Innovative wellness models are being designed for delivering customized services to the senior citizens and the module in which they are going to spend the rest of their lives in a productive sort of way. This concept of living would benefit the seniors and the society they live in as well.
However, this being said, there is still enough opportunity left which is unexplored and which can be tapped giving seniors still more room for savoring the fruits of a healthy and balanced living experience.
The wellness aspect of the global senior citizens needs to be seriously considered. Reduced mobility, frail health, lack of emotional support, financial insecurity, reduced activity, chronic illness and lack of social interaction are the factors that erode the wellness of the aged bit by bit with each passing day.
The need for a proper wellbeing environment for the aged opens up the doors to provide wellness services centered on the concept of living in a number of innovative ways. As the living environment providers seek for an expansion in the market share targeting more educated and well groomed consumers, the following elemental basics need deliberations:
- Fluctuating market demands.
- Longer life expectancy.
- Unique partnership.
- The financial angle ensuring that the aged doesn’t get trampled under the expense burden in pursuit of a new and healthy living facility.
- Making advanced technology easily accessible to the aging population.
Centers for senior citizens are carefully designed considering the following factors:
- Availability of spaces for preventive care medical appointments.
- Periodic appraisal of cognitive skills.
- Continuing education programs.
- Healthy nutrition plans.
- Social interactions.
- Exposure to art and cultural programs.
- Physical fitness training sessions.
- Access to spa and beauty treatments.
The senior living niche market is highly promising. The growth opportunities are enormous. For the service providers catering to the needs of seniors’ living requirements, the exigency to take care of each individual’s desires is quite challenging.
Changing façade of senior wellness centers in the US:
The senior centers in the US have experienced a thorough makeover throughout the 20th century. The expanding network of senior centers was called upon to offer superior alternatives to institutional care. They strive in helping out those older adults desirous of staying in a community so that they can interact with their neighbors.
The Older American Act 1965 had triggered the proliferation of senior centers across the nation. In the mid 1970’s modifications in living conditions of the aged population have brought to limelight the role of multipurpose senior centers.
For development of these properties, regular funding was initiated and it started to take care of the implementation of the specific programs to be carried out in the interest of these senior centers.
However, the meager resources were drawn thin to make ends meet and their control was frequently machinated in quest for novel ideas instead of serving as motivators of novel ideas.
Irrespective of their age, education, background, medical history, communal and social standing most of the seniors were confronted with the same kind of problems which have a bearing on physical and mental health. They had a marked influence on their:
- Wellbeing including desolation.
- Decreased mobility.
- Safety and security aspects.
- Age specific health disorders.
- Denial of independence.
Focusing more on whole person wellness:
There are still innovative and enterprising bodies those have come up with a comprehensive solution to address the issues. They have come up with the whole person wellbeing program to reinstate the lost equilibrium from the lives of this aged population.
The entire ‘ whole person ‘ wellness concept is targeted towards a few fundamental principles conceived to support the aged to maintain a healthy and active life. Six basic wellness dimensions are aimed at which includes:
- Emotional wellness
- Intellectual wellness
- Physical wellness.
- Social wellness.
- Spiritual wellness.
- Vocational wellness.
This wellness concept is centered on positive beliefs and productive activities and they are easily accessible to a senior citizen. In a nutshell, the whole person wellness program helps the aged to remodel themselves on several levels of gratification.
Specific senior wellness center models:
Currently, as most of the senior wellness centers continue to help older adults on a multidimensional plane, still many of them look for specific areas to emphasize upon taking into account their marketing strategy, image and facilities delivered.
Buildings that accommodate today’s senior centers are more diversely placed in terms of size, location and style. A lot of innovative thoughts have gone into the design aspects.
Here we go with some typical old age centre models:
- Cafe model: Design objective is to support healthy nutrition, health and wellness, promoting social interaction, supporting the community and offering accessibility to other onsite programs, services and products.
- Fitness / Wellness centre model: Design objective supports physical and mental health, promotion of social interaction and access to other community programs.
- Technology centre model: Design objective is to support computer literacy, social interaction, and continued learning programs based on technical support.
- Lifelong learning model: Design objective is to support learning, health, wellness, fitness, computer literacy, second career classes and volunteerism.
The burden of the aging population is to rise dramatically across the globe. Therefore, instilling wellness through innovatively designed wellness centers could provide a standard level of wellness for the aged allowing them to continue a meaningful life making some contribution to the society as well.
