The Rise of Assistive Living and the Demise of Nursing Homes

Let's face it, who honestly looks forward to being put in a nursing home? Not only are most people there against their will, often subject to abuse and neglect because they are inadequately staffed, trained, and poorly regulated, but the costs of living in them are rising at a very alarming rate.

The costs of living in nursing homes aren't the only thing expected to grow at this alarming rate, the current 65 million U.S. nursing home residents is expected to double within the next 15-20 years. Medicare and Medicaid both help seniors pay for much of this expense, but the costs to the government and to the occupants are just too great to be ignored.More...

The flood of elderly piling into nursing homes and the rising costs have caused seniors and their families to look for alternatives. The assisted living market and assistive living technologies market have been experiencing rapid growth and are growing as sensible alternatives to nursing homes. Assisted living offers apartment style housing options with light medical assistance to those who can't completely take care of themselves or a home, but don't need all of the assistance that nursing homes offer. This assistance is specific to each person based on their wants and needs. Assistive living technologies, on the other hand, are designed for use in assisted living homes, but more importantly, to help seniors stay in their own homes longer. These technologies include things like a ceiling mounted harness that moves along a track with its user throughout their bedroom and bathroom area to prevent them from slipping and falling while bathing, getting dressed, etc., voice activated windows, talking pill boxes, height adjustable kitchen counters, the list goes on and on.

The main goal of all assistive living technologies is to increase the independence of the people using them. The extra years that these devices allow people to stay in their homes is priceless, and more companies are beginning to take notice of the premium that seniors are willing to pay for this independence, and the best part is that the cost of implementing these devices almost always ends up saving money for the people using them as an alternative to living in a nursing home.

As the benefits of assistive living continue to increase, global sales by companies producing assistive technology products and services are increasing too. In the U.S., according to BIS data, totaled $2.87 billion in 1999, up from $2.35 billion in 1997 -- an increase of nearly 22 percent. In fact, demand for AT products produced in the United States increased from 1997 through 1999 in almost every major market around the world. These figures represent sales by U.S.-owned companies in the United States as well as revenues of the U.S. business units of foreign companies. Since 1999, the industry has been growing even faster. With the baby boomers getting older, the costs of nursing homes rising, and strain this has put on government funding for Medicare and Medicaid, the assistive living market is in an excellent position to experience dramatic growth in years to come.