Rapid City Senior Needs Assessment and Service Gaps Analysis

1. Rapid City Senior Needs Assessment and Service Gaps Analysis

2. Initial Research Questions What are the most pressing needs of the current senior community of Rapid City? How will the needs of residents age 50+ shift over the next 20 years? What services, activities, or facilities will make Rapid City a destination to live for 50+ adults and retirees?

3. Research methods included the following tasks: Senior community telephone survey. Senior community stakeholders focus groups. Telephone interviews with community members with particular insights into senior care needs and existing resources. Senior community resource inventory. Gaps analysis. Service category ratings.

4. More about the research Seventeen community standards were assessed as part of this analysis Each were ranked at “below,” “at” or “above” the expressed needs of the community. Determinations were based on data collected through all research methods (e.g., survey, focus groups, cultural inventory, etc.)

5. Summary Findings • Through the analysis of survey, focus group, elite interview and gaps analysis data we were able to determine that: • 3 of 17 areas were ranked “above” the present community need. • 5 of 17 areas were ranked “at” the present community need. • 9 of 17 areas fell “below” expressed community need.

7. The interest in resources needed in the community varied according to age , race and socioeconomic status. • Interesting observations were made in terms of the different interests that four age groups hold for the seventeen service categories studied here. • The four age groups are as follows: • Community members under 50 years old. • Community members between 50 and 64 years old. • Community members between 65 and 80 years old. • Community members older than 80 years.

9. Respondents likely to use a single community center by age cohort

10. New Senior Center as a broad-based solution Survey respondents were asked to state their ideas on what Rapid City can do to better serve senior interests in the next 5-10 years and in the next 10-20 years. Needs were articulated in the areas of improved access to

11. On whole, it seems that several interests articulated by respondents could be satisfied by investments in a comprehensive and geographically central senior community resource center. Ideally, this new facility would include coordinated activities and fitness geared toward engaging seniors in healthy living practices, a city-wide information resource that indexed programs ranging from health care to companionship, and that would expand upon the current level of residential programs for people transitioning toward assisted living and skilled nursing contexts

12. Input from Focus Groups

13. Focus Groups (cont.)

14. Focus Groups (cont.)

15. Focus Groups (cont.)

16. Recommendations from Rapid City Elites

17. Elite Interviews (cont.)

18. Elite Interviews (cont.)

19. Elite Interviews (cont.)

20. Elite Interviews (cont.)

21. Elite Interviews (cont.)