Alert1 Seniorscape: The Senior Care Industry Map

The Senior Care Industry Map

 Today’s older adults have access to a wide variety of services to help them age in place safely and comfortably. The sheer number of different companies and services can be overwhelming. Alert1 was inspired by the LUMAscapes that Luma Partners created to better understand their industry. We have created our own Seniorscape to help everyone better understand the elder care industry and the different services available to seniors.

The aging in place industry is large, and covers a wide range of services. Home health care alone provides annual revenue of around $57.6 billion. With the Senior Care Industry Map, Alert1 has organized senior services, including:

• In home support services such as tech help, lawn care, food delivery, and transportation
• Personal emergency response systems, medication reminders, and medical IDs
• Home care and home health
• Assisted and independent living facilities

The Seniorscape map highlights the options available to the modern senior so they can determine their needs and the companies at their disposal, and companies can understand how they function in the marketplace.

Reading the Senior Care Industry Map

The Senior Care Industry map will help you navigate the senior care service industry.

The left half of the map features services and products that require less commitment for seniors. Many of the services offered can be stopped at any time, if a commitment is required at all. The costs are lower on this side of the map. Medical alert systems, for example, cost only pennies a day.

The right half of the map includes services with more comprehensive care and more commitment. This includes long term care and assisted living. More commitment means higher prices on the right side of the map. For example, elder care services can average $71 a day, coming out to roughly $18,460 annually. The average cost for a private one-bedroom apartment in an assisted living facility is $3,022 per month, coming out to more than $36,000 a year.

Navigating Everyday Aging in Place Services

The services on the left side of the Seniorscape make at-home independence much easier. With the expected senior population to soon double to around 70 million, these every-day services are no doubt going to prove useful.

Many seniors are unable or unwilling to drive. Senior transportation networks are available through ITNAMerica or Rides in Sight. Companies such as Med Coach or ACC Medlink provide specific transportation for seniors with medical conditions. Accessing these services is as simple as picking up the phone.

One third of seniors in the U.S. now use computers, and there are several services that help seniors survive the age of the selfie. Geek Squad and websites such as SeniorNet offer technicians and resources that integrate the modern senior in the digitally connected world.

Three quarters of U.S. households get help taking care of their beautiful lawns. For the aging in place senior homeowner, there are lawn care services provided by Trugreen, the Grounds Guys and Scotts Lawn. With their nationwide services, these companies connect seniors to lawn maintenance.

The food delivery industry helps seniors with both groceries and pre-made food. The services are ideal for seniors who have conditions that require proper diet and nutrition, or who are unable to cook. This industry has proven to be extremely successful. One startup alone, Munchery, raised $35 million worth of funding. Ordering groceries online through Costco or Walmart is as easy as clicking through their website. For prepared meals, Senior Meals on Wheels Foundation and Capital Area Food Bank are excellent resources as they fight to decrease senior hunger. Other delivery options include Dinewise, Personal Chef to Go, and Moms Meals Nourish Care.

Finally, for everyday services there is the neighborhood handyman. Lacking in young strapping relatives with the home know-how? There are companies to connect you to one. HandyPro, House Doctors and Mr. Handyman are enterprises that connect seniors with handy experts.

Moving Towards More Comprehensive Care

At some point, it becomes clear that seniors need more help and that it is time to move to a new community that can better meet their needs. On the right side of the Seniorscape, you will find the services seniors can use when it’s time to move.

Assisted independent living facilities give seniors easy access to the care they need, and provide valuable social connections. Many facilities provide fun activities that help seniors make new friends. This is very important considering the dangers of depression and loneliness, which are unfortunately all too common among seniors. In these communities a friend is only a moment away.