The Future of Senior Living: Expectations, Innovations and Challenges Keynote

To keep up with the growing demand and changes in this domain, we have seen a blending of hospitality, design, and healthcare in ways we could not have imagined a decade ago. Senior living facilities are being designed (and redesigned) to account for the needs of its residents, their families and caregivers, and the medical and professional personnel responsible for the delivery of care. It is now common for senior living facilities to include state of the art design features for living and healthcare, world class recreation facilities and common spaces, and innovative food and beverage programs all delivered through service-minded professional staff.

With the new constraints associated with managing the COVID-19 in the senior living space, such as social distancing and increased safety protocols, the way senior living facilities conduct business has changed. COVID-19 has forced businesses to modify how they deliver service to their residents and their families and how their professional staff can interact and engage with the residents and guests.  A physical environment that supports social distancing and infection control is critical. In this volatile environment, difficult decisions must be made every day to protect their businesses, assets, employees, and residents.

On Friday, November 20, the Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures, a joint venture between the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration in the SC Johnson College of Business and the College of Human Ecology will bring together faculty experts to discuss the expectation, innovations, and challenges we all face in senior living. This one-hour discussion will feature Mardelle Shepley, Professor and Department Chair, Design, Environmental Analysis and Executive Director of the Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures, Judi Brownell, Professor Emeritus, School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University Rohit Verma, Founding Provost, Vin University, Vietnam and Alex Susskind, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor, School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN