Healthy Senior Living: 3 Tips to Build a Senior Wellness Program that Attracts New Residents

In a 2022 survey, 61 percent of senior living operators said their community would be grounded in a wellness lifestyle by 2025. That prediction seems poised to come true. Today, the importance of having a well-rounded and wellness-focused life enrichment program is one of the hottest topics in senior living.

A solid senior wellness program doesn’t just help your current residents live longer and healthier lives. It can also be a great way to appeal to prospective residents and their families, setting your community apart from the competition.

Looking to build such a program yourself? In this piece, we’ll outline three keys to success – and explain how senior living technology can help you realize your vision.

1. Take a Well-Rounded Approach to Wellness

There’s more to wellness than physical health – and holistic life enrichment programming demands more than exercise classes. The goal should be to give older adults everything they need to support healthy aging, both mentally and physically. 

Following the principles of a healthy aging framework, a well-rounded senior wellness program should strive to address…

• Physical health and fitness by including activities that appeal to a wide array of abilities and age levels. 
• Cognitive stimulation and mental health by offering things such as book clubs, trivia nights, and meditation classes. 
• Social connection by encouraging activities that bring residents together – which can mitigate the growing loneliness epidemic among older adults.

Some senior living communities are hitting these marks by structuring their life enrichment programming around specific wellness models.  For instance, Watermark Retirement Communities’ “360 Well” program has four key circles: mind, body, spirit, and connections.  And Peconic Landing’s “Successful Living” program is rooted in the Blue Zones principles. 

These signature wellness programs are a growing trend – and we’ve got more on how to design one in an upcoming ebook. But no matter how you structure your own program, don’t just shoehorn things into your community. Instead, gather continuous feedback to make sure your model is the right fit for all your residents.

2. Get Residents Excited About Your Senior Wellness Program

Planning is one thing, but the true barometer of any senior wellness program is how your residents take to it. That’s why getting your community excited about and engaged in your program is so vital to making it a success. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Focus on personalization. Make residents feel like your program was built specifically with them in mind. For instance, consider using smart fitness equipment and data from connected wearable devices to design customized fitness programs. Or tailoring life enrichment activity recommendations based on their past activity and interests.
• Make signup easy. Making residents jump through administrative hoops shouldn’t be one of your life enrichment activities. A resident engagement app can make signup a breeze by allowing residents to register for activities with just a few clicks.
• Don’t forget the fun. Wellness shouldn’t just be something your residents know is good for them – it should be something they enjoy too. Gamifying your program with senior living technology is a fun way to boost participation (and personalization – see above).

Of course, the key to generating excitement and participation in any senior wellness program is to build and nurture awareness of it. That’s why education should always be at the forefront of your efforts. This can include things like prominent digital signage throughout your community and reminders about upcoming activities. The bottom line: when folks know about your senior wellness programming, they’ll make sure they never miss out.

3. Use Your Senior Wellness Program as a Selling Point for Your Community

Building a senior wellness program that your residents can’t stop buzzing about is a terrific accomplishment. So don’t keep it to yourself! Make sure your residents’ families – and anyone thinking about joining your community – know what you have going on. Evangelize your program by…

• Turning your residents into champions. Single out residents who are active in your program to share their excitement about it in advertisements or social media posts. After all, there’s nothing like a first-person testimonial to really bring home your message.
• Communicating your program’s success to family members. Referrals are a huge piece of the marketing puzzle for senior living communities. When residents’ families see how much they’re enjoying your senior wellness program, they’re likely to have good things to say about your community to friends and associates considering their options. 
• Inviting outsiders to sample your offerings. What better way to spread the word about your program than by letting more people get in on the fun? Not only will these outsiders walk away with a great impression of your community, the added interaction with your residents will only enhance each activity. 

A vibrant senior wellness program is a huge selling point for your community. Make sure you’re getting the word out!

Older Adults Deserve Healthy Aging

With the right design, a senior wellness program can help residents feel more confident in both mind and body, allowing them to age gracefully. And families will take note of their healthier, happier loved ones. 
The suggestions here can support a  program that makes healthy aging for older adults a hallmark of your senior living community. And with senior living technology, you can make things as personalized and well-rounded as possible. That’s where Go Icon comes in – let us show you how we can help!