Seton Medical Center Hays opened in Kyle at the end of 2009 and has since brought eight senior living facilities and more than 400 jobs to San Marcos, Kyle and Buda. Experts believe an increasing senior population will continue to bring more jobs and developments to Hays County during the next few years.
Carter Morris, supervising broker and co-owner of Century 21–San Marcos, said San Marcos and Hays County must play catch-up to provide adequate facilities for the senior population.
"They're moving into assisted-living and independent-living facilities, and in San Marcos, we don't have that many," Morris said. "The ones we do have are dated, and we have a lot of folks in that age group who are here in this area."
Morris said the opening of Seton Medical Center Hays, a soon-to-be-opened hospital in New Braunfels and Central Texas Medical Center in San Marcos have made the I-35 corridor especially attractive to senior citizens.
"You don't have to be in San Antonio or Austin to get the care that you need anymore, and that's a huge deal," Morris said. "So you get great health care, and you don't have to live in [a major] city."
The facilities range from senior communities, which are apartments reserved for residents age 55 and older, to assisted-living and memory-care centers, which feature a range of health and assistance services for seniors with various levels of independence.
One of the new facilities, New Haven Assisted Living and Memory Care, broke ground Feb. 5 on the site of what will be the company's second location in Texas. New Haven co-owner Sally Nicholls said the facility will open in late August or September at 107 Creekside Trail off East FM 150 in Kyle.
"We're moving [to Kyle] because there is a need," Nicholls said. "We like Texas. We think it's a great place to be, and we think a lot of seniors are here, but mostly it's just because there is a need."
Growing population
According to the 2010 census, 8.8 percent of Hays County's population is made up of senior citizens—residents who are age 65 or older—compared with 7.7 percent in 2000. The median age in Hays County is 30.4.
Kyle Economic Development Director Diana Blank said she learned the relatively young population in Hays County was attracting parents and grandparents who hoped to be closer to their children and grandchildren.
"Our population has been growing so quickly, and people are so busy in their lives that they need to have their aging family members or family members with memory problems closer to them because they can't drive far to go see them or make sure they get care," Blank said.
Ray Hernandez, Kyle Area Chamber of Commerce executive director, agreed with Blank, citing the relatively young population as a catalyst for parents and grandparents moving to the area.
"They say, 'Oh, my son lives in Austin or Round Rock, and we want to be close enough to visit them but not close enough for them to come raid the fridge at night,'" Hernandez said.
In February, increasing membership numbers compelled Onion Creek Senior Citizens, an organization dedicated to engaging senior citizens in Kyle and Buda, to move to a new 6,750-square-foot building, tripling its space. Executive Director Sandra Grizzle said the new facility has enough room for all 250 members.
"We couldn't afford to grow over there [at the old building]," Grizzle said. "We were so limited on what we could do."
New jobs
When New Haven opens in Kyle, Nicholls said the facility will employ as many as 150 people, including registered nurses, caregivers, activity coordinators and nurse assistants.
Facility administrators said that since 2009, the eight new senior care centers have added more than 400 jobs to the I-35 corridor. Michelle Neumann, an administrator at the Regent Care Center of San Marcos, said that when her 174-bed facility opened in 2010, it brought more than 140 jobs to the San Marcos area, about 90 percent of which were nurses and certified caregivers.
Morris said developers of senior living facilities have begun looking at San Marcos with more interest.
"One noticeable feature I think you will see, if we are able to get a couple of these really nice facilities, is that you'll see an increase in jobs," Morris said. "You'll need maintenance jobs, cafeteria jobs, skilled nurses, doctors; so good, paying jobs will be created."
New challenges
The growing senior population has brought with it a new set of challenges that still must be addressed, Neumann said.
"For elderly people, there needs to be a larger quantity of senior living places that accept Medicaid because the majority of [the elderly] just have Social Security checks," Neumann said. "They don't have annuities and certificates of deposit and all that kind of stuff like some people."
Neumann said although communities such as the Huntington and the Overlook accept Medicaid, the region is still lacking in facilities that also cater to the low-income elderly population's medical needs.
According to a 2012 report by the Texas Medical Association, 31 percent of physicians are accepting new Medicaid patients. That represents an 11 percent decrease from 2010's survey.
Neumann said when she refers patients to Emeritus, an assisted living facility in San Marcos that accepts Medicaid, the facility is completely full and has a waiting list for Medicaid patients.
"That tells me that there's not enough of these facilities," Neumann said.
