Retirement Living News

April 2008

HEADLINES  (Click on headline to read story)

• Housing Market Decline Has Many Seniors Cautious About Moving
• New Guide Offers Help Finding Good Aging Services
• 10 Million Baby Boomers Face Alzheimer's
• Population Growth in Sunbelt Slows
• New Cardiac Resuscitation Technique Under Study
• New Book: NEXTVILLE -- Amazing Places to Live 
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NEWS STORIES

Housing Market Decline Has Many Seniors Cautious About Moving 

As the decline in U.S. home prices continues many seniors are feeling more fiscally conservative and less willing to sell their largest asset - their home. The thought of having to sell in a declining or flat market only adds to the concerns about their ability to live comfortably in retirement. While the short term housing market challenges persist, the general trend for seniors to move to senior housing complexes and communities maybe forestalled for the next six to twelve months.

Senior communities seeking residents are also facing challenges. As housing prices continue to drop, some retirement communities are enlisting consultants to work with seniors that are looking to buy in their communities. A fallout from the current housing slump is that it's keeping older persons from selling their homes to pay for the move to a retirement community. Many seniors who have lived in their homes for years have outdated decorating and finishes that make them appear to be dated and tired. 

In order to continue to fill the senior communities, developers are offering value added services to help stage the seller's home, provide financing alternatives, and some are even providing the option to buy the senior's home in order to move them in quicker. Many of these options are available once a senior has signed a contract to move to the project but the sales commissions for the purchase and sale are normal charges and sometimes a consulting fee may be charged to facilitate the sale. 

Builders and developers are also offering incentives to encourage seniors to move sooner rather than later. At K. Hovnanian's Four Seasons Charlottesville in Virginia, a grand opening is being held later this month. Those buying during the event are eligible to receive up to $50,000 in "incentives."
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New Guide Offers Help Finding Good Aging Services

When older adults are looking for aging services or care, it is important that they be able learn how the service providers are managed and what values drive their work. The American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) has just released an updated version of its Consumers' Guide to Quality Aging Services. 

The guide features a comprehensive list of questions that address various elements of quality, like staff training, resident/client involvement and governance. There are also follow-up questions people can consider after they've visited an organization. An important aspect of the guide is that it helps people boil down a lot of information to ask themselves the most important question: "Can I trust this organization and the work they do for older people?" The four-page guide can be found at http://www.aahsa.org/qualityfirst/assessment/documents/consumers_guide.pdf
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10 Million Baby Boomers Face Alzheimer's

One of every eight Baby Boomers, which translates to 10 million people, will develop Alzheimer's disease in their lifetimes, according to the latest study released by the Alzheimer's Association. These findings are particularly significant for institutions, such as assisted living providers, who provide dementia care services, and for those who will be caregivers. The study, titled 2008 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures, also notes that the age of highest risk for Alzheimer's starts at 65. The report is a comprehensive statistical abstract of U.S. data on Alzheimer's disease that includes: prevalence, mortality, the costs of Alzheimer care, family caregiving, and a special report on lifetime risk. 

Millions of Americans now have Alzheimer's disease or other dementias. More women than men have the disease, primarily because women, on average, live longer than men. The prevalence of dementia also differs for people with fewer versus more years of education. Studies have shown that those with a higher prevalence of disease had fewer years of education and were at a greater risk of developing dementia. In fact, one study found that people with less than 12 years of education had a 15 percent greater risk of developing the dementia than people with 12 to 15 years of education, and a 35 percent greater risk than people with more than 15 years of education. The findings were similar for Alzheimer's disease. Those with less education were more likely to have Alzheimer's disease.

The study also found that the number of people with Alzheimer's disease varies greatly by state. A table in the report shows the estimated number of people age 65 and over with Alzheimer's disease for each state in 2000 and 2010, as well as the expected change over this decade. The estimated number of people with Alzheimer's disease in 2000 varies from 3,400 in Alaska to 440,000 in California. The percentage change from 2000 to 2010 is greater in states that start with a lower estimated number of people with the disease. In Alaska, for example, the projected change from 2000 to 2010 is 47 percent even though the estimated number of people with the disease only increases from 3,400 to 5,000. In contrast, California is expected to go up 9 percent, increasing from 440,000 to 480,000.

Specific state factors that are likely to increase the number of people with Alzheimer's in the future include growth of the state's older population, especially the population of age 80 or over, and reduced mortality from other causes. States that experience an increase in average years of education in the future may see a slower increase in the number of people with Alzheimer's disease. 

An Alzheimer's Association spokesperson notes that the projected rise in Alzheimer's cases will burden the long-term care system as well as put a strain on Medicare, since most people with Alzheimer's are eligible for that funding. To read the 43-page report, click here. 
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Population Growth in Sunbelt Slows

The Census Bureau's annual report on population estimates by county finds that there was some slowing of growth in the South and West. Many Americans continued moving to sunny counties in Florida, Georgia and Arizona, but at a slower pace. The data suggests that the housing crunch may be forcing many Americans to stay put. 

St. Bernard and Orleans, two Louisiana parishes hit hard by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, were the nation's fastest-growing counties in 2007, indicating that many displaced people are returning. St. Bernard - the nation's fastest-losing county from 2005 to 2006 - experienced a 42.9 percent population increase between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, upping its population by almost 6,000. Orleans' population rose by 13.8 percent, or nearly 29,000. 

