Summary
In this episode, Jerry Vinci sits down with Meredith Oppenheim, a 25-year senior housing veteran who spent five years studying the 90% of older adults who never move into senior living through her groundbreaking platform, Vitality Society. Meredith reveals how the industry’s persistent 10% penetration rate isn’t a marketing failure – it’s a fundamental mismatch between what providers offer and what today’s older adults actually want. Drawing from her experience advising major operators and launching a virtual wellness community that engaged members for two hours daily during the pandemic, she shares the eight guiding principles that drive the 90% who choose to age at home: being their best version, doing meaningful work, continuous learning, and maintaining control over their lives. The conversation challenges core assumptions about readiness, revealing how the industry’s focus on frailty and care alienates active boomers who see senior living as the beginning of the end rather than a new chapter of growth.
Takeaways
- The 90% who don’t move in want growth and expansion, not simplification and decline
- Boomers see senior living as restrictive rather than enabling their desired lifestyle
- Innovation fails because unsuccessful models get sold and converted back to traditional approaches
- Virtual engagement proved older adults want community without the real estate commitment
- Adult daughters need providers to be proactive care navigators, not reactive service providers
- Lead lists are undervalued – engage prospects for years through programming before they’re ready
- Flexibility is key – let residents paint where they want, work if they choose, eat when they prefer
- Prevention and improvement messaging resonates more than care and convenience
- The buyer journey is a complex puzzle where timing, unit type, location, and culture must all align
- Providers need multiple service lines to meet people wherever they choose to age
Learn More:
- Connect with Meredith Oppenheim on LinkedIn
- Learn More about Meredith and her New Perspective on Aging


