One of our esteemed colleagues here at Ecumen was recruited away by Target Corporation to help expand their in-store clinic venture.   The creativity and big thinking that she provided in senior housing and aging services will serve Target well.

Speaking of Target, there was a May 7th Wall Street Journal interview with Target’s top executives.  Two comments from president Gregg Steinhafel are particularly of interest for senior housing and long-term care professionals working to innovate.  Here are the excerpts:

 WSJ:  How do you keep coming up with cutting-edge merchandise and marketing ideas . . .?

Duluth, Minn., (May 11, 2007) – With the opening of 100 apartments that overlook Lake Superior in Duluth, Minn., Ecumen has completed Lakeshore, a new senior housing community. A total repositioning from its former status as an outdated nursing home, Ecumen completely updated this brand new senior housing development with a variety of housing options and services.

The new Lakeshore community, which is located just a few blocks from the historic Glensheen Mansion, includes:

• 100 senior independent living apartments at The Crest. Floor plans range in size from approximately 800 square feet to nearly 1,900 square feet, with some of the best views of Lake Superior.

Interesting article in today’s Star Tribune on a new senior housing development being built in Prior Lake by Presbyterian Homes.  It’s a senior housing development that will ultimately combine a Lutheran Church, YMCA, medical center, and youth center.

This is a fabulous approach and a complete no brainer! Boomers told us in our Age Wave study that they want to be close to church, health care, shopping and they want to live in a “community,” not an institution. Kudos to Shepherd on the Lake  for their vision and for integrating senior housing into their larger community.

Technology is playing a much bigger role in our existing senior housing and new Ecumen senior housing developments.  Businessweek has a great article on technology’s growing role in improving seniors’ life quality and independence.  Following is an excerpt and link:

Senior Momentum

Can design and technology deliver a golden age of aging?

by Juanita Dugdale

Posted by Mick Finn, Chief of Operations 

The other day I had the opportunity to meet with a number of senior housing leaders from around Ecumen. We were talking about IT.

IT is that feeling you get when you walk into a senior housing community, whether it’s independent living, assisted living or a nursing home and you just feel good. You get a warm, comfortable feeling.  There is a vibe.  People greet each other by name.  They smile.  They laugh.  They’re genuine.  You just know that that community just has IT. We couldn’t point to one thing that IT is, but here are some of the things that I think contribute to IT in senior housing.

Posted By Dana Wollschlager, Director of Real Estate Development

The photos above show the “today” and “yesterday” of our senior housing community in Duluth, Minnesota, called Lakeshore.  Lakeshore is located just down the street from the historic Glensheen mansion.

This senior housing development was a complete repositioning of an outdated nursing home.  The new Lakeshore was designed with a lot of input from community members.   They wanted this to be a place that you could live independently, but where you’d have easy access to health care.  They wanted it to offer some of the best views on Lake Superior, and wanted it to be a destination place or a community that was an integral part of the larger community rather than isolated. 

Minnesota has about 1.5 million baby boomers.  According to Ecumen’s Age Wave Study, here are the most important characteristics to them as they think about senior housing:

Independence
Nearby friends and family
Privacy
Easy-access health care
Safety
Ownership instead of renting
Easy-access shopping
Availability of spiritual opportunities
Easy-access transportation
Meaningful volunteer opportunities
Welcomed community involvement
Easy-access fitness opportunities
Travel opportunities
Educational opportunities
Multi-generational community

Waconia, Minnesota, recently built senior housing on the main street close to many community amenities rather than out in a corn field. It meets many of the criteria that baby boomers think are important to them. As we think about the future of Minnesota and senior housing, this is a great check list to start with and use in planning senior housing development.