Post #19 "Ok, I'm going for it."

A Baby Boomer takes the leap.

In Post 17, Dare to Dream, I wrote about how I was looking into putting together my dream senior living community, and admitted I was a little afraid of going too far over-the-top as I discussed my ideas with a potential partner.

And then I challenged you to Dare to Dream.

Well, hell, I guess if I’m going to be “out there” enough to have this space and write about my ideas on what senior living should look like, and then challenge you as well, I better walk my talk.

So, OK, I’m going for it! Buckle up!

I’m putting myself out there and proposing to potential partners not what is typical, not what is, but what could be. I may fail, and fall on my face, but we also may do something extraordinary.

I like to talk about my brilliant psychotherapy wife, and she has another great piece of advice for us all.

“you can’t be ordinary and extraordinary at the same time.”

Damn right.

Trying to be extraordinary can be fun but it is also risky. And you’ll get (say with a Russel Crow movie accent) criticized, scrutinized, polarized…(which movie was that from? Answer at the end).

So here it is. Here is what I am proposing to potential partners. I’m laying it on the line.

The Concept

It is a little different than what I described in Dare to Dream. There, I was discussing a wonderful senior campus, with intergenerational relationships, kids running around, well-trained and well-paid caregivers who were treated as professionals, families who not only interacted with all residents and staff, but used their resources to help the workforce. All the people working together to help each other.

I still want all that.

But we have expanded our view. The ideal senior campus - senior community - is actually NOT a senior community. It is just a community. Of people. Where there also happen to be seniors. Or, now Boomers.

That senior community will now be not just a stand-alone building, separated from the rest of society, but the HUB of activity for the entire area.

Homecare AND a Senior Living Community

We are then going to turn your homes, where you live, in neighborhoods around the senior community, into places where Boomers can get virtually all the services, support, and care you need, in order to stay at home much longer than before.

We already have millions of people living in clusters near each other. We don’t need to build new, separate buildings that house Boomers/seniors, just so we can take care of them in close proximity to each other in order to save money for the owners of the buildings.

This is what I envision. Providing a new type of homecare in neighborhoods and then connecting the people who receive these services into a new community along with the local senior living community (Independent or assisted living building). And do both much, much better than before.

It’s called Roines Homes. I know it’s a little weird.

But you’ll remember it. It is the word senior spelled backwards. Yeah. Try and spell it out.

Our slogan is, “we are turning senior living upside down.” Cute?

The name isn’t as important as what we do.

As you-know-who says, it’s not where you live, it’s how you live (and who you live with).

We now have the technology to do this. Apps like Grubhub, Doordash, Uber and Zoom, show us it can be done. And if you start adding the concept that everyone doesn’t always have to be alone in their home, or just receiving one-on-one personal care, it changes everything and allows you to keep the family home in the family estate without having to sell it to move into a senior residence.

It’s your life. You can now have much more choice. Roines Home can be a seamless transition to getting older and getting the support you will need.

Instead of assisted living, it is “living, with assistance.”

Here’s how it works….there’s an app….it always seems to start that way now.

On the Homecare side…

• We will offer all the support you need, customized just for you, with one phone call (email or text). Personal care, Home Management, errands, shopping, Amazon shopping, even help with your phone and remote control (that’s an important one!). Tele-medicine, and 24 hour supervision. It can all now be done in your own home.

• Or someone else’s home. There is no reason you can’t “share the care” at home like we do in senior residences. If you share care with another person in your home, or with others in the neighborhood, the prices can go way, way down. And, you’ll have more connection and fun.

You can now have access to a whole community of people - just as if you were in a senior residence – for socializing, recreating, organizing, playing and working together. We plan on having hundreds of people in our database (like a dating app) in each community, and will connect you with them – in person or virtually - so all the bridge players can get together; all the gardeners, book club people, walkers, music lovers - we will help you keep meaningful connections with other people while participating in stimulating activities, all the while staying in your own home – if you want.

The Senior Community is now the HUB

• But we still will have our senior community – Independent, assisted living and memory care neighborhoods. It will be the HUB of the whole community. Some people like living with groups of other people. Some people will need the 24-hour supervision and care. But now, instead of the building just being for the people living there, it will be for the entire community. Some will come to eat meals there, have some activities there, or to see your doctor. And if you or your home caregivers need a breather for a few days or weeks, you can always have a short-term stay right around the corner.

You see, we are not just creating a community. We are creating a sense of community.

Wherever you live. Isn’t that what we’ve needed all this time? I believe this is what the Boomers will want.

How is that for a Dream? We are going to try our best to make it happen. Our future partners are interested. It’s a new concept for senior living, or should I say Boomer Living.

Join Me.

Want to join me in this adventure? Let me know if you have any interest in a) being part of the conversation, b) being part of our team, or c) being a Partner and taking advantage of this New Era in Senior Living; d) or anything else you think you can contribute.

I’ve always said, Boomers are going to change what aging is like in America. And what senior living is like. We are going to keep rockin’ and rollin’.

…you say you want a revoluti..on, well you know, we all want to change the world…..

Answer to movie question - A Beautiful Mind

Dean Solden is the founder and owner of Creative Senior Solutions (CSS), a management, development and consulting company specializing in senior living (www.creativeseniorsolutions.com). You can reach Dean at (734) 260-3600 or dean@creativeseniorsolutions.com.

If you like music, check out Dean’s music at deansoldenmusic.com if you like jazz, blues, and some funky piano/vocal music.