Specialty environments allow senior care organizations to address specific health challenges that remain unaddressed by the traditional senior living campuses of today. Such specialty resident environments have traditionally focused on care for residents with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, but the senior living industry has an excellent opportunity to further transform to assist with additional challenges seniors face as they age.

Not only can specialized environments help the senior living operator target a specific resident demographic through enhanced services, but they can also generate linkages to the medical community for on-campus support and referrals.

Creating specialties through multiple partnerships

Source: The Hebrew Home at Riverdale; Post-Acute Care Collaborative interviews and analysis.

The Hebrew Home at Riverdale, a senior services organization located in New York, identified a specialty opportunity outside the realm of dementia—creating a low-vision center through a research-driven design process and creative partnerships with external experts. The low-vision center serves residents with vision impairments and related eye diseases such as cataracts and glaucoma.

The specialized environment creates an attractive offering for the community, positions the Hebrew Home as a leader in vision care for seniors, and introduces a new therapy not traditionally offered in the market.

Case in brief: The Hebrew Home at Riverdale

• Not-for-profit, independent continuing care retirement community and senior services organization located in Riverdale, NY.
• Developed a Low Vision Center on its campus to serve residents with low vision or blindness. Sample eye conditions of residents served by the center include macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy.
• Partnered with several organizations and providers to design the space and best serve residents, including with the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for the unit design.
• Offers a geriatric eye care program, including a low vision exam, as a complementary service to the low vision center.
• Received a grant from Readers Digest Partners for Sight Foundation to market and raise public awareness and health care providers of the services offered by the center.