Local communities assist residents in all stages of their retirement
The U.S. population is quickly approaching a landmark that will happen in 2024. By the end of the year, 4 million people will reach the age of 65. People in the Miami Valley can now look forward to living as long as four decades after they retire.
Vicky Evans, the marketing coordinator at Kettering Health Senior Living in Miamisburg, works closely with the retired population that calls the facility home.
“We are a unique community in that we have independent homes and cottages and people can age in place and go from there to our plaza and five levels of assisted living,” Evans says.
The community is mission based and has a goal to offer affordable housing in its independent living community, which is especially appealing for retirees living on fixed incomes.
“People who retire here like it because it feels close to home,” Evans says. “And it’s close to shopping and other things.”
Residents as young as 55 years old can decide to make the move to independent homes and cottages because they want to enjoy their retirement years without having to worry about home maintenance concerns.
“When you come here, you really do very little yourself,” Evans says. “It’s just enjoy your days with no worries.”
Today’s retirees are also active and social, preferring to spend time with friends playing games, going to movies, working on crafts and even singing together in choir groups.
“We have a beauty shop, gift shop and gym right here in the facility,” Evans says. “And if you start out in independent living in a plaza apartment, you don’t have to move when you need assisted living.”
Evans, who has worked for the facility for eight years, has watched the population change.
“Seniors are now more on the offense than they used to be,” Evans says. “They take the initiative to come here early on before they really need a different level of care.”
One big challenge for most retirement communities is to overcome the preconceived notions people have about them—mainly that they are not for active people and not fun places in which to live.
“We like to say it’s the beginning of a new adventure,” Evans says. “It’s not the end of their lives.”
Over at St. Leonard (part of CHI Living Communities) in Centerville, Kelly Lance, the director of community relations, says that offering retirees a place that can take them from living independently through all stages of aging up to and including skilled nursing care is a game changer.
“We have a focus on not only aging in place but also on vital living,” Lance says.
The 240-acre campus features gardens, ponds and walking trails. Founded in 1982 by the Franciscans who originally owned the property, St. Leonard was designed to offer affordable housing for seniors. Today, St. Leonard’s vital living program caters to active seniors who want more from their retirement years.
Today’s seniors also have more of an interest in lifelong learning and St Leonard collaborates with the University of Dayton to present forums on various topics ranging from climate change to upcoming elections.
Like seniors at Kettering Retirement, St. Leonard residents appreciate the freedom they have because they don’t have to spend time mowing grass or maintaining a home.
“Retirees today want to have active and vital lives,” Lance says. “They want to make friends and they want to learn and continue to grow. We are like a close-knit family.”