According to the estimates, all but one of the nation's 10 fastest-growing counties were located in the South or West, with Pinal, Ariz. (near Phoenix) ranking third at 11.5 percent; Kendall, Ill. (in the Chicago area) fourth at 10.6 percent; Rockwall, Texas (in the Dallas area) fifth at 8.2 percent; Flagler, Fla. (between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville) sixth at 7.2 percent; and Union, N.C. (near Charlotte) seventh at 7.2 percent. Rounding out the list were three Georgia counties: Forsyth (7.2 percent), Paulding (6.7 percent) and Jackson (6.7 percent). Forsyth and Paulding are in the Atlanta metro area, with Jackson bordering on Athens-Clarke County. 

Maricopa County, Ariz., home of Phoenix, was the top numerical gainer, increasing by 102,000 people between 2006 and 2007. Among the 10 counties that added the largest number of residents between 2006 and 2007, half were in Texas (Harris, Tarrant, Bexar, Collin and Travis), two in North Carolina (Wake and Mecklenburg), and one each in California (Riverside) and Nevada (Clark). 

Los Angeles, Calif., remained the most populous county, with a July 1, 2007, population of 9.9 million, a decline of 2,000 residents from 2006. 

Below are some highlights from the report. 

2006-2007: 

• Seventy of the 100 fastest-growing counties were in the South, with 22 in the West and eight in the Midwest. 
• Among the 100 fastest-growing counties, more than one-third were either in Georgia (18) or Texas (16). 
• Texas was home to 11 counties among the 25 with the highest numerical gains. Each of the top 25 were in the South or West. 

2000-2007: 

• The fastest-growing county was Kendall, Ill., with a population growth of 77.5 percent from April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2007. Kendall edged out Flagler, Fla. (77.4 percent). Rounding out the top 10 were Rockwall, Texas (71.3 percent); Pinal, Ariz. (66.5 percent); Loudoun, Va. (64.4 percent); Forsyth, Ga. (61.5 percent); Paulding, Ga. (56.7 percent); Lincoln, S.D. (56.4 percent); Henry, Ga. (55.9 percent); and Newton, Ga. (54.9 percent). 
• Maricopa County, Ariz., had the largest numeric increase from 2000 to 2007, adding 808,000 residents. Harris, Texas (535,000); Riverside, Calif. (528,000); Clark, Nev. (461,000); and Los Angeles, Calif. (359,000) followed. Texas was the home to nine of the top 25 numeric gainers, and California to six. 

View Data by County 

Estimates of the 100 fastest growing counties with a population of 10,000 or more in 2007: July 1, 2006 to July 1, 2007 (click here). 

Estimates for the 25 counties with the largest numerical increase: July 1, 2006 to July 1, 2007 (click here) 
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New Cardiac Resuscitation Technique Under Study

Persons with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest have a dismal chance of survival. Researchers have long attempted to find better methods of cardiac resuscitation. In the latest investigation, reported in the March 12 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers sought to determine whether the survival of such patients would improve with minimally interrupted cardiac resuscitation (MICR). This new method increases blood flow to the heart and brain when the heart stops pumping blood. 

The technique calls for an initial series of 200 uninterrupted chest compressions; rhythm analysis, with a single defibrillator shock if indicated; 200 immediate post-shock chest compressions before pulse check or rhythm reanalysis; administration of epinephrine as soon as possible, repeated with each cycle of compressions and rhythm analysis; and delay of intubation until after three cycles of chest compression and rhythm analysis. 

In conducting the study researchers trained emergency medical services personnel in two Arizona fire departments to perform MICR. They then assessed records for patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest before and after the training. In a separate analysis that included data from 60 additional Arizona fire departments, they also compared outcomes in patients who received MICR according to the protocol with those in patients who did not. The main outcome of interest in both analyses was survival to hospital discharge. 

Survival to hospital discharge increased significantly, from 1.8% before MICR training to 5.4% after training. In 174 patients with witnessed arrest and ventricular fibrillation, survival rates increased from 4.7% to 17.6%. While the findings are quite promising the investigators believe more validation is needed before the practice is adopted.
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New Book: NEXTVILLE -- Amazing Places to Live the Rest of Your Life

Where to live and what to do after you retire is a subject that many people planning their retirement struggle with. To move or not to move. If you move, where do you go? A new book titled NEXTVILLE - Amazing Places to Live the Rest of Your Life will help you with that decision process. 

The author, Barbara Corcoran, founder and CEO of a successful real estate company in New York City (which she has sold), has built her career on knowing where people will live even before they know it themselves. Now she turns her keen eye toward predicting "the next big things" in real estate for Baby Boomers planning retirement. 

In her book, Corcoran identifies the top eight trends that are changing where (and how) Boomers are retiring, and delivers her signature "Barb's Rules" for choosing real estate. Healthier and wealthier than their parents were at retirement, Boomers aren't going to head to a condo in Boca Raton the way grandma did. All the rules have changed. This group is looking for locations that reflect their passions--and Corcoran reveals the smartest real estate choices they can make today to ensure a secure, comfortable, and fabulously fun tomorrow. 

She identifies 100 places to live, including 15 outside the United States, and discusses what they offer. Corcoran also has chapters devoted to pursuing your passion and finding a purpose in life, and identifies places where these goals can be accomplished. 

Corcoran is currently president of a television production and business consulting company, and is a weekly real estate contributor to NBC's Today show. She also hosts The Millionaire Broker with Barbara Corcoran on CNBC and writes a weekly column in the New York Daily News. Contributing author Warren Berger has written for Wired and The New York Times, and is the author on the subjects of lifestyle, design and advertising. NEXTVILLE will be published on April 29, 2008, and can be purchased from Amazon by clicking here.
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