Senior Living Facilities Improve Their Amenities With Patio Grills & Heaters

What makes a senior living facility an appealing place for older adults? Of course, cleanliness and maintenance are fundamental expectations. A warm and friendly environment plays a significant role too. Beyond these basics, many popular senior residences stand out because they offer additional perks like laundry services, transportation options, social events, communal spaces, and fitness facilities.

These housing units are always looking for ways to enhance their offerings and attract new residents. Seniors particularly appreciate features that allow them to stay active and connect socially. Feeling like part of a community and having access to activities they've enjoyed throughout their lives is crucial.

The Solution: A Grilling Patio

There’s something undeniably cozy about an outdoor barbecue. Most seniors have fond memories of countless barbecues over the years. There’s nothing quite like spending an evening outdoors with family and friends, savoring delicious home-cooked meals.

Sr. living facilities come in various forms, but they all benefit from a well-designed grilling patio. From 55+ apartments and condos where residents live independently but share common areas like pools, patios, and meeting rooms, to care centers where some residents require assistance, every setup can be enhanced with the right amenities. No matter the mix of residents and staff, if there’s a shared outdoor space, it can be transformed into a vibrant gathering spot with patio grills and heaters.

Once a lively social patio is established, the fun doesn’t stop when dinner is over. Card and board games can continue in this comfortable setting with heaters for warmth, day and night. The patio becomes the perfect place to relax with a morning coffee and the daily paper. Simply sitting and chatting with neighbors turns into a cherished moment when the patio is designed to be as inviting as possible.

An outdoor grilling space allows residents to host family gatherings effortlessly. Grandchildren can play freely while the adults focus on preparing tasty meals. Whether it’s a casual burger and hotdog spread or a more gourmet selection featuring steaks, chicken, and chops, there’s something for everyone.

Grilling Equipment for Patios

Given the high usage of an inviting patio, it’s essential to have durable and reliable grills and heaters. They should be user-friendly and easy to maintain, especially for seniors who may need a bit more assistance.

Patio Grills

The T-Series grills from AEI Corporation are an excellent choice for robust patio grills in senior centers or retirement communities. These durable grills are used globally in apartments, condos, golf clubs, sailing clubs, and restaurants with outdoor kitchens. Available in rugged cast aluminum or stainless steel, they’re built to last.

These are commercial-grade grills designed for heavy-duty use every day. The focus is on quality construction and practical features rather than unnecessary extras. A T-Series grill is versatile enough for a grandparent cooking a few burgers for the family and a community manager preparing a feast for the entire building. They grill, roast, and even offer a rotisserie option.

These grills come with lift-assist grill handles, making it easier for someone with limited mobility to open and close them. One of the standout features is the PGS FuelStop® one-hour gas flow timer. In large communities where not everyone always remembers to turn things off, leaving a gas burner on can be problematic. At best, it’s wasteful; at worst, it poses a safety risk. However, with a PGS T-Series grill, the gas automatically shuts off after an hour, providing peace of mind for building managers.

These grills can be mounted on wheeled carts or integrated into grilling islands. They’re also available for custom installation into outdoor countertops. They’re offered in both natural gas and liquid propane models, offering flexibility based on the facility’s infrastructure.

Patio Heaters

While a grilling patio is perfect for sunny days and warm summer evenings, why limit the fun to just the warmer months? With patio heaters, you can extend the enjoyment into cooler weather. This is particularly beneficial for seniors who tend to feel colder than they used to.

There are several types of patio heaters suitable for senior centers, and one will suit your specific outdoor space.

In outdoor dining areas of restaurants, you often see mushroom heaters—those with circular tops atop long poles. These can be natural gas heaters with the fuel source below in cement or liquid propane heaters with tanks at the base. Typically on wheels, they can be moved around the patio as needed.

Mushroom heaters provide warmth in a 360-degree pattern and are ideal for larger patios. You’ll need to assess the size and layout of your patio to determine how many heaters you’ll need and where to place them.

If you have a convenient wall or other structure, a box or rectangular heater might be a better option. These heaters typically run on electricity or natural gas, either hardwired into the building or connected to the property’s natural gas line. They can be mounted on walls or directed downward from the ceiling of a covered patio. Some can even be recessed flush with the surface.

Enjoying a Well-Equipped Patio

A patio by itself is just a flat area where people might occasionally sit and chat. Add a grill, and it becomes a hub for gatherings. With a commercial-grade grill like the PGS T-Series, the gathering space can accommodate larger groups. The food can be better and more abundant, and the good times can expand beyond just mealtime.

Introducing patio heaters transforms the outdoor area into a new “room” within the building. Like a game room or meeting room, it provides a communal space where residents can entertain friends and family. With a safe and easy-to-use grill, many residents can prepare their own delicious meals, while others can enjoy meals prepared by guests or staff members.

With the right arrangement of patio heaters, no one needs to bundle up and retreat indoors when temperatures drop. The patio remains a usable space even as autumn approaches.

When seniors and their families tour potential living facilities, they look for places where familiar comforts aren’t sacrificed. For many, hosting barbecues and gatherings on the patio was an integral part of their social life. They’ll want to live somewhere they can continue enjoying outdoor cooking and spending time with loved ones in a pleasant outdoor setting.