly rapid rate. In addition to this, however, the improvement of healthcare and the growing accessibility of life sustaining treatments has also pushed back the average life expectancy for many people living in various developed countries throughout the world.
But no matter what the cause, the data clearly shows that more and more people are reaching the years of old age. In fact, there are already more than 50,000 people who have reached and surpassed the age of 65 – and that\’s just in the United States alone! By the time that we reach the year of 2040, which is now not so far off at all, the population of those who have reached the age of 85 or above will have soared to touch and surpass 14 million people.
This is hugely important for all developed nations to consider, as elderly people have varying needs that set them apart from the general population of adults. For instance, independence is important to many in the elderly community. As a matter of fact, up to 90% of this population is committed to staying in their homes as long as they are possibly able to do so. After all, this is where they have built there lives, where many of them have spent a great many years, even raising their families in these homes.
There often comes a time, however, when living independently in this way is no longer sustainable. For some elderly adults, memory problems make such living more dangerous than it has ever previously bin. Physical instability is another concern faced by many an elderly person and a new elderly person is treated for a fall in an emergency room here in the United States alone for every 11 seconds that have elapsed. In many cases, these falls can lead to broken bones, which can set the stage for infection and other such worsening health problems – particularly as time passes on.
Fortunately, senior living communities are growing more and more commonplace, with senior living communities that provide independent housing facilities springing up all throughout the country and even beyond it as well. And there are many benefits to moving into a senior living community.
For one thing, a senior living community provides just that – a sense of community. Elderly people, after all, feel oftentimes very much isolated when living independently. Living in a senior living community can help to rectify this problem, providing many opportunities for various types of socialization. As part of the role of the senior living community, up to half of all elderly people participate in some level of volunteer work. In addition to this, more than 10% of the elderly population uses some type of dating app. Moving into a senior living community only serves to widen the dating pool, something that is ideal for a larger portion of the elderly population than many would think.
And the average senior living community will very much promote independent living as well. Most people in a senior living community will live in their own apartment or condo, with which they can do with as they see fit. They are still accorded, of course, every other right given to adults all throughout the country. However, certain levels of assistance and care can be given in a typical senior living community as well, should this care ever be deemed necessary. For many people, this can certainly prove to be quite comforting indeed – and is actually something that will sustain independent living for longer that what would have otherwise been possible in the vast majority of cases.
At the end of the day, the typical senior living community is an important institution here in the United States as well as in a good deal of other places all throughout the world as a whole.