When first hired, as the Executive Chef, and Dietary Manager in 96’ of a very upscale retirement community, I was instructed to do "whatever it takes" to keep the 340 residents happy. During the next 8 years, my residents enjoyed the highest resident satisfaction in the history of the company's very large portfolio.
In retirement communities, it is great food that keeps the majority of the residents content, and motivated to continue, and perhaps distracted from thinking about other community issues.
There is little debate among industry professionals regarding the importance of great food.
I took a year off in 2004, to do some travel, remodel aspects of my 85 year old mother's home in West Los Angeles, and pay more attention to my middle age health. Buoyant and re-charged, I returned to the job market, and was immediately hired by another corporation's "flagship property".
As Dietary Director, I was still charged with a similar mission, "Do whatever it takes to keep the residents satisfied". Only this time, my company was for profit; the first senior corporation I worked for was not for profit. In eighteen months, I improved the resident satisfaction 44 %, from 50%, when I began my tenure, to 94% as of September 2007. My residents knew that I was not just a chef, but also a nutritionist, focused on improving their level of wellness. Most residents had no prior knowledge of quinoa, wheat berries, or eating for antioxidant protection: but I considered it my responsibility to not only improve their understanding of nutrition, but to help them understand the impact of nutritional choices on their overall wellness, and more importantly, on their independence. My mission was to actively, purposefully educate.
My experiences of the last ten years, have reversed my initial support for retirement communities as a viable choice for aging parents , and their adult children.
I think that many such communities are really apartment buildings run by corporations with more of an interest in maintaining full occupancy, than in promoting wellness, and the high quality of life for the residents within the building. My corporate supervisor actually instructed me to use commercial high sodium meatballs, because they were "cheaper" than scratch; the same fellow instructed me when I first arrived, that I should not cater to special diets: "we do not cater to special diets". This is the mentality of some "for-profit" corporations engaged in senior care giving. It is all about the profit, not the residents.
There are exceptions: In 2000, I raised over $20,000 from the community residents because I believe so strongly in strength training for seniors: the non-profit corporation matched the funds, and this allowed me to hire a personal trainer to oversee the "wellness and balance room". After senior fitness testing of 200 willing residents, strength training has become a norm for this community,improving the daily health, and longevity of the participating residents. This non-profit corporation in Sn Diego, was authentically interested back then, in 'walking the talk'.
The 'for-profit' community, by comparison, had excellent equipment(Keiser), but had a Wellness Director with no experience or certifications in senior fitness. To her credit, she put on great functions, and theme parties within a minimal budget.
Most of these retirement communities struggle with occupancy, because people come in with some serious challenges, and while in residency, usually go quickly downhill. So the corporations that profit from occupancy, spend allot of money on marketing, but much less money on regular programming that benefits existing residents.
To their credit, these companies do attempt to bring in somewhat knowledgeable speakers to help influence the way in which their residents age; but this educational dimension, like the other five dimensions of wellness programming are all grossly under funded.
My last employer made $11 million dollars in profit from 23 retirement communities; they spent $2.40 per resident per meal, based on two meals per day. Dining services had, by far, the largest budget for all the properties within the corporation: that will tell you how little is actually spent on housekeeping, wellness, environmental services, capital expenses. In September of 2007, the management team of my property had to discourage the corporate leadership from spending $250,000 renovating the front of the building for aesthetic reasons (stamped concrete, palms, glamorous entrance, walkways, lighting), when the residents were screaming about the level of noise in their dining room, and the discomfort of their upholstered chairs.
If you care about the way that your parent ages, there are many other better alternatives to these glossy retirement communities.
At the very least, you should understand that the data supports the conclusion that people moving into retirement communities, actually decline faster than they would if they were at home with caregivers.
