2018 Leadingage New York

2018 LEADINGAGE NEW YORK

Session Title

De-institutionalizing the dining experience in senior living: Past, Present and Future.

Session Narrative

Senior living is a topic people of all ages are talking about today. From grand children to students to job seekers to seniors to investors, many people are coming to grips with the Social Security Administration fact that approximately 10,000 baby boomers will be retiring daily during the next 20 years. With spectacular facts like these, senior living community leaders need to continuously evaluate every aspect of their operation to successfully position themselves to attract seniors looking to enjoy the fruits of their life long labor.

Today, senior living communities welcome and serve up to three generations of residents. Indeed, the shift from the Greatest and Silent Generations to the Baby-Boomers is happening and it is changing the landscape of the senior living market. Adults who join senior living communities are often well acquainted with hospitality. Many are well traveled and accustomed to hotels and resorts to cater to their needs. As a result, community leaders must quickly realize that with increased market competition comes the need to go beyond the normal range of thought and think of new ways to consistently supersede satisfaction and acquire loyalty by positioning themselves strategically in the marketplace with a well-developed food and hospitality driven culture.

Our goal is to explore the evolution of dining services within senior living communities and understand the key factors of a successful dining experience that will help the communities to enhance their brand and marketability.

Part I: Evolution of the dining experience, comparison between past and present.

The dining environment, service and food experience in senior living communities has been significantly impacted by the culture change that was born out of the formation of the Pioneer Network in 1997. This revolution focusing on maintaining the independence of the seniors as well as the different expectations of a “new” senior population has led senior communities to transition their dining service from a healthcare, institutional experience to a hospitality, service-oriented experience in all levels of care.

1. Culinary offer: from menus and recipes driven by regulatory needs to wellness, authenticity, scratch cooking and global flavors.
2. Menu design and presentation: from institutional spreadsheets and very limited options to more diverse, innovative menus and real-time ordering on tablets.
3. Look and space design: from a formal dining room to open kitchen, convertible and retail-look venues.
4. Service model: from tray line, fixed hours and plastic table wear to round-the-clock, customized, hospitality service.

Part II: Looking ahead, our vision of the future dining experience

Leaders in senior living communities need to understand that that culture change and transformation within the dining experience are not destinations but a journey and always a work in progress. Moreover, they need to be mindful of consumer trends that affect the larger “foodservice world” and that will take place in senior living tomorrow.

From virtual reality for training to data driven decisions, personal gluten sensor and fresh meal kits, we will peek into the future of the dining experience in senior living.

Session Learning Objectives

1. Understand the changes happening in the senior living market in terms of dining expectations and learn how to adapt to those needs to remain competitive in the future.
2. Understand the need to de-institutionalize dining in senior living and the steps to take.
3. Understand how communities must adapt their dining programs to be better aligned with the principles associated with a person-centered care approach.

Session Length

1.5 hours

Presentation Delivery

Other

This session is designed to expose leaders with current trends, innovations and interactive examples that can help keep senior living dining programs and venues exciting. Therefore we would like our presentation to be very interactive and involve our audience. Our presentation will be a mix of a lecture/brainstorming with a food demo that will enable the audience to capture the differences between yesterday, today and tomorrow’s dining expectations of senior residents. We will also share some case studies of communities where we have seen examples of forward-thinking initiatives in the dining experience.

Education Level

Intermediate