The residential assisted living model of a single- family home is more known and accepted today than ever before.”
GENE GUARINO
at that time, ‘No new residents can come in, and if you are here you have to stay isolated in your rooms,’” he said. “What a horrible situation and what a terrible business model. The problem was you have 200- plus elderly people together in a large community and it’s the perfect environment for spreading the virus amongst them.” The RAL Academy meanwhile focuses on homes with six to 20 people living in them. It’s easier to keep people safe and they don’t have to be isolated in their rooms all day. Visitation was more complicated, but at least it was possible. People moved out of the larger communities with hundreds of people into our RAL homes across the country. “There was a watershed article written in June 2020 that stated, ‘smaller is safer’ and that was the beginning of this tide change—peo- ple were now understanding what I had been saying for years. Homes in residential settings with less people just makes sense,” Guarino said. “Even the big box players are asking how they can get their 200 beds into
was down 47 percent. That figure was in part because there was an assumption that the pandemic would crush the senior housing industry and that particular housing market would be finished, according to Guarino. “The reality is the ‘Big Box’ facil - ities, with 100, 200 or 300 beds said
residential assisted living model of a single-family home is more known and accepted today than ever before.” The COVID-19 pandemic has also caused reconsiderations in the oper- ation of the senior housing industry. Guarino recalled seeing a statistic in April 2020 that said senior housing
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