Assisted living for disabled adults

Choosing the right senior living community can have a positive impact on an older adult’s aging experience. In fact, new data shows that residents who move into senior living environments become less frail within one year of their move.¹ Senior living may also address several aging-related concerns, including social isolation, which is a significant concern for 25% of older adults, according to a recent study.²

Even with these potential benefits, it’s no secret that many older adults are reluctant to move into senior living communities. Alarmist news stories about low-quality care homes can influence their views, while encouraging stories about the work of quality providers receive far less attention. This focus on negative experiences can overshadow the more positive aspects of senior living. Many older adults may also have outdated ideas about what senior living looks and feels like. They may picture drab, impersonal “old folks’ homes” instead of the vibrant, modern, and sometimes luxurious communities available today.

This raises an important question: Are outdated stereotypes creating a cloud of confusion around senior living? Do stories from the “old days” overshadow the realities and potential advantages of today’s communities? What do older adults and their families really think about senior living overall?

To better understand residents’ experiences, we took a closer look at data from more than 273,000 online reviews of senior living communities across the web. The goal was to understand what residents and their families actually think and feel about their experiences in these communities.

Senior living resident sentiments

The analysis was conducted by Seniorly, now owned by CareScout, in partnership with Skypoint, a data firm that uses generative AI to support data-driven decision-making. Together, the teams examined more than 273,000 reviews from residents and their families about their experiences with senior living communities. Reviews came from 49 states, offering perspectives from across the country. However, the data slightly overrepresents sentiments from California, Florida, and Texas. Although these states have larger populations and more senior living communities, the number of reviews from them still exceeded their proportionate share of the full data set.

Making sense of this large volume of feedback required tools that could evaluate recurring language and themes. The analysis used Skypoint’s generative AI and text analytics to evaluate languages, phrases, and sentiments, helping the teams interpret the feedback that residents and families shared. The research focused on eight categories that generated more than 735,000 sentiment data points:

• The range of activities offered

• The quality of care services

• The standard of cleanliness

• The adequacy of community spaces and amenities

• Perceptions of dining services

• The level of resident satisfaction

• The competence of staff

• The overall perception of value among residents and their families

What do senior living residents really think about senior living?

Cleanliness matters in more ways than one

Cleanliness emerged as a primary concern in approximately 24% of the sentiments found in the comprehensive analysis of 273,000 U.S. senior living community reviews. This finding reflects how strongly families and prospective residents value cleanliness, especially when they’re touring and forming an initial impression of a community. Odors, which are common in senior living environments, may serve as a signal of quality, rigor, and attention to detail. Cleanliness isn’t simply an aesthetic issue. Families may connect what they see and smell with the overall quality of the community, which means cleanliness can also shape the tour and decision-making experience.

• Why this matters: Although many families don’t identify cleanliness as a priority before a tour, it can become a strong factor in their overall impression of a community once they arrive and begin looking around. Sales teams should be prepared to explain cleaning procedures as a point of difference. They should also openly acknowledge any unexpected cleanliness issues that arise while families are touring the community.

Resident feedback is about professional caregivers and more

Nearly one-quarter of the feedback focused on staff. Qualified, dedicated professional caregivers help shape the resident experience, but they aren’t the only people who influence how residents and families feel about a community. Administrative employees also make a lasting impression. Front desk staff, sales and marketing teams, and the executive director often shape the firsthand feedback that families share. Touring families may respond especially strongly to their phone, email, and in-person interactions with these staff members, even though the employees aren’t directly providing care.

• Why this matters: Senior living providers may invest heavily in training people who work in sales roles, but administrative employees, including front desk staff, business managers, and accounts payable teams, also shape families’ first impressions. These interactions can begin well before a family visits the community. Poorly handled incoming phone calls may discourage prospective residents and their families from scheduling a tour. Those experiences can also become part of the online record through negative feedback, potentially affecting a community’s reputation and word-of-mouth referrals.

The family experience can shape a community’s reputation

In senior living, the opinions of family members and other loved ones carry significant weight. Nearly one-quarter of review sentiments came from family members rather than residents themselves. Their observations of the community, interactions with staff, and perceptions of living conditions can affect their older loved ones’ experiences. Those impressions may also influence the feedback family members choose to share online with other people considering senior living.

• Why this matters: Senior living providers need to consider the family experience as well as the resident experience when thinking about their reputation. A strong communication plan should include technology that supports both real-time and delayed communication with family members and other loved ones. This approach can help providers account for the broader circle of people who experience and evaluate the community.

Other observations from the reviews

• Care services: Comments about specialized care services, such as rehabilitation or memory care support, had the highest ratio of neutral and negative comments to positive comments. These care services may involve a range of other complications that influence how residents and families view the care itself. However, the services are typically delivered with a high degree of personalization and have some of the lowest staff-to-resident ratios.

• Dining: Dining also emerged as an opportunity for improvement. This category had the highest percentage of neutral and negative sentiments at 18%. The finding underscores how much food quality, menu variety, and the overall dining experience matter to older adults living in senior living communities.

• Value: Perceptions of value were a highlight, with just under 90% of families mentioning value in a positive context. As rising labor and other expenses contribute to higher senior living rents, it’s encouraging to see signs that families still weigh the cost of senior living against the services, experiences, and support they receive.