5 dangerous design flaws to avoid in senior dining

While many senior living facilities are a few years old, plenty more are currently being built to house, care for and feed the growing elderly population. When design decisions are being made, stakeholders would do well to consider a few taboo design elements. For ensuring the safety of seniors, it’s all about maneuvering through an environment from their point of view. Vision isn’t the same as it used to be for many seniors, and neither is hearing, balance and spatial awareness. Add to that the growing number of Alzheimer’s cases. According to Alzheimer’s Association, the number of cases and proportion of Alzheimer’s will escalate rapidly in the coming years, as the population of Americans 65 and older is projected to grow from 58 million (in 2021) to an estimated 88 million by 2050.

Lisa M. Cini is regarded as the leading Alzheimer’s and long-term care design expert in the nation. President and CEO of Mosaic Design Studio and author of BOOM: The Baby Boomers Guide to Leveraging Technology, Cini is based in Columbus, Ohio, and travels all over to help senior living architecture become more functional, safer and more conducive to a fuller life for seniors. She shares a basic list of the biggest design flaws to avoid in senior dining.

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