Marketing Retirement Care

‘A Wonderful, Rewarding Business’ — but Are There Enough Facilities?

by Michael Barrett

With yet another home for the aged opening this month in Skagit County, the question is raised: when do we reach critical mass?

Some believe we’ve already “reached saturation” in our residential communities and assisted-living facilities here and that competition among them is fierce to attract new tenants. But the same people also point out that in another 10 years or so, these same institutions — and perhaps more to come — will be chock-full of baby boomers, making construction today a good investment for the future.

“The market for retirement and assisted-living services will continue to grow in this area and many other bedroom communities as the population ages at a faster rate than any other time in history,” says Brad Watson, owner of Mountain Glen Retirement Center in Mount Vernon.

“Ten years ago, people retired to condominiums and stayed home or downsized living quarters. Now, with the active lifestyles offered in retirement centers, more people can stay active,” says Dona Felton, administrator at Parkside Special Care, an Alzheimer’s community in Sedro-Woolley. “The assisted-living facilities are becoming more popular each year. Over the next 10 years, the baby boomers will cause the assisted-living industry to double.”

The benchmark age of 55 — the initial stage to seniorhood — was reached this year by the oldest boomers, who were born in the first full year after World War II. In 10 years, they will be 65, another milestone because it’s after this age that statistics on care facilities really begin. It’s believed that 50 percent of men over that age will require some form of assisted care before they die, while for women, who tend to live longer, the figure is 33 percent.

Felton explains the kind of care facilities available today: “Retirement centers cater to active lifestyles. Assisted living caters to those who cannot do activities of daily living on their own, whether it be assistance with dressing, bathing, house cleaning or just an escort to meals for support. Adult family homes can take up to six residents and . . . offer a family setting while offering assistance with daily activities. Dementia-care facilities (such as Parkside) offer up to total assistance with activities of daily living, some needing encouragement to eat, or even to be fed.”

 

Newest and oldest

Watson, and his brother Ed Watson, have recently opened Creekside Retirement Community at 400 Gilkey Road in Burlington. According to Creekside’s Helsa Armbrust, the facility can accommodate 71 independent and 32 assisted residents, who receive full meal service, housekeeping, activities and nursing care available 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

The Watsons are part of a family that started the first full-service retirement community in Skagit Valley nearly 15 years ago. Today, Mountain Glen, at 1810 E. Division St., provides the same amenities and care as Creekside for 91 independent and 81 assisted-living residents.

“Since we started the trend of retirement/assisted living in this area, we are continuing to stay on the leading edge with staffing trends, variation of services and innovation in construction and design,” Brad Watson states.

According to Nancy Gentry, a registered nurse and owner of two care centers in Burlington, the proliferation of retirement and assisted-living centers also is a result of demand.

“We are seeing more individuals who are looking for services — a place that they are comfortable in and where their medical health needs can be managed effectively,” she avers. “We are living longer. With longevity comes complexities of health care. This also includes complexities of nutritional needs. We all want to enjoy a quality of life and to eliminate worries and stresses in our lives. Assisted living provides this service.”

She and her husband, Kendall, built the second-newest facility, Where The Heart Is, on Norris Street late last year. HomePlace, at 210 S. Skagit St., was opened four years ago with an eye toward providing care for early Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

“Skagit County is very lucky in that we have several choices for our community to pick from. Not all communities are so lucky,” she observes. “On the other hand, I believe that we have enough currently to meet the needs of our county.”

This last thought was roundly echoed by many caregivers we talked to.

“Our perception is that at this time, Skagit County has too many vacant retirement apartments. That, along with new facilities being built in Skagit County, would seem to indicate that this is not an appropriate time for more facilities,” says Judy L. Beck, manager at Logan Creek Retirement Community, 2311 E. Division St., Mount Vernon. Logan Creek is nearly as old as Mountain Glen, having opened in 1987. It now has 46 independent-living apartments.

 

Are we ‘maxed out’?

“At the moment, I feel there are sufficient facilities in Skagit Valley,” says Faye Hudson, general manager of The Bridge Assisted Living at Mount Vernon, 321 S. LaVenture Road. The Bridge is part of the Life Care Centers of American system, which now includes the old Skagit Valley Convalescent Center on Highway 20 near Sedro-Woolley.

“In Skagit County, we already have a good balance of both independent and dementia/Alzheimer’s care. With the newest facilities opening this summer, I feel Skagit County will be maxed out for the market here,” says Joyce Boekenoogen, manager of Country Meadow Village, an eight-year-old care facility at 1030 Collins Road, Sedro-Woolley, which is owned by Village Concepts, Inc. of Federal Way.

“The demand is being met,” says Mitch Everton, managing owner of La Conner Retirement Inn, 204 N. First St., La Conner. He says he doesn’t believe we have room for more facilities such as his in the valley, “as opposed to intensive nursing homes.” Several interviewees pointed out there’s definitely a shortage in that category.

One of the most outspoken critics of the assisted-living building boom is Paula J. “Tommy” Tomlinson, executive director of Chandler’s Square Retirement Community, 1300 O Ave., Anacortes.

“When the assisted-living industry first hit the United States, there was a general thought that if you build it, they would come. Now, we all struggle with the same issues: rising state regulations, staffing, utilities and development costs,” she says.

“I believe we have saturated the market in Washington and Skagit County,” she goes on. “If the general area is not experiencing 100-percent occupancy with waiting lists, then I would surmise that saturation has occurred.”

Chandler’s currently has 80 residents living in 32 assisted-living and 34 independent apartments. The facility provides meals, housekeeping, laundry, registered-nurse caregivers, call system, transportation, activities, rehabilitation and exercise room and it allows pets, Tomlinson says.

“The average assisted-living community will fill to 95 percent within the first 12 to 18 months of opening,” she notes. “If it is taking longer than that — and all other indicators are good and the competition is experiencing the same lack to fill up — then I would guess the problems lie in the fact that there are too many apartments available.”

While it wasn’t immediately known from facility to facility the occupancy percentages, Tomlinson quotes the Assisted Living Federation of America newsletter as saying that in the mid-’90s, it was about 97 percent, while today “it is 90 to 92 percent with some communities as low as 85 percent.”

Tomlinson brings up another problem being waged in the fast-growing industry: a shortage of caregivers.

“There’s a shortage of health-care staff, primarily nurses,” she states. “Assisted living is competing with hospitals, doctors and nursing homes, home care, etc. for qualified nurses and caregivers. The cost of staff is driving up the cost to the resident, as is the energy crisis. This also expands into housekeeping and food service staff, where the competition is with restaurants, hotels, etc.

“On the other hand,” she continues, “the population is aging, the boomer generation whose parents live with us now will soon be upon us. In five or 10 years, we will need all these apartments, but what do we do in the meantime?”

For the most part, owners and administrators believe that, come what may, the assisted-living and retirement centers are good for the coming generation of mature adults who, in years past, would have had to stay at home, lonely and with limited care available.

“In the coming years, the need for retirement and assisted living will only increase due to the need for services by an ever-growing senior population,” declares Helsa Armbrust of Creekside. “This enables the mature adult to continue living a comfortable retirement without relying on family members for the basic services of housing, meals and entertainment. The effect that this has on the overall family dynamic is very positive.”

After all, concludes country Meadow’s Beokenoogen, “It’s a wonderful and rewarding business, caring for the elderly.”