YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Management of Shepherd of the Valley recently brainstormed senior living in 2030 at a retreat.
“Why 2030?” asks Rich Limongi, executive director and CEO. “Because that’s when everybody who’s a baby boomer, myself included, will be 65 years old. Right now they’re saying within five years, the bed need is going to double. Right now, in [Ohio] every county is considered over bedded with nursing beds, but within five years that’s going to change drastically.”
By 2030, there will be 61 million baby boomers between 66 and 84 in the U.S., and those born prior to 1946 will number 9 million, according to the National Library of Medicine.
Shepherd of the Valley will break ground in September on a new retirement community at 600 Legacy Lane in Salem, next to the U.S. Route 62 bypass. Market studies suggest baby boomers are not just going to want a retirement community, but a “wellness centered, holistic environment,” says Limongi.
He believes facilities are going to start redefining themselves to attract baby boomers with therapy gardens, more fitness studios, nutrition coaching and biophilic design, which brings the natural environment into their lifestyle.
“It’s supporting the physical, mental and social-emotional wellness,” Limongi says.
Additionally, he sees tech enabled smart living, allowing people to remain more independent, such as automated lights, thermostats, fall detection sensors and medication reminders, especially for those in independent living. Behind the scenes staff will be optimized through AI.
Some doctors’ appointments can be handled through telehealth and both virtual-based cognitive engagement and community visits help people feel connected.
The Salem project will include hospitality-driven amenities, Limongi says, including a boutique hotel feel with lounges, a clubhouse, a restaurant/bar and an open market where residents can go to purchase food items by swiping a card. All their sites have chefs in the building, but Salem will have chef-led dining, a lecture series hall, an outdoor amphitheater, fire pit area and recreational services like bocce, pickleball, a dog park and raised gardens. Plans include a green house.
“Baby boomers, they’re going to have much higher expectations for their lifestyle,” Limongi says.
There are already more than 45 people on the waitlist for the condominiums, which Limongi says will open sometime in 2027.
Knowing not everyone has saved enough for their retirement, Salem will offer two-different types of independent living. One will be a typical condominium model with a standard entrance fee. The other will be a 52-apartment three-story building, a midmarket product, with a monthly fee.
“I think we’re going to be the first one in this area that’s going to be doing it,” says Limongi, adding midmarket properties have become more typical in Columbus and Dayton in the last five years. He hopes to add similar midmarket housing to some existing campuses in the future.
PRIVATE ROOMS, HOSPITALITY
Several local eldercare providers say private rooms are at the top of everyone’s wish list when they visit facilities.
Wendy Long, corporate marketing director for Woodlands Senior Care Centers, says residents are looking for private rooms, a family type environment and a medical team to meet their needs or those of their loved one. They also want socialization and transportation for shopping and appointments outside of the Woodlands community where they live.
“We’re balancing healthcare and hospitality in some ways,” says Joe Cilone, president and co-owner of Inspira Health Group. “Especially at the [assisted living facilities] … they like to have their happy hour at 5 o’clock and it’s their home, so it’s their right.”
Inspira offers skilled nursing care, long-term care, assisted living services and memory care services. Inspira specializes in more acute care, including ventilator services and in-house dialysis. Inspira serves about 330 residents in four nursing homes in North Lima, Calcutta, Carrollton and Twinsburg and two assisted living facilities – Hubbard and Twinsburg.
“People are very educated today, as far as what’s out there, the resources to find the best buildings,” Cilone says. “And I still think the good old-fashioned word of mouth goes a long way. When you do a good job for people and you get them in and get them out and get them home, I think that they tell their friends.”
Dan Rowland, director of marketing at Windsor House, believes the baby boomer generation presents a challenge, but also an opportunity for the senior living industry. Not only is it about numbers of beds, but Rowland says it is a matter of offering the right amenities, meeting their high expectations and having several levels of care from assisted living to skilled nursing homes. While older facilities might have been built with semiprivate rooms, Rowland sees the demand for private rooms driving change to renovate them.
“At Windsor House we’re expanding services. We’re updating our facilities to meet that demand, adding more private rooms and additional beds where needed,” Rowland says.
People are looking for well-focused amenities too, like fitness programs that encourage mobility and strength building, Rowland says. Residents want customized meal options, a family gathering place outside of their room, landscaped courtyards and walking paths.
“For the past two years, we’ve made enhancements to make more modern space, comfortable, wellness focused environments,” Rowland says. “We’ve gone in and provided fresh paint, done some interior design upgrades and created a warm and welcoming environment.”
Many newer facilities around the Mahoning Valley feature amenities unheard of only a few decades ago.
“I feel like the hospitality and the customer service, not only do they look like a five-star hotel, but that’s the expectation and quite frankly what they deserve,” says Diane Reese, who co-founded and operates Briarfield’s properties with her husband, Ed Reese.
