In addition to improving eye-hand coordination and reaction time, these games also may help people who lose memory as they age or suffer from dementia. Full findings appear in The Journal of Neuroscience.

For their work, Craig Stark, Ph.D., and Dane Clemenson, Ph.D., of UCI’s Center for the Neurobiology of Learning & Memory, recruited non-gamers to play either a video game with a passive, two-dimensional environment (“Angry Birds”) or one with an intricate, three-dimensional setting (“Super Mario 3D World”). 

Participants played the games for 30 minutes each day over two weeks.

Before and after the two-week period, players took memory tests that engaged the brain’s hippocampus, the region associated with complex learning and memory. They were given a series of pictures of everyday objects to study. 

Then, they were shown images of the same objects, new ones and others that differed slightly from the original items and asked to categorize them. Recognition of the slightly altered images requires the hippocampus, Stark says, and his earlier research had demonstrated that the ability to do this clearly declines with age. This is a large part of why it’s so difficult to learn new names or remember where you put your keys as you get older.

Those playing the 3-D video game improved their scores on the memory test, whereas the 2-D gamers did not. The boost was not small, either. 

Memory performance increased by about 12%, the same amount it normally decreases between the ages of 45 and 70. 

Iowa Artist Matt Sissel alleged that the measure violates the U.S. Constitution’s requirement that revenue-raising legislation must originate in the House of Representatives.

But what Andrew Carle seems to beam about most these days is his self-imposed mission to shape and steer tomorrow’s leaders in senior living as professor and executive-in-residence and founding director of the program in senior housing administration at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA.

Carle tells McKnight’s Senior Living that part of the exclusive program’s success stems from the fact that students earn degrees in health administration, with a concentration in senior housing administration.

“This is critical, because at the end of the day, assisted living and memory care in particular are not only healthcare facilities but will become increasingly significant players in the healthcare continuum,” he says. 

“By housing our program in health administration — versus hospitality management, gerontology or even business administration — our students complete additional coursework necessary to the skill set they will need for success in the field.”

Some courses have been created “from scratch. These are not nursing home administration courses that touch upon senior housing, nor gerontology courses covering the general domains of ‘aging,’” he adds. “They are senior housing-specific, going department-by-department, function-by-function, focused largely on assisted living and memory care on the health services side, but also hospitality services on the active adult, independent living and CCRC side, as well as assisted living and memory care.”

And because senior housing predominantly is a private-pay industry, Carle has helped design coursework to train students in senior housing sales and marketing. The program also puts students through rigorous real-world training and highly structured internships with leading senior communities. To gain “executive empathy,” students are exposed to fundamentals like setting department budgets, staffing and “operational priorities” as mundane as dish washing, laundry and “pushing wheelchairs,” he adds. 

For their efforts, Carle’s students proudly wear T-shirts proclaiming their membership in the “Toilet Hall of Fame” club. 

Most of his 58-minute speech instead lauded a growing economy and jobs market. Obama did briefly note that the Social Security and Medicare programs are “more important than ever,” and that they need to be strengthened. He also called for a “moon shot” initiative to hasten a cure for cancer. 

He noted many people have soured on a political and economic system they view as rigged against their interests. He also singled out Donald Trump for pointed criticism, saying that Americans must resist calls to stigmatize all Muslims. 

The Republican front-runner quickly shot back. Trump Tweeted that the speech was “really boring, slow, lethargic — very hard to watch!”

“We’re encouraged by the progress we’ve been making on the basic blocking and tackling of our business, aided by having the bulk of our systems integration activities now behind us,” Rob Borella, the vice president of corporate communications and marketing tells McKnight’s Senior Living. “Integrating a platform as large as Emeritus has obviously required a monumental amount of work and has certainly been a challenge.”

The Emeritus acquisition in July 2014 made the Brentwood, TN-based company the nation’s largest senior living operator. But the company faced criticism in the coming months over challenges in absorbing Emeritus, as well as community management turmoil and some minor marketing glitches. In February 2015, following a period of disappointing earnings performance to some, one major shareholder even demanded the company spin off its real estate holdings and revamp its governance board. The following September, the company was identified as one of a half-dozen possible takeover targets in a report by Goldman Sachs Group. Analysts cited the Emeritus flap as a contributing factor.

“We are not yet finished with the overall integration, as there is still work to do to optimize the use of the systems and processes that are now in place throughout the organization,” Borella adds. “We’re also excited about the recent additions we have made to our executive leadership team.” 

But an unexpected thing happened along the way: the seniors didn’t come to this field of dreams, at least not in the numbers many had hoped.

How they got ahead of the curve is a subject of much debate, but every banker and analyst interviewed for this article agree on one thing — we won’t see what happened the last time an over-supply of senior living units sprouted in the late 1990s, a boondoggle that left a lot of entrepreneurs red-faced and bankrupt. 

One reason stems from baby boomers’ health and resiliency. “In the ‘90s, people said, ‘OK, the baby boomers are coming.’ Well, those baby boomers today are running companies,” observes Michael Gehl, chief investment officer for Housing & Healthcare Finance LLC. “The 65- and 70-year-olds aren’t yet moving into assisted living. It’s growing and there’s demand for it, but the question remains, are we getting overheated?”

Still, the numbers put forth by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care (NIC) over the past 18 months are collectively described by most observers as “sobering.” (By early January, however, NIC reported seniors housing occupancy increased to 90.1% in the fourth quarter of 2015 — still 20 basis points below a late 2014 surge.)

Most lenders confidently shrug off the current housing swell, pointing to numbers that show a steady uptick in the 85-and-up age group in the next 15 years.

“There’s certainly been a lot of shovels in the ground, especially on the private equity side, but it is way too early to say there’s any oversaturation going on,” says Jason Stroiman, president, Evans Senior Investments. 

