Well, 2024 was a heck of a year, right? A whole lot of significant events shaped both the United States and the world, bringing a mix of triumphs and challenges.
People got stuck up in space. Olympic athletes competed in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower and on the grounds of Versailles. America returned a controversial past president to office, one that is now a convicted felon. Israel and Hamas did not resolve their differences. Taylor Swift's Eras Tour ended. Hurricane Helene and Typhoon Yagi barreled ashore. And so much more.
What About Healthcare and Senior Living?
A lot happened in healthcare and senior living, too.
In the U.S., there was increased scrutiny on healthcare investments and mergers. A surge in cyberattacks. Continued expansion of telehealth services. A slight hospital workforce rebound. More AI integration. Increased adoption of value-based care in senior living. An occupancy bounce back. Continued interest in age-qualified, active adult rental communities.
Around the world, there were medical breakthroughs, universal health reforms, and technology integration. Climate changes was and continues to be the biggest threat to human health worldwide.
While all this was going on, I found plenty to write about.
Many of my blog posts were about trends affecting healthcare and senior living design and construction. I've picked 12 as my own year in review. Most are among my most read and shared posts of 2024.
Here they are, in chronological order:
1: ESG is a Trend That's Here to Stay for Healthcare & Senior Living
Over the past several years, ESG has transformed from a buzz term to an important framework for healthcare organizations to implement. That's why Modern Healthcare, the industry’s leading business magazine hosted its second annual ESG summit for healthcare leaders last June. More>>>
2: Lots of Interest Now in University-Affiliated Senior Living Communities
When I wrote about university-affiliated senior living communities for Environments for Aging magazine in 2105, university leaders weren't too keen on the idea of developing these on their campuses. It seemed like a brilliant idea to me -- after all, universities are already in the housing business and they have a lot of older alums who would jump at the chance to come back to live on or near campus and have access to educational programs, the arts, sporting events, etc. More>>>
3: Design Trends in Behavioral Health - What's New?
A few weeks ago, I posted an article by Rachael Ferrell at HKS on my LinkedIn feed about new design trends in behavioral health that talked about sensory rooms. As one of my followers correctly pointed out, sensory rooms themselves aren't new -- Snoezelen multi-sensory rooms were introduced by the Dutch in the mid-1970s as therapy for people with autism and other developmental disabilities, dementia, and brain injuries. More>>>
4: Four Recent Surveys That Have Useful Insights for Healthcare Facility Design & Construction
If you want to know what people think, all you need to do is ask them, right? Besides giving us details on what people think about specific topics, surveys offer many clues to issues and trends that are influencing healthcare facility design and construction. Here's a sampling of results from some recent surveys that I think have useful insights. More>>>
5: How Much Do You Know About Ethically Sourced Materials?
“Is your building ethically sourced, without forced labor, as well as sustainably designed?” That's the question asked by the founders of the Design for Freedom, a movement started in 2020 by the Grace Farms Foundation to eliminate modern slavery in the built environment. Initially, its working group focused on developing ethical labor practices on construction sites, but now they are looking at the building materials supply chain -- including subcontractors, manufacturers, and commodities-level providers -- and trying to establish guidelines for ethically sourced materials. More>>>
6: Neocon & Design Days Deliver the Goods in Chicago
This past week Chicago was abuzz not just from cicadas, but also from all the excitement surrounding Neocon and Fulton Market Design Days. (Okay, so there aren't many cicadas in the city, but they are driving us bonkers elsewhere in Chicagoloand.) Anyway, I spent a day and a half this week walking the halls of The Merchandise Mart and streets of Fulton Market. Have to admit, I needed a nap when I got back to my home office Tuesday afternoon. More>>>
7: There's Gold in Them Thar Hills - The Big Opportunity in Senior Living
Did you know that demand for senior housing in the U.S. is soon going to outpace development? That's what experts at Plante Moran Living Forward concluded after analyzing data from NIC MAP Data Vision. The main culprit? Slowed construction starts, due to higher capital and construction costs. That, coupled with Baby Boomers reaching their 80s, may mean there are more people looking to move to senior housing than there are available units. More>>>
8: Biden's Impact on Healthcare Facility, Planning, Design, & Construction
President Joe Biden's farewell address at the Democratic National Convention this week got me thinking about the impact his policies have had on U.S. healthcare facility planning, design, and construction. Here are a few that I think are the most important. More>>>
9: 4 Ideas Presented 20 Years Ago That Are Still Emerging Trends
I've been thinking a lot about the past lately. That's because I've been preparing for a presentation Sheila Cahnman and I are giving at the Healthcare Design Conference + Expo on Monday, October 7 titled, "Trend or Fad? Anticipating Changes that will have the Greatest impact on Healthcare Design." More>>>
10: What to Make of the Idea of Aging in Place
Although it seems good in theory, I've often thought aging in place cannot be a good solution for most people. That's because a lot of people think that aging in place means staying in your family house of many years until you die. Yet, most of our houses are not designed for our frailer, older selves and are a safety hazard. More>>>
11: Digging Deeper - How Trump Could Affect U.S. Healthcare and Senior Living Design and Construction
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about how the two U.S. presidential candidates' views and policies would affect healthcare and senior living design and construction. Maybe you read it, maybe you didn't. But now that this election is finally over, I thought it might be good to dig a little deeper into what may be in store for the healthcare and senior living design industry during the new administration. More>>>
12: The Impact of Design on Brain Health
Have you ever thought about the impact of design on brain health? I hadn't until recently, when it became a topic of interest for CADRE, a nonprofit design research organization whose board I serve on. Unlike what many of us might believe, brain health is not about mental health. More>>>
Happy New Year to you -- and thanks for reading my blog!
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Photo: ID 352061196 | 2024 © Inna Kot | Dreamstime.com