Diane Reese notes the trend is to try to stay at home longer and many adult children are trying to keep their loved ones at home for as long as they can. But she questions that if they are only visiting them an hour a day, what is happening to them the other 23 hours.
With improvements in assisted living, group homes and nursing facilities, Diane Reese says many people find when they visit or move into a facility “they love it and wish they had done it
sooner.”
The Reeses encourage people to visit several places, talk to residents and staff and get a feel for a place – the people, the cleanliness, the amenities and whether it feels like home.
FUNDING CHANGES
Medicaid waivers have allowed more people to move into assisted living facilities, which Ed Reese says have private apartments if people want some time alone and hundreds of activities, if they choose to engage.
“It’s like college dormitories for the elderly,” he says.
But with Mahoning Valley population losses, Ed Reese questions the need for more facilities. He notes there are a lot of good, local facility operators and many options so people can live near family or where they have familiar connections.
However, Diane Reese says she is concerned about proposed decreases in federal funding and how that will affect things at the state level.
By 2030, the estimated national cost of long-term care is expected to rise to $295 billion, according to the National Library of Medicine.
While funding decreases are predicted, Diane Reese does not believe seniors should have added worries at this point in their lives.
Ed Reese notes that Briarfield employees do their best to provide a quality environment for residents – and the company will adjust to all changes.
ATTRACTING EMPLOYEES
At Windsor House, Rowland notes they have a workforce development program, which offers a two-week course at the certified nurse assistant training center.
The founders of Windsor House, John and Dorothy Masternick, started a scholarship fund, and over the past 18 months, Rowland says more than $240,000 funded Windsor House employees advancing their nursing degrees at Youngstown State University, Kent State University and the Trumbull County Career and Technical Center.
Scholarships and tuition assistance programs help retain employees, who feel appreciated by the company.
Briarfield has 650 employees assisting residents at 10 facilities, including Briarfield Place, which is located across the street from Mercy Health – St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital. The Reeses believe it is important employees know the company promotes from within, including when expansions happen. Their latest facility, The Inn at Old Saybrook, opened last year in Columbiana.
NICHE OFFERINGS
Long at Woodlands questions if there will ever be enough beds for the aging population, but notes Woodlands Senior Care Centers will continue to evolve and grow as needed.
“We see ourselves as trendsetters in the Mahoning Valley and will continue to evolve ourselves to meet the ever-growing needs and expectations of the Mahoning Valley,” she says.
With 11 skilled nursing centers and five assisted living facilities, Windsor House offers a variety of locally provided services.
“We continue to grow, develop and pivot as needed,” Rowland says, adding they also offer hospice care coordination and respite care, which is an opportunity for the elderly to stay less than 30 days with Windsor House while care givers take a vacation.
Since the pandemic, Rowland says Windsor House been identifying niches, like expanding memory care units including creating gender specific memory care.
“That promotes the comfort and familiarity, helping residents feel at ease in their daily routines so they have a structured setting and supportive staff,” he says.
The set-up allows for gender specific activities. For instance, in the men’s unit, there may be card games happening, while in the women’s unit they enjoy quilting.
Additionally, Windsor House also has designated advanced wound care services at Parkside Health Care Center in Columbiana with a wound care physician and specialty nurse, and have trained staff to provide wound care.
Woodlands Senior Care Centers offers the Woodlands at AustinWoods, a 99-private suite facility. It includes 24 suites in its skilled rehabilitation unit and a specialized ventilator unit with 24-hour a day registered respiratory therapists. The facility also includes an in-patient dialysis den, saving residents from traveling to and from dialysis centers, and providing flexibility and more frequent sessions.
At Woodlands at HamptonWoods, a 70-bed clustered cottage concept in Poland, residents live in four neighborhoods with private spaces, as well as central dining, a secure landscaped courtyard, a living room with a fireplace, family kitchen and porch. A memory care unit opened there in 2024.
Additionally, Woodlands offers home care in Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties, assisted living facilities at both HamptonWoods and AustinWoods and a Center for Rehabilitation at HamptonWoods.
Recognized by U.S. News and World Report as the only local company with two rehab centers, the AustinWoods Rehab and HamptonWoods Center for Rehab have achieved nationwide status as high performing short-term rehab centers, Long says.
“HamptonWoods has received this distinction for two years in a row. We are extremely proud of our staff for their commitment to excellence and for always striving to provide exceptional service with a personal touch,” Long says.
Shepherd also has been expanding into niche services, like a 14-bed ventilator unit and a memory care unit, both at its Liberty location, and a 12-patient inpatient dialysis center in Boardman. Another memory care unit is planned for the Poland campus with sensory rooms, different lighting and gardens and walking path within an enclosed fenced area.
Pictured at top: Diane and Ed Reese in the courtyard at Briarfield Place, one of their senior care and rehabilitation facilities.