Retirement community residents want peace of mind. Security is the place to start.

Retirement communities are becoming more and more abundant, thanks to an aging society. For these retirement communities, security is a must. This article discusses how security can be best deployed to offer peace of mind for residents.
 
Needless to say, the society is aging. Against this backdrop, retirement communities, also known as assisted living communities, are mushrooming across the globe, catering to generally able-bodied senior citizens who opt to live in such environments. According to the American Health Care Association, in the U.S. alone t​here are approximately 28,900 assisted living communities, and there are more than 800,000 Americans residing in assisted living.
 

Security requirements

 
For every retirement community, security is a must to make sure staff, visitors, and most importantly, residents, are safe and secure. Security systems deployed range from the basics to more advanced solutions.
 
“Security systems in retirement communities are there to keep residents safe and happy. No matter how small or large the size of the community, doing so means deploying technologies that include video management (VMS) and access control (ACS) at the most basic level,” said John Joyce, Regional Director for Enterprise Sector at Genetec. “Intrusion systems, automatic license plate recognition (ALPR), and other sensors and monitoring systems bring additional levels of protection and convenience. Privacy protection technologies can help communities comply with regulations and build trust with residents.”
 
Beyond security, the safety and well-being of residents are also of utmost importance. In this regard, security systems can also be of help.
 
“Camera technology is certainly being used for this purpose in the assisted living space. We’re seeing more assisted living facilities move away from key lock usage and towards Wi-Fi or Power over Ethernet (PoE) locks. These locks enable the facility to automate and monitor activity by knowing if the door has been opened within a certain timeframe. If no activity has happened, this can trigger a wellness check on a resident. The return on investment (ROI) on a technology investment like this is the savings realized by not having to re-key entire facilities when a resident key or master key goes missing,” Joyce said.
 
Genetec further shared a case study of Erickson Senior Living replacing mechanical locks with wireless locks in connection with Genetec’s Security Center unified platform. Whereas previously, a security officer would walk through buildings every morning, visually verifying that residents had opened their door allowing a latch to drop to indicate they were up, now, Security Center automatically sends a report daily to security teams showing which units’ doors haven’t been opened yet. They’ll then compare that to a list of unoccupied units to see which residents require a welfare check. Instead of walking every hallway, they can go directly to units that require further checking.
 

How unified security platforms can help

 
As aforementioned, since security systems at retirement communities are mostly from different brands and work in silos, a unified platform can be quite beneficial, for security teams and residents alike.
 
“For many security teams, unifying security solutions simplifies system management and maintenance. Operators can easily monitor alarms and quickly pull up video from anywhere in the community during investigations. They can also retrieve access control reports showing all door activity linked to nearby video. Standardizing on a single platform makes it easier for corporate team members to quickly review and investigate incidents facility-wide. This contributes directly to resident safety, managing who is authorized to access the facility and mitigating potential problems,” Joyce said.
 
“For residents,” he added, “the security and safety improvement the community realizes with modern security systems provides the most important benefit – peace of mind. Unifying security systems also enables conveniences, like having residents use access cards instead of physical keys to enter their units and amenities. These cards can also be used to purchase items and meals, so they can be a one-stop shop for everything in the community. Likewise, ALPR can simplify parking and entering or leaving the property without requiring gate fobs.”
 

Hybrid architecture becoming popular

 
Like other end user entities, retirement communities need to decide which architecture – on-prem or cloud – to deploy their security on. Increasingly, the so-called hybrid, which combines the best of on-prem and cloud solutions – has emerged as a viable solution.
 
“When they begin the process of modernizing any one part of their physical security solution or the entire deployment, they look for flexible options. They want to deploy as little or as much as they want in the cloud and adjust that ratio as their needs evolve,” Joyce said. “A hybrid deployment lets them move at their own pace. They can choose which installations would benefit from on-prem or cloud. Cloud solutions offer quicker access to the latest functionality advancements offered, including many built-in cybersecurity and data privacy features.”