MOSES LAKE — Tana Gall, president of Merrill Gardens retirement communities, said she had entirely the wrong idea when she started working for a senior living facility.

“When I got into the industry, I thought I was going to do nursing homes,” Gall said during a panel discussion at the Granger Cobb Institute for Senior Living at Washington State University. “That was what I knew of senior living. And I remember going into my first community, and it was for me an ‘aha’ moment.”

Gall was one of three speakers on the panel talking about career opportunities in the field of senior living, which they said is growing rapidly, and will continue to grow. The panel was sponsored by the Washington State University College of Business.

Nancy Swanger, founder and director of the Granger Cobb Institute, estimated that the industry will need more than 1 million new employees as a new wave of retirees opts for senior living communities.

But panelists said there’s a misperception problem — the old picture of a nursing home, a place with little engagement and little to do. Panelist Patrick Dooley, president and chief development officer for Milestone Retirement Communities, said his brother summed it up by calling a nursing home “that place that serves bologna and applesauce.”

Dooley said the first senior living community he visited offered a high level of service. It had a quality menu, housekeeping services, activities, even a concierge for residents who wanted to travel. He learned something from it, he said.

“I think the biggest misconception is that people come to us to die. They don’t. They come to us to live,” Dooley said.

Washington State offers students a major within its business school focused on managing senior living facilities. Swanger is its founding director and she said when she was approached about starting the Granger Cobb Institute, she wasn’t sure about the connection between business and senior living. But as she looked into it, it was a good fit for the hospitality school, she said. The hospitality school is part of the business college.

Panelists said students don’t always realize the potential for careers in the senior living industry when they’re looking at post-college options. Opportunities are out there, and Gall said she expected them to keep growing.

When students now in their 20s reach their 40s, the coming wave of retirees will be living in the facilities managed, and even owned, by the students graduating now, Gall said.

But they need to know how to take advantage of those opportunities, Swanger said, highlighting the importance of training.

“At the end of the day, these are still businesses and people need to understand how to read a profit and loss statement. Granger Cobb used to always say, ‘No margin, no mission.’ You can have the best intentions and the things that you want to do, but if you’re not running a profitable business … it doesn’t matter what you want to do,” Swanger said.

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached via email at [email protected].