Assisted living regulation, government relations, ageism and pop culture, solutions for the middle market, and chronic disease and resident care were some of the column topics that especially grabbed the attention of McKnight’s Senior Living website visitors, newsletter readers and social media followers and friends this year.
The list below details some of the most popular columns that were posted and read between Jan. 1 and Dec. 18, according to our analysis. Here’s a chance to revisit those columns or read them for the first time.
• Most-read column by Editorial Director John O’Connor:
A new and needed direction for senior living
“Argentum’s president and CEO wants to do something that runs against conventional wisdom. It also happens to be brilliant,” O’Connor wrote May 11, shortly after Argentum’s annual conference had concluded. There, James Balda had called for better provider relations with Congress.
“Increasingly, the actions of Congress are affecting senior living in ways both subtle and obvious. …That alone is reason to be on good terms with lawmakers in Washington, particularly those with clout,” O’Connor wrote, adding that good relations also could help senior living in its quest to continue to be regulated primarily at the state level. Read more here.
Read additional columns by O’Connor here.
• Most-read column by Editor Lois A. Bowers:
‘The Golden Bachelor’ could be a golden opportunity
Is “The Golden Bachelor” another example of stereotyping and ageism? Or is the show’s outreach and focus on older adults a reason to cheer?
Bowers pondered those questions in her and McKnight’s Senior Living’s most-read blog of the year, in which she also discussed senior living community watch parties, researchers’ musings about the TV “reality show” and more.
“I’m hoping that the airing of ‘The Golden Bachelor,’ faults and all, will lead to thought-provoking, productive discussions about aging and ageism and that senior living residents, and older adults in general, ultimately will be more visible and celebrated,” she wrote Oct. 23. Read more here.
Read additional columns by Bowers here.
• Most-read guest column:
The big shift coming to senior living
“What’s going to happen to senior living when your best consumer segment — those high-income, high-net-worth boomers — don’t need you anymore? This question is especially important because we know they already don’t want what you offer.” That was the question posed and point made by Matt Thornhill, founder and CEO of a middle-market solution called Cozy Home Community, in an Oct. 23 guest column.
Thornhill encouraged readers to pursue “different, and less expensive” solutions to attract a potentially huge market. Read more here.
Read more guest columns here.
• Most-read marketplace column:
Sliding scale insulin for diabetic residents: Is it helpful or harmful?
Twenty percent of assisted living residents have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, and they are relying on their healthcare professionals to assist in managing their disease, Jered Yalung, PharmD, director of marketing and operations at Options for Senior America, wrote in a May 18 marketplace column.
Yalung suggested actions for senior living operators to take for residents with this chronic condition. Read more here.
Read more marketplace columns here.
Be part of the story
Interested in submitting a guest column or marketplace column in 2024? Find out how here.
And help decide our top columns of 2024.
Subscribe to our free flagship newsletter, the Daily Briefing, and our other free daily e-newsletters, by clicking on “Subscribe” in the upper right corner of our website, wwwmcknightsseniorliving.com, or via the “Have we got news for you!” box in the right column.
Also join us on our social media channels to be a part of the story next year.
McKnight’s Senior Living is on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @_McKnightsSL. Additionally, you can follow editors John O’Connor at @ltcritr, Lois A. Bowers at @Lois_Bowers and Kim Bonvissuto at @KimBonvissuto on X.
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