Senior Housing: Utah Senior Housing and Care Demand.

AuthorThompson, McSean
PositionSENIOR HOUSING

Since the year 2010, more than 10,000 people have reached the age of 65 each day in the United States. This wave of retirement age Baby Boomers in America has affectionately been dubbed the "Silver Tsunami." According to a report from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, the number of Americans over 80 will double (from 6 million to 12 million) in the next two decades, and by 2035, one of three U.S. households will be headed by someone over 65. That's 79 million Americans, or slightly less than the population of Turkey. In addition to the Baby Boomers, those born prior to 1946--the "oldest old"--will number over 9 million people.

Despite having the youngest average population in the United States, Utah is set to feel the impact of this rapidly expanding senior population. Utah's 85+ population will see steady growth into the early 2020s, but by the middle of that decade there will be a dramatic spike. By 2050, the 85+ population is projected to be eight times larger than it was in 2006.

In addition to an ever-increasing population, the average Utahn is now living longer. The average life expectancy at birth for Utah males increased from 72.4 years in 1980 to 78.2 years in 2015, and from 78.6 to 81.4 years for females. The Kern C. Gardner Policy Institute recently noted that Utah's population of centenarians, individuals aged 100 and older, will grow from 340 today to 6,800 in 2065.

Challenges to Housing and Care

An aging population provides great challenges, not least of which is housing. Older populations are at greater risk for chronic illnesses and are therefore in greater need of long-term care. The social deficits associated with aging and the physical frailty precipitated by aging contribute to multiple, acute and chronic diseases. These chronic illnesses are compounded by problems such as incontinence, instability, falls and acute dementia. Most people in this state require care associated with activities of daily living (ADL). Typical ADLs include feeding oneself, bathing, dressing, grooming or medication management.

Changing cultural norms have combined with the increase in life expectancy to make the traditional model of family-provided elder care impractical. Most families are not equipped to handle the complex and sometimes unpleasant task of providing care in the home. Providing for this population will require increased support from state and local governments and innovations in architecture and design as well as new...

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