According to the U.S. Census Bureau, between 2005 and 2015, Colorado witnessed a 53.8 percent population increase of people 65 years and older, representing the third-highest percentage increase in the country.While there are adequate facilities in the Pikes Peak region to meet the needs of the senior population, eastern El Paso County is limited in the availability of licensed assisted living and nursing facilities, said Joe Urban, director of the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments Area Agency on Aging.ìThe population in that area, although growing rapidly, has apparently not reached a point where private investors or companies have decided to build facilities,î Urban said.There are several options close to the Falcon/Peyton area in the eastern portion of Colorado Springs, with varying levels of care. ìSenior housing/care is generally divided into retirement, assisted living and skilled nursing, with progressively higher care at each level,î Urban said. ìA retirement community may just offer basic services, where a nursing center has significant medical regulation and is required to have nurses on staff 24-hours per day.îMargo Campbell, community director with Affinity at Colorado Springs, said her facility falls at the lower end of the care spectrum. ìWe are a 55-plus community and do not offer any care services,î she said. However, they offer an all-inclusive community with amenities like a saltwater swimming pool, hot tub, craft room, private dining room, pub, library, Internet cafÈ, movie theater and a workshop, Campbell said. Affinity is located off Powers Boulevard, near Constitution Avenue.Affinity also includes an independent living option, which is a step above the retirement community level, she said. ìFor independent living, we add meal preparations and housekeeping,î Campbell said. ìThat comes with a higher price tag but works for people who want to downsize and not have the maintenance of a house.îOut of the 154 apartments at the Colorado Springs facility, about 98 percent are occupied and the location has only been open for a little over a year and a half, she said.Steve Feldman, owner of New Day Cottages, has two assisted living homes; one on the edge of Black Forest and the other near Woodmen Road and Academy Boulevard in Colorado Springs, with 16 beds and 11 beds, respectively. Each home employs on-site certified nursing assistant staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week, he said.ìOur staff is there 24/7 to assist with their care and needs,î Feldman said. ìWe help with the activities of daily life, including medication administration, shower and dressing assistance. We can also handle residents with mild dementia, but we do not get into memory care.îResidents are equipped with medical alert pendants so they can push a button and get immediate help, he said. To avoid tiresome outings to various doctors, Feldman said he has nurse practitioners on staff to deal with medical issues without having to leave the home.Feldman said his homes are different because they were designed and built specifically for their senior residentsí lifestyles. The homes do not have stairs, but have large hallways and doorways, and they feel more like homes than the larger assisted living facilities, he said. ìOur residents have bedrooms but then they can go out and spend time in the living room and dining room with the other residents,î he said. ìThey feel more like the type of home they have lived in all their lives.ìThe bigger places have bigger apartments but a lot of people do not need that space anymore. They do not want to have to go down these long hallways and get in an elevator to go down to a restaurant to eat.îResidents can choose activities, from events outside of the facility to in-house functions.The licensing process for New Day Cottages is the same as the larger facilities ó they are held to the same standards, Feldman said. As the owner of an assisted living home, he said he understands that people want to stay in their own homes as long as they can; but assisted living centers offer alternatives if someone is no longer safe at home.Sigvard Bore is founder and chief innovation and product officer for nestCARE, a startup company in Colorado Springs and Milwaukee that provides a new and different level of support for those who need it. Bore said he and co-founder Sanjay Mohan, chief executive officer, saw the need to provide additional support for people who wanted to stay home or for those whose loved ones did not live nearby.ìMy co-worker and I found ourselves in similar life circumstances, where our loved ones were not nearby, and we just wanted to figure out how he and I could better take care of the ones we cared about,î Bore said.According to the companyís website, nestCARE provides the necessary devices to track a personís health vitals, including a pulse oximeter, scale and blood pressure model. The devices connect to the nestCARE app through Bluetooth technology, which provides the person an avenue to stay connected with others, along with the ability to track the device measurements. Using the data collected, a support network is formed to ensure the person is receiving proper care.ìWe have basically created one of the only truly holistic solutions to empower people to take charge of their health and wellness; but, at the same time, through technology we are starting to bring people back together,î Bore said. ìThey get peace of mind, assistance and support.Bore said the intent of nestCARE is not to replace in-home care or assistance for someone who needs it; rather, they are adding another layer of support. ìWe want the individual to feel empowered and take charge but also have all the people who really care about them be on the journey with them and stay informed about their health,î he said.
