Summary In this episode, Jerry Vinci sits down with Meredith Oppenheim, a 25-year senior housing veteran who spent five years studying the 90% of older adults who never move into senior living through her groundbreaking platform, Vitality Society. Meredith reveals how the industry's persistent 10% penetration rate isn't a marketing failure - it's a fundamental mismatch between what providers offer and what today's older adults actually want. Drawing from her experience advising major operators and launching a virtual wellness community that engaged members for two hours daily during the pandemic, she shares the eight guiding principles that drive the 90% who choose to age at home: being their best version, doing meaningful work, continuous learning, and maintaining control over their lives. The conversation challenges core assumptions about readiness, revealing how the industry's focus on frailty and care alienates active boomers who see senior living as the beginning of the end rather than a new chapter of growth.
Key Insights Meredith emphasizes that innovation in senior living has been stifled by a cycle of reverting to the mean - when experimental communities fail, the industry doubles down on traditional models rather than learning from what didn't work. She advocates for decoupling the experience from the real estate, engaging prospects years before they're ready to move through volunteer opportunities, short stays, and community programming. The discussion explores how the "panini generation" of adult daughters are being squeezed between aging parents and teenage children, creating both challenges and opportunities for providers who can position themselves as care navigators and surrogate daughters. Meredith shares powerful examples, including a woman who searched nationwide for five years before moving into the community where she'd volunteered for 20 years, illustrating how timing, fit, and purpose must align for successful move-ins.
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Connect with Meredith Oppenheim on LinkedIn
Takeaways
The 90% who don't move in want growth and expansion, not simplification and decline
Boomers see senior living as restrictive rather than enabling their desired lifestyle
Innovation fails because unsuccessful models get sold and converted back to traditional approaches
Virtual engagement proved older adults want community without the real estate commitment
Adult daughters need providers to be proactive care navigators, not reactive service providers
Lead lists are undervalued - engage prospects for years through programming before they're ready
Flexibility is key - let residents paint where they want, work if they choose, eat when they prefer
Prevention and improvement messaging resonates more than care and convenience
The buyer journey is a complex puzzle where timing, unit type, location, and culture must all align
Providers need multiple service lines to meet people wherever they choose to age