senior living

Aging in place makes the senior living industry anxious.  A new article from Caring.com scopes out the cost differential between aging in place (in some states), replete with home modification requirements and related costs.  It identifies the 10 states where assisted living is actually cheaper than aging at home, with South Dakota as being the most reasonable by comparison to staying at home. Hmmm. Average temperature in South Dakota in February is, let’s say, too cold to go for a walk. But no worries, the median age in South Dakota is 38.5 and only 5% are aged 80+.  So it may be cheaper to age in place there, but virtually no one is doing it.

The AI infrastructure juggernaut is on – consumers hesitate and deployment is cautious.   Parallel tracks are emerging. Investment by the big players in infrastructure (see Nvidia) is overwrought.  Even Oracle is jumping in with billions – as well as redirecting the company to be all-in on AI.  Today, 78% of companies say they are using AI in at least one business function. Meanwhile, back over in the real people corner, surveyed consumers continue to be surveyed and are cautious and concerned. Why the disconnect?  Mostly gloomy news coverage about AI.

We are selling a product that people don’t want to buy. This Senior Housing News article, The New Skilled Nursing: Assisted Living Operators Adapt to Changing Place in the Care Continuum does not hide a trend that is significantly changing their business but also the future for older adults. So they delay their move until it becomes urgent – Mom cannot live at home any longer. Translate – Mom is too frail, her dementia is worse, her mobility has declined, etc. She will need multiple types of support.  Recent statistics about assisted living demographics are harsh: Consumer Affairs asserts that 70% of residents have some level of dementia, with the majority of residents women in their 80’s.

In 2023, twenty-five interviewees agreed that AI was going to matter to older adults. This report was an early entrant connecting AI to their needs. By then, advances in AI had received the full attention of the technology industry, which was undergoing its first major disruption since the arrival of smart speakers and voice in 2014. In fact, some thought it was going to change the interaction with and care of older adults in a dramatic way.  Many predictions have been realized as of today, including the widespread use of conversational AI in the home, use of AI in healthcare – particularly in clinical documentation, hearing assistance technology, 24x7 remote monitoring, chatbots for everything, including senior living. In fact, today many experts believe that AI is the most transformative technology since the introduction of the Internet.

The more things change…Argentum published a new survey of senior living executives last month, querying execs about tech adoption, including thoughts about AI in senior living. The report (also sponsored by A Place for Mom) compared two sets of responses about tech from 2023 and 2024 – enabling a possible comparison. On the upbeat side, as of 2024, 76% of responders are optimistic about the role AI can play in their organizations. That question was probably not asked in 2023, so there was nothing to compare, but a number of them today are apparently experimenting with AI. They say that the uses are for staffing efficiency, care planning and improved resident interaction. Perhaps a number of them read a most 2024 report from this website, The Future of AI in Senior Living and Care and saw possibilities for improved documentation, staff education, and even the potential for predictive analytics.