JKV in the News: Combatting Perceptions of Senior Living

 

“Having the amenities, having a Green House Model®…. it just reinforces that we’re not ‘grandma’s nursing home’ anymore.” — Kim Ali, John Knox Village VP of Sales & Marketing

 

For all that senior living operators have done to change the perception of the industry, many prospects still conflate independent living and assisted living with nursing homes.

That immediate reaction can have an impact on sales efforts.  Operators and their marketing teams then have to make an effort to showcase what the industry is actually like today and how it has changed since a prospect may have moved their own family members into a community.

Part of that reaction is fear-based, according to Ginger Atwood, national director of marketing and sales at Harbor Retirement Associates.  Losing independence, becoming isolated and being unable to afford to live in a senior living community are all worries on the minds of older adults and their families.

“They’re perceiving it as a crisis-driven situation to begin with, rather than a lifestyle choice,” Atwood told Senior Housing News.  “The challenge is as people wait longer and longer to make the decision to move into senior living, it can become a crisis situation.”

While education efforts with marketing materials is still the primary tool used to shift that perception, operators are also deploying campaigns to help better inform decision making adult children.  The process of showcasing the differences is easier than in previous years, and in some instances is less of a problem for marketing teams, such as the team at continuing care retirement community John Knox Village in Pompano Beach.

“They’re more fixated on the type of living arrangement they’re going to choose versus exactly what they’re going to get, which is that continuum of care for their healthcare,” Kim Ali, Vice President of Sales and Marketing said.  “Less than probably 3% of prospects that walk in the door even wants us to tour them in higher care, which is a little shocking because that’s exactly what they’re buying.”

John Knox Village, Pompano Beach, one of the largest single-site senior living campuses in the country, is dealing with fewer prospects associating the community with being akin to a nursing home, but the worry is still there.  Instead, it utilizes a community-driven newspaper to highlight what happens around the community with articles written by current residents, according to Ali.

While residents fear a loss of independence and losing parts of their lives, Ali said John Knox Village, Pompano Beach puts particular emphasis on its Green House Model® offerings, which allow higher acuity residents to still maintain a sense of privacy and security as they age in place.  What the sales and marketing team at the CCRC focus on for those residents is letting them know that they still will have full access to everything the community has to offer so they are not siloed or isolated.

“Having amenities, having a Green House Model®…. it just reinforces that we’re not ‘grandma’s nursing home’ anymore,” Ali said.

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John Knox Village (JKV)
For almost 60 years, JKV has set the bar when it comes to delivering an all-inclusive resort lifestyle designed for living life to the fullest at each stage of retirement. JKV emphasizes fitness and overall well-being with world-class programming, state-of-the-art amenities, healthy and delicious dining, and much more. Residents are entitled to unlimited use of healthcare services and 24/7 healthcare professionals on campus. There are no time or financial limits on the long-term care benefits that residents receive, regardless of the level of care required. Simply put, a life plan agreement at JKV provides a fiscal safety net with an unparalleled community geared to a wide range of needs, whatever the road ahead brings.

Want to learn more about what John Knox Village has to offer? Contact us today to take a tour or for a no-pressure conversation with one of our Life Plan Consultants.