By Lola Rain

Chronic disease is usually at the forefront of many conversations. And in senior living, we see our residents struggling with it daily — lung conditions, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease, to name a few.

Chronic disease tells one story, and longevity tells another. Are people getting sicker or living longer, or both? What is the truth? Where do we find trusted data, and as an industry, what do we do with it?

This is where Remy Gross of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging comes in. He is speaking to senior living organizations about research findings and recommendations. His message is clear: if we understand and address the biology of aging, we can do more than fight diseases one at a time. We can extend the healthy years of life.

The science is compelling. But the challenge is urgent: what do senior living providers do with this information?

Turning Research into Operations

Nutrition impacts disease risk. Exercise is as powerful as medicine. Sleep regularity supports immunity and cognition. Social connection literally keeps the brain younger. Senior living touches all of these domains every single day. Yet, they are often framed as “programming” within life enrichment rather than as operational priorities across all levels of care.

Imagine if:

  • Culinary teams designed menus not just for taste and choice but with geroscience in mind.
  • Wellness staff were measured on movement outcomes.
  • Nursing teams prioritized sleep consistency as carefully as they manage medications.
  • Leadership teams viewed social connection as a health intervention, not just an activity.

From Inspiration to Accountability

Remy shared his data-packed presentation with a room of centenarians, family members, staff, and the board of directors at Eskaton. He has also shared the research with members of the Institute for Innovation, Strategy & Leadership, such as nonprofits Sequoia Living, Front Porch, and Transforming Age. He is on a mission to spread the word.

What should senior living providers do with this information? Create an action plan.

Senior living leaders now face a choice: keep treating these insights as enrichment add-ons, or embrace them as a new standard of care. Communities are uniquely positioned to be the laboratories where geroscience becomes daily practice.

If the Buck Institute succeeds in its mission to end the threat of age-related disease for this and future generations, ‘Live Better Longer’ won’t just be a mantra — it will be the reality of aging.

Healthspan Versus Lifespan

We face a paradox: longer lifespans don’t mean longer healthspans.

Lifespan: the total number of years a person lives.

Healthspan: the number of those years lived in good health, free from serious disease or disability.

Remy Gross, Executive Vice President of Buck Institute, emphasized that chronic conditions don’t happen in isolation. “The interesting thing about all these diseases … heart disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s diabetes … is that they all share a lot of the same biology,” said Remy. This is why tackling the biology of aging is so powerful.

Remy points to “Super Agers” as evidence of what’s possible. “Their brains shrink at half the speed of everybody else’s,” Remy explained.

Remy’s takeaway: “If we understand the biology of aging, we don’t just fight one disease — we can delay many, giving people more years of health, not just more years.”