A: Many owner/operators say they don’t intend to sell; they plan to ride out the various business cycles and they’re not about to leave the senior living industry. But having a sound exit strategy doesn’t necessarily mean you’re actually planning to get out. It’s somewhat like thinking about our life expectancy. To stay healthy, should you do anything differently? In early 2016, you can use an exit strategy for several beneficial reasons. 

Here is a simple strategy for estimating the approximate value of this exit strategy by determining today’s valuation, using a capitalization rate of 7%. Simply divide your actual annual net operating income (NOI) by 0.07. If your community has annual revenue of $3.6 million and expenses of $2.3 million representing an operating profit margin of 36%, then the NOI from this performance would be $1.3 million. Dividing that annual NOI figure by 0.07 reflects a preliminary value of approximately $18.6 million. Many who went through that simple exercise have changed their attitude about whether to consider an exit strategy.

Whether you actually decide to sell is an important decision. Whether you plan to fold your cards soon or hold them for a long time, having a sound exit strategy can only help.

Jim Moore runs a national senior housing and healthcare consulting firm based in Fort Worth, TX. He has written several books about assisted living and senior housing, including Assisted-Living Strategies for Changing Markets. 

Additionally, these firms are more effective at balancing the full customer lifecycle instead of focusing just on early stage activities, according to a survey by Forrester Consulting.

Although it features a host of top-shelf amenities ranging from a movie theater and day spa to a pet park and wellness center, it is the Traditions memory care program that serves as the marquee attraction for residents with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Traditions offers residents a safe and comfortable environment with multiple opportunities for social engagement and physical exercise such as yoga, stretching, strengthening and walking, and brain fitness classes to stimulate mental acuity, says Crystal Robinson, vice president of sales and marketing. One of the most interesting features is an indoor aviary where residents can view the hatching and tending of new chicks, Robinson says. The courtyard allows residents to enjoy the warm California sun or harvest fresh vegetables from the resident garden. Activity stations are designed to help residents recall meaningful or familiar hobbies from their pasts.

Wandering paths through private gardens will allow program residents to have guided outside walks. Tactile art decorates the hallways for sensory stimulation. For added safety, in-room motion detectors notify caregivers if a resident has gotten up in the middle of the night, and memory boxes are set up outside of residents’ rooms both to help them identify their apartment and to allow families to tell their story.

“It’s very close to my heart because I had a personal experience with my own mom with Alzheimer’s, so I am just very, very excited to be a part of this particular part of Oakmont,” says Marketing Director Mary Dembkowski. “Traditions will be a separate wing of the community, entirely dedicated to providing specialized care that meets the needs of those with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. It offers a secured environment where our families feel like their loved ones are safe in a home-like setting, with features designed to give residents all the dignity that they deserve.”

Construction started in early 2015, and the grand opening took place last month. The community is designed for independent and assisted living as well as memory care residents. There are 80 pet-friendly studio, one- and two-bedroom apartment homes with floorplans that range from 400 to 1,300 square feet. 

The movie theater features comfortable leather seats and has two showings a day with freshly popped popcorn. A bistro offers coffee, tea and snacks throughout the day, and the restaurant-style dining room boasts a brick pizza oven and rotisserie as well as a private dining room with fireplace for residents to host family and friends.

The new-generation community was built to resemble a five-star hotel, Robinson says, to impress the baby boomers in the present and future.

“For many people, the only experience they have had with senior living is what they have seen on TV and in movies, which usually depicts a hospital-like facility where the food is terrible and everyone sits around with nothing to do,” she says. “So it is a great relief to the families and future residents who walk through our doors when the first impression they have is that they have entered a boutique hotel. A concierge greets them in the lobby, there is a full and interesting calendar of excursions and activities, and everyone is raving about the chef.”

Lieutenant Gov. Gavin Newsom is leading the charge, backed by Service Employers International Union.

“Who can live on $21,000 year today? Nobody can,” said San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee.

As inaction continued in Congress, more than a dozen states raised their minimum hourly wage this year. Four states — Alaska, California, Massachusetts and Nebraska — approved a $1 uptick. Conversely, South Dakota’s minimum went up by only a nickel.

Here’s a breakdown:

• Alaska’s hourly minimum wage increased from $8.75 to $9.75.

• Arkansas hiked its minimum wage from $7.50 to $8 per hour, with an increase to $8.50 slated for Jan. 1, 2017.

• California’s hourly minimum wage went from $9 to $10.

• Colorado’s minimum wage increased from $8.23 to $8.31 per hour.

• Connecticut boosted its hourly minimum wage from $9.15 to $9.60, with an increase to $10.10 planned for Jan. 1, 2017.

• Hawaii’s minimum wage went from $7.75 to $8.50 an hour, with an increase to $9.25 scheduled for Jan. 1, 2017, and an increase to $10.10 set for Jan. 1, 2018.

• Massachusetts raised its hourly minimum wage from $9 to $10 and is slated to increase it to $11 on Jan. 1, 2017.

• Michigan’s minimum wage jumped from $8.15 to $8.50 per hour, with an increase to $8.90 scheduled for Jan. 1, 2017, and an increase to $9.25 set for Jan. 1, 2018.

• Nebraska hiked its hourly minimum wage from $8 to $9.

• New York’s minimum wage increased from $8.75 to $9 per hour.

• Rhode Island boosted its hourly minimum wage from $9 to $9.60.

• South Dakota’s minimum wage increased from $8.50 to $8.55 per hour.

• Vermont’s hourly minimum wage went from $9.15 to $9.60, with a planned increase to $10 on Jan. 1, 2017, and an increase to $10.50 planned for Jan. 1, 2018.

• West Virginia raised its minimum wage from $8 to $8.75.