What are family members of residents living in Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) thinking about or planning for regarding their own future lifestyle and health needs? That is one of the key questions being asked in the first-ever national study of family members of residents living in CCRCs.
Over the years, published reports have shown consistently less than 3% of adults in the general public would consider CCRCs for themselves as a future lifestyle option. To that end, surveying family members of current CCRC residents may provide some different perspectives about this living option and what they may be wanting in such a lifestyle for themselves.
In addition to what will be learned, there are a number of secondary benefits to the family member survey. Most important is the potential to educate family members about CCRCs and stimulating more dialogue among providers, residents, and families.
The three partnering organizations supporting implementation of the survey are:
- Mather LifeWays Institute on Aging (Evanston, IL) – the research and education arm of Mather LifeWays, a 70-year-old, non-denominational, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to create “Ways to Age Well”
- Brecht Associates, Inc. (Philadelphia, PA) – a consulting firm that works with senior living providers to conduct both marketing and feasibility studies and training for board members and executives; and
- Ziegler (Washington, D.C.) – a leading investment bank specialized in working with a number of non-profit sectors, including senior living providers.
If you are a family member of a resident living in a CCRC, you are invited to participate in this survey, which should take no more than 15 minutes of your time. If you have a spouse, we encourage you to invite your spouse to complete a separate survey.
No personal identification information is requested in this survey, so anonymity is ensured. Individual responses are confidential and will not be shared with communities. Family members may access the survey by clicking on this link: Take the Family Member Survey. If your community is interested in participating, please click on the following link and complete the intake form by Friday, March 18, 2011: Please click here to complete intake form.
If you are a CCRC provider, we hope that you will be part of this important study and assist in disseminating information about the study to residents and family members. For communities agreeing to participate, information about the study will be provided for communities to disseminate directly to family members. The information includes a direct link to the Web survey. Additionally, communities may post a link to the survey on their Website for family members to access. The Web survey does not ask personal information and will in no way tie respondents to their resident family members, so confidentiality is ensured.
