Gerasim’s strength and vitality did not mortify but
soothed him.
This simple but profound service—to grasp a fading
man’s needfor everydaycomforts,for companionship,
forhelpachievinghismodestaims—isthethingthatis
stillsodevastatinglylackingmorethanacenturylater.It
waswhatAliceHobsonneededbutcouldnotfind.Andit
was what Lou Sanders’s daughter, through four
increasinglyexhausting years, discoveredshe couldno
longergiveallbyherself.Butwiththeconceptofassisted
living,KerenBrownWilsonhadmanagedtoembedthat
vital help in a home.
THE IDEASPREADastoundingly quickly. Around1990,
based on Wilson’s successes, Oregon launched an
initiativetoencouragethebuildingofmorehomeslike
hers.Wilsonworkedwithherhusbandtoreplicatetheir
modelandtohelpothersdothesame.Theyfoundaready
market.Peopleprovedwillingtopayconsiderablesums
toavoidendingupinanursinghome,andseveralstates
agreed to cover the costs for poor elders.
Notlongafterthat,WilsonwenttoWallStreetforcapital
to build more places. Her company, Assisted Living
Concepts,wentpublic.Otherssprangupwithnameslike
Sunrise, Atria, Sterling, and Karrington, and assisted
livingbecamethefastest-growingformofseniorhousing
in the country. By 2000, Wilson had expanded her
companyfromfewerthanahundredemployeestomore
than three thousand. It operated 184 residences in
eighteenstates.By2010,thenumberofpeopleinassisted
living was approaching the number in nursing homes.