Housing services for senior citizens a big business here

By John Loesing Acorn Staff Writer

Assisted living for the elderly has become big business in Conejo Valley/Las Virgenes.

Sunrise Assisted Living recently announced an 85-suite senior home will be built this year in Westlake Village.

Just over a year ago, Agoura Hills Senior Retreat opened a facility for elderly residents, including many with Alzheimer’s disease.

According to medical reports, one in 10 Americans over the age of 65 and nearly half of those over 85 suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Dementia, an umbrella term used to describe the loss of cognitive function, affects even more.

A seniors-only townhome complex in Agoura Hills will also be built soon.

In all, more than 250 beds and living units will be available for senior citizens locally during the next two years, a sharp turnaround from the past when the nearest senior quarters were located in the San Fernando Valley or Thousand Oaks.

Assisted living—or residential care for the elderly as it’s known in some states—provides senior citizens with help in necessities like meal preparation, laundry cleaning, dressing and bathing, and reminders about medication.

The Westlake Village facility, to be located at Townsgate and Lakeview Canyon roads, will have capacity for 105 residents and will include a staff of medical professionals.

"It’s a home-like environment, nothing is antiseptic," said Ronda Wilkin, Sunrise regional director. "When you come in you see the colors, the tone, the feel. It is for the generation that we serve."

The Westlake units will have both studios and companion suites. Each unit comes with a small kitchenette, but no stove.

"You don’t want them spending an enormous time in their suite," Wilkin said. "What I always tell my residents and their families is envision that you are leasing your master bedroom and that I’m giving you the other 50,000 square feet, because that’s how big this home is."

Depending on their health, the seniors are encouraged to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible.

The Agoura Hills Senior Retreat recently purchased a 10-passenger limousine that will take residents on a once-weekly trip to special events.

The 160-room retreat on Chesebro Road caters to a variety of physiological and psychological needs, not just those brought about by Alzheimer’s or dementia.

They’re here for a lot of things," said Brenda Hans, director of the Agoura Hills facility. "Some people are here just for socialization. They’re older, lonely and isolated. Some of them are here just because they can’t cook or clean anymore by themselves. We have some couples here where one is the caregiver and the other needs a little help with bathing and dressing and grooming."

Recognizing the growth in senior care, the Mclean, Va.-based Sunrise group recently acquired Marriott Senior Living Services, a subsidiary of Marriott International, Inc. The combined companies will be called Sunrise Senior Living and will operate more than 330 assisted living, independent living and skilled nursing facilities around the country.

Sunrise opened a 65-suite complex in West Hills last summer. The two nearest Marriott facilities that will be converted to the Sunrise brand are in Northridge and Camarillo.

Industry providers say the demographics will continue to work in their favor. More than 100,000 local seniors live within a 15-mile radius.

As large numbers of Baby Boomers hit middle age and beyond, they can use their financial wherewithal to help their aging parents. Then, the Baby Boomers themselves will grow old, which should fuel another round of high demand for senior living services, analysts predict.

"Those are the people who are typically out looking for a senior living facility for their parents," said Sarah Evers, a Sunrise spokeswoman.

"Baby Boomers have grown up with choice and in looking for choices and services they think, well, this is what I would want for my mother."

Agoura Hills and Westlake Village won’t have the only facilities in the area.

Silverado Senior Living of Calabasas, like the Agoura Hills Senior Retreat, offers a secure home for Alzheimer’s residents. Hillcrest Royale Retirement Living of Thousand Oaks isn’t a locked facility, but does serve some elderly patients with beginning dementia.