As Senior Living Trends Continue Upward, Companies Turn To Workplace Chaplains
July 23, 2014 | 
Marketplace Matters
With America’s senior population and senior living facilities continuing to grow, more senior living facilities are turning to the workplace chaplaincy organization, Senior Living Chaplains, a division of Marketplace Chaplains, for help with their clients and staff members in the rising trend of senior care assistance.
According to a recent Small Business Development Center Network story 1 roughly one million seniors live in assisted living facilities, a number which is projected to almost double by 2030.
The U.S. had 526,144 senior-housing units in the 31 largest markets in the first quarter of 2014, up 1.4 % from a year earlier, and an additional 16,181 units are under construction, according to the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry, a trade group based in Annapolis, Maryland.2
As more senior facilities are being built, more and more companies are turning to Senior Living Chaplains to help their senior clients, residents, family members and staff.
Bethesda Senior Living Communities, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is one of the newest Senior Living clients; others include BeeHive Homes, of Boise, Idaho, along with longtime clients Touchstone Communities, in San Antonio, Texas, Central Management, in Winnfield, Louisiana, Bickford Senior Living, of Olathe, Kansas, and Diversicare Healthcare Services Inc., in Brentwood, Tennessee, along with many others.
“We have been very happy with this service. It’s something that has saved my staff, and me as well because I don’t have the time to deal with this personally every day, and the chaplains have helped our company greatly,” said Jay Manning, Owner and sub-franchisor of BeeHive Homes.
To continue to address the growing senior trend, Senior Living Chaplains has added a dedicated website www.seniorlivingchaplains.com, along with Senior Living video.
Despite the rapid growth in the industry along with the steady growth projected in the coming decades, industry leaders realize their clients and staff still need a personal touch. “We need local people to help with local needs, and involved with local citizens living in our homes. Senior Living Chaplains really helps with that in a special way. This just adds to our culture of caring for our entire company to help meet individual needs and care for the whole person,” said Andy Eby, Vice President Bickford Senior Living, who has seen huge growth in his family-owned senior business, which is spread across the Midwest, Southeast and Northeast.
According to the U.S. government organization, Administration on Aging, www.acl.gov/programs 3 people 65 and older presented 12.9 % of the American population in the year 2000 and are expected to grow by 19 % by 2030.
Nationally, the inventory of senior-housing units is at the highest since at least the fourth quarter of 2005, according to the National Investment Center. Demand has so far kept pace, with occupancies climbing to 89.8 %, the highest since 2008. The average rent rose to $3,415 per unit in the first quarter, up 2 % from a year earlier, and is at the highest since at least 2005 according to a recent Bloomberg News story.2
“As the numbers and the needs of our senior citizens have increased greatly, for whom faith is so important, we are personally engaging with residents and family members to add value and connection to each life,” said Richard S. De Witt, Executive President and COO of Marketplace Chaplains and Senior Living Chaplains. “That’s why we are so grateful for these visionary CEOs providing Senior Living Chaplains for their clients and staff.”
Together, Senior Living Chaplains and the original and largest workplace chaplaincy organization, Marketplace Chaplains, provide chaplain care in 46 states, 5 countries, and 1 commonwealth, with nearly 2,800 chaplains serving in 1,029 cities and 3,277 worksite locations.
For more information on this benefit and service visit www.seniorlivingchaplains.com.
References:
1 www.sbdcnet.org/small-business-research-reports/assisted-living-facilities
