Disrupting the Status Quo of Senior Living: A Mindshift

by Jill Vitale-Aussem LNHA MMH

With 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 each day, the need for senior living is growing at a steep rate, and the aging services field has been hard at work preparing for these new customers. Current practices aim to bring the kind of comfort and amenities enjoyed at hotels and resorts to the settings we create for older adults to live in. But what if these efforts are misdirected? Interweaving research on aging, ideas from influential thinkers in the aging services field, and the author’s own experiences managing and operating senior living communities,  Disrupting the Status Quo of Senior A Mindshift  challenges readers to question long-accepted practices, examine their own biases, and work toward creating vibrant cultures of possibility and growth for elders. Shining a light on her own professional field, Jill Vitale-Aussem exposes the errors of current thinking and demonstrates how a shift in perspective can effect real cultural transformation. Her book delves into society’s inherent biases about growing older—where ageism, paternalism, and ableism abound—and provokes readers to examine how a youth-obsessed culture unconsciously impacts even the most well-meaning senior living policies, practices, and organizations. Deconstructing the popular hospitality model, for example, Vitale-Aussem explains how it can actually undermine feelings of purpose and independence. In its place, she proposes better ways to create opportunities for older people to exercise choice, autonomy, and self-efficacy. Filled with empowering stories of elders who find purpose and belonging within their senior residences, Disrupting the Status Quo of Senior Living builds on AARP’s disrupt aging work and demonstrates that to truly transform senior living, we must dig deeper and create communities that promote the potential and value of the people who live and work in these settings.

184 pages, Paperback

Published August 10, 2019

Reviews

[Sarah Toppins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that is going around my continuing care or life plan community. It's about changes that need to be made to accommodate today's aging baby boomers. The author talks about how many communities are modeled after resort living and that's the wrong model because it's short term and you aren't encouraged to know your neighbors. I've found in my community that we have a lot of interesting people, kind and caring staff (but not enough of them), and a beautiful natural setting. But we have too many volunteer leaders and not enough volunteers. I think that's something the book could have discussed more.

[Amanda Masters · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend recommended this book because he knew we were looking for a retirement community for my mom, and because his daughter wrote it! I was very impressed. It was readable, informative, and seemed to be well-supported with research and personal experience and yet open-minded. It was written from the perspective of a community manager, NOT a resident or family member of a resident, so it is not exactly a fit for my needs. It still had a lot to offer me; plenty to think about! Loved the discussion of "surplus safety" - that was a pretty mind-blowing concept, so thanks for that, Jill!