Steve Gurney, the 43-year-old founder and publisher of the mid-Atlantic region’s Guide to Retirement Living SourceBook and ProAging, has made a big decision: he’s moving into a retirement community.

On February 9th, at half the age of the average assisted living resident, Gurney will join the family at Paul Spring Retirement Community in Alexandria, Virginia. After nearly 20 years of helping families and elders make these choices via his popular SourceBook and ProAging resources, he says, “I have never experienced the transition first hand as a resident.”

How was he inspired to take on this challenge?  According to Gurney, it happened while preparing his children for the first day of school. He realized that there was an authenticity to his words of encouragement because his children know that he’s been through the process before. He wants to lend that same authenticity to the resources he provides for seniors and their families as they face the daunting task of choosing from an array of services and settings. And throughout the experiment, Gurney plans to visit each of these service settings, from the Alzheimer’s unit to the independent living wing.

Gurney understands that since he will not take up permanent residence in any of the facilities he visits, and because he will be quite the novelty at his young age, the experience will not be quite as natural as his soon-to-be elderly neighbors. But his hope is to focus on the emotions that are part of transitioning into a facility – no matter what level of care, no matter how many gift shops or golf courses, no matter how mushy or crisp the green beans served in the dining room (a common complaint during my senior living employment years).

I applaud Steve Gurney for taking on this challenge and look forward to following his journey at www.everyoneisaging.com. I don’t doubt that it will serve as a valuable lesson for adult children who may be insensitive to the range of emotions that such a move can arouse in their parent(s), and it may open their eyes to a number of less obvious pros and cons at each community. Many families make these major decisions under much pressure or on the basis of very little research, planning or exploring. But, as with any major purchase, it always helps to shop around – especially when your loved one’s happiness and comfort is at stake.

- Michelle Seitzer