|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||
|
THE RETIREMENT INDUSTRY AND THE PARABLE OF THE BOILED FROG
If you place a frog in a pot of boiling water, it
will immediately try to scramble out. But if you place a frog in room
temperature water, and don't scare him, he'll stay put and not move. Now,
if the pot sits on a heat source, and if you gradually turn up the temperature,
something very interesting happens. As the temperature rises from 70 to
80 degrees F., the frog will do nothing. In fact, he will show every sign
of enjoying himself. As the temperature gradually increases, the frog
will become groggier and groggier, until he is unable to climb out of
the pot. Though there is nothing restraining him, the frog will sit there
and boil. Why? Because the frog's internal apparatus for sensing threats
to survival is geared to sudden changes in his environment, not to slow,
gradual changes. This parable is frequently compared to the automobile industry in the United States. Despite the increasing competition from Japanese automobile imports, the American frog showed no interest in moving at all in response to the growing threat to its survival. Beyond the automobile industry, this parable has direct applications to many other industries as well as social and political situations. Like the frog in this parable, the retirement services and facilities industry has remained relatively motionless while the technologic environment around us continues to change. For well over one hundred years in the United States, various fraternal groups, churches, governmental and private sponsors have developed and operated housing for retired elderly. The Odd Fellows Home of Illinois in Mattoon, Illinois (established in 1889) and The Altenheim in Oakland, California (established in 1890) are two examples of existing operations over the century mark which demonstrate a long-term commitment to the aged. While the industry has shown a slow, albeit steady, evolution over its life, there have been vocal antagonists to the development of the industry. As late as the 1950's, many sociologists and businesses still refuted the advantages of targeting services and facilities for specific age groups. Lewis Mumford (1895 - 1990), a renowned American author, architect, sociologist and philosopher indicated in 1956 that such large-scale organized quarters for older persons were socially unnatural and should be avoided at all costs. Recent societal and technologic changes evident in the world today now herald the dawn of a new era. The question now facing the owners and operators of retirement communities around the globe asks which of these technological advances should be embraced and adopted into routine operations, and which should be discarded as folly. For some reason, the nature of many retirement community operators is one of timidity when it relates to technologic advancement. Many retirement communities lag behind their service-industry counterparts by more than a decade when it comes to embracing innovation and advancement. This is prevalent even when the innovations are proven to be a cost-effective addition to operations.
Maintenance departments can take advantage of computerized capital improvement logs. Not only do such programs allow the maintenance manager to schedule the timely repair and replacement of such items as electrical appliances and carpeting, but it can also greatly simplify the budgeting process. Additionally, such items as automated thermostats are now accepted as an easy way to save as much as 20 percent in energy costs. In many communities, automated security systems in the form of advanced emergency call systems and motion detectors has been a viable means of reducing staffing hours during swing and night shifts. The savings in staffing dollars has a commensurate effect in the reduction of overhead and benefit costs as well.
The exclusive use of physical and chemical restraints to control wanderers was the accepted standard a decade ago. Today, this system of control is seen as archaic by many operators, as electronic surveillance and magnetic identification bracelets replace the more restrictive methods that are rapidly becoming obsolete. Operators can adopt change either proactively or reactively, with foresight or hindsight.While on-site profit centers such as banks, automatic teller machines, beauty shops, travel agents, and other commercial activities are commonplace today, such innovative additions to retirement communities were largely absent in the 60's and 70's. These services are not indicative of technologic advances, but they do represent a paradigm shift in what are seen as appropriate ancillary services to be offered on-site to senior populations. The introduction of long-term care insurance has been another innovative offering to retirement community operators during the past decade. This health care funding mechanism reduces operator risk, distributes the cost of implementation over a wide population base and eliminates the bookkeeping nightmare that is common to single operators who attempt to self-insure a contractual health care benefit.
 
|
||||||||||
|
Crown
Research Corporation Tel
No. 503.661.1999 |
||||||||||
Every
department in a retirement community today has the opportunity to take
advantage of technologic advancements that were unheard of even five years
ago. Food service bookkeeping, for example, can be easily simplified as
residents use magnetic strip identification to credit personal charges
directly to their monthly billing statements as opposed to laboriously
relegating bookkeeping, accounting, secretarial and receptionist duties
to the dining room host or hostess. Administration and marketing departments
are aided by the advent of computer software programmes that target specific
needs. Software programmes such as The Crown Marketer (by Crown Research
Corporation of Gresham, Oregon) and The Hamlyn Resident (by Hamlyn Senior
Marketing Services of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) can virtually insure
that prospective residents no longer 'drop through the cracks' and into
obscurity. Both programmes offer the computerised storage of resident
photographs, signatures, floorplans, and representative window views as
part of comprehensive resident and facility files. Computerised marketing
and management tools like these can guarantee timely management summaries
of sales, and likewise can evaluate the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.
Such programmes also instantly provide up-to-date facility census data
and resident statistics with the press of a button. Just ten years ago,
such reporting could easily take weeks of tireless effort.
The
technology that lets fast-food workers take orders and sweep floors at
the same time is helping nurses respond better to patients. The wireless
communication system currently being tested at selected hospitals and
nursing facilities saves valuable time for nurses who can respond directly
to patient needs rather than reporting first to the nurses' station. In
recent facility testing, nurses are outfitted with a belt-mounted communicator
connected to a microphone and speaker that it attached to nurses' uniforms.
The system allows the nurse to provide direct patient care while communicating
with the central desk or sending emergency calls.
What
lesson does the parable of the boiled frog leave the retirement community
operators today? First and foremost, change and innovation with the industry
will happen and is doing so on a daily basis: the temperature is rising.
Operators can adopt change either proactively or reactively, with foresight
or hindsight, anticipating changes that will impact the industry or dealing
with innovation long after it has been introduced. The challenge for us
today is to insightfully adopt innovation.