Modern senior living: homes of the future, worries of the present - Los Angeles Times

The future of senior living -- design, real estate pitfalls, technology -- is the subject of a Home section package in the Saturday print edition of The Times. Among the stories:

Modern design: Retirement communities often rely on a traditional look to create environs that feel familiar and comforting. But rather than reference the past, a design and development team behind a proposed community called Boom in Rancho Mirage is pointing squarely at the future. Ten firms contributed their visions for what modern senior living might look like at Boom, including this rendering from Diller Scofidio & Renfro. The result is an interesting exercise in dreaming about the perfect retirement home. Read the article or check out the 20-image gallery.

Buyers, beware: Financial difficulties at some senior care communities have created a new set of worries for prospective residents and family members trying to ensure their safety and happiness. At some high-end communities, large up-front fees that residents thought were refundable have been lost in bankruptcy. And at more modestly priced, family-run board-and-care homes, a foreclosure can mean all residents are forced to vacate. Writer Rosemary McClure has the full story.

Staying in touch: In an era when extended families are often spread across state lines, companies are developing technologies to help adult children more easily monitor an aging parent from afar. Family Health Network, part of a technology incubator near Durham, N.C., has developed a touch-screen computer system that guides older people living on their own through a series of daily questions, along the lines of “How are you feeling?” and “Have you taken your medications this morning?” By simply touching buttons on a simplified display, answers can be recorded and relayed to family members as reassurance that the loved one is safe. The program can incorporate email, shared calendars for monitoring appointments and shared photo albums for reducing feelings of isolation. The system also can be set up to handle video calls. The touch screen system was one of several advances cited by Majd Alwan, vice president for the Center for Aging Services Technology at Leading Age, a nonprofit group formerly known as the American Assn. of Homes and Services for the Aging.

Monitoring from a distance: WellAware Systems in Glen Allen, Va., has developed a way of embedding motion sensors in homes so caregivers can infer the activities of daily living. The system includes a bed sensor that can alert loved ones if Mom is getting up nine times every night, or if Dad got out of bed at 2 a.m. but never returned, perhaps because of a fall. Or motion sensors might note an unexpected lack of movement in the home all morning -- perhaps another sign of a potential problem.

For readers of McClure's article who would like additional resources of information, keep reading ...

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