In an article in Modern Healthcare by reporter Diane Eastabrook, Diane shares that primary care is moving into senior living communities as companies add more healthcare options in order to keep residents living there longer.
The trend is helping some senior living operatorsmove the needle on health outcomes and lower healthcare costs for older, sicker residents. On average, people living in senior communities have up to three chronic conditions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Making investments in primary care offers senior living operators a new revenue stream and also benefits stressed health systems by keeping patients out of emergency departments, said Tim Jackson, senior principal of healthcare strategy at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care.
Minneapolis-based Lifespark is the latest senior living company to jump into the healthcare space. It rolled out an initiative in January that provides onsite geriatric primary care, hospice and wellness programs to residents at its 50 senior living communities in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The program is active in about half the communities and is expected to launch in the rest by the end of the year.
Lifespark physicians and advanced practice nurses are assigned to a group of communities where they make daily visits. The integration of primary care with housing, wellness programs and social activities offers is a smarter, more holistic way to care for older adults, CEO Joel Thiesen said.
“The traditional healthcare system only takes you when you have problems. They do sick care, not healthcare. We’re doing healthcare,” he said.
Integrating primary care into senior living communities began more than a decade ago and gained traction during the COVID-19 pandemic.
