Retirement Homes: A Model Worth Emulating

Frances West lives life on her terms. She bustles about all day, visiting the sick and the lonely, keeping her three great grand children every Wednesday, going to the movies or shopping, or preparing for her Sunday school classes. She has a little blue book that tells her how many engagements she has each day. Normally, the pages are full of appointments and ‘to-do’ lists. At 83, Frances is certainly an example of how life can be richly rewarding, even in the sunset years.

Frances lives in a retirement community, where she has a one-bedroom apartment that costs her $2400 a month. The community has a full service dining room, a barbershop, nurses who are available round the clock at the touch of a button, and cleaning services. Her community organizes regular outings, picnics and trips to hospitals for all residents. There are also plenty of fun activities in the activities room, where members play bridge, Rummikub or watch movies and shows.

Not everybody is as lucky as Frances. Failing health, disabilities, loneliness and poverty are common problems even in America. Most retirees depend on their Social Security to see them through old age. This is where the social infrastructure plays an important role. There are government aided retirement centers and assisted living facilities for seniors who cannot afford the luxury of a private home. The concept and the facilities are the same at these centers. Members avail of medical facilities, daily meals and activities and group outings, with no marked difference in quality. While the luxury is missing, residents still avail of all basic amenities and services. State run nursing homes and assisted living facilities provide medical and nursing services for those who cannot live on their own.

But for all the benefits of the senior living system in America, there is one nagging situation that most seniors combat everyday- the debilitating disease of loneliness. With children and other relatives away living busy lives of their own, seniors are left to themselves. The outings and shopping trips cannot fill the void of having your own around you. Not everybody can drive around like Frances.

Interestingly, there are no seniors of Indian origin living in US retirement homes. Venkat Sanjeev runs a retirement facility for seniors in Macon, a small town in the southeast US. None of the residents in his facility are Indians. He says there are two reasons for this. Very few Indian seniors have reached the 70-year mark, where people usually move into such facilities. Secondly, because of the Indian cultural setup, most seniors continue to live with their sons and daughters. The biggest reason, of course, is because most parents of expat Indians are in India.

This brings us to the situation in India. The social structure is changing in urban India. With children moving out to other cities, or to the US, or with both spouses working and not being able to provide quality time and care for seniors at home, the necessity of having an alternative infrastructure has become more real than ever before.

In her book ‘The Elderly in India’ Prof Kumudini Dandekar says that even though the difficulties being faced by the country’s senior citizens are now a matter of urgent social concern, it remains a poorly researched and little understood area.

She concludes that old-age homes may offer a viable solution to the problems afflicting the urban old–particularly, poverty, housing shortage, and the often harsh conflict between the generations. However, in rural areas, where about three-fourths of India’s elderly reside, she argues that the thrust of government programmes and policies should be directed at providing old-age pensions. This is not only because the rural old are both well integrated with their social milieu and not favourably disposed towards living in old-age homes, but also because pension schemes are a cheaper alternative.

It is Venkat Sanjeev’s dream to set up retirement communities in Hyderabad and Vizag. He has presented his proposal to the Andhra Pradesh Government and hopes his dream will bear fruit soon. With the success of the first few retirement homes (based on the US model) in India, others will burgeon. But such homes will not address the needs of the vast majority of seniors in India, who cannot afford such luxuries.

This is where the NGOs need to step in, and provide a decent alternative to seniors who cannot live on their own. An old age home where daily meals, medical assistance, group activities and outings are provided should be within the reach of every senior in India.

In a rapidly evolving economy, where society and communities have stepped in and led where the Government has failed, it is hoped that NGOs will address the problems facing the elderly in India. Society does care?. if it is aware. Raising awareness is the first step in addressing the problems of seniors in India.

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Author: Veena Rao- USA