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Anyone looking at one of these? (I mean the ones where you can start off with independent living then, move to assisted living, then transfer to nursing care if you need it. )
I have friends whose parents bought into one in their 60's, I'd guess. Well before any major health issues. Now the mom has died and and moved into a smaller unit.
His health care EVERYTHING is provided on site. It's a complete self sustained/contained campus. Multiple buildings and house types.....bunglalows/cottages...apts, nursing, etc
The buy-in is about 250K a person, plus the monthly rent/fee. This particular company is run by Quakers so the 'approach and mission' is not an issue really, in terms of quality of care level of services etc.
Your thoughts or experiences with 'continuing care' communities?
My parents moved to a CCRC in their 80s. Theirs was run by Mennonites. (Most residents were not Mennonites and there was no proselytizing.) They were still independent and had a lovely single-family home. They were happy there and made several good friends. My mother was in the nursing home for 4 years after a stroke and my father was cared for there for a few weeks during his final illness. I felt they received excellent care. I am definitely planning on moving to a CCRC myself when I feel I am unable or unsafe living entirely independently. The trick will be to find just the right community when the time comes.
i am definitely considering this option, although the buy-in is a lot less expensive than $250,000. the one which is most interesting to me is fairly close to where i am now, and i could probably live the life i have now in that location, if i choose to do so.
several people in the independent units there have taken classes of mine at the nearby life long learning program where i teach. two were fairly recent residents and one had been there several years. all were in their early to late seventies, and all were very content with their choices. the comments heard most frequently from them was the relief from responsibilities of a house and yard as well as a sense of "being set " for the rest of their lives, with appropriate care available. also voiced was the satisfaction of being in a community setting, where people informally looked out for each other.
although i'm certain there are some negative issues and some unhappy residents in this facility, on the four or five times i've visited and had a chance to talk with residents, i heard most often that they felt very much at home and comfortable with their choices. all of the independent residents were still very active within the ccrc and in the community, and in some cases, continued to travel fairly extensively.
it may not be a choice for everyone ,but for some it offers continued independence in a secure enviornment.
DH and I seriously considered a CCC. In the end we purchased in a co-op with an older membership and if need be many residents 'network' service providers.
Just as in condos and co-ops a facility's financial strength is very important.
A relative moved into Twin Towers in Cincinnati. It is a wonderful place with many activities for active residents as well as excellent care for the frail.
There are several in Oregon that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.
Be aware that often a CCC cannot care for an aggressive dementia/Alzheimer's/brain injured patient.
My mom moved into a small one of these, run by the Dominicans, after her second husband died. She was quite independent but decided she didn't want even the small bother of taking care of herself in her small condo, and she knew that eventually she'd wind up in some sort of accommodation because she did NOT want to live with any of us (we're the sort of family for whom physical distance enhances relationships). She had placed my aunt at this facility many years ago, and very much liked it and the people who ran it. But the order decided to close it because the facility was under-used and they needed it for other purposes. So mom moved into another one of these, this one run by the Franciscans.
She's now in the assisted living area due to COPD combined with just plain old-age needs. She's completely out of money, having used up her pension, dad's pension, and all other assets. Her social security goes directly to the home - I believe that was the contract. Someone - I'm guessing my brother - makes sure she has spending money. She's still happy there.
I have absolutely no idea how much she paid them - she considers that sort of thing to be her own private business. And she's still compos mentis (sp?) enough to enforce that. :-)
There are some that are completely month-to-month, no buy in. However their rents are usually higher and often have no provision for continuing residency if you run out of money. They will not be charitable if you gave your $ away after moving into the community. Most facilities do an assessment of your income and assets to determine if you can afford to live there for and extended period. Determine if they will file for Medicaid if you are in a nursing unit and have exhausted your resources.
Ideally they have some skilled nursing beds so that you can return to the community after something like hip surgery.
I keep one in the back of my mind. I think it would be when/if I can't do the little driving I'd need to do around my town (everything I need is within about three miles, the very good hospital and health plan office is about eight miles). Having lived alone for most of my life, I don't think I'd want to go for the social life, although I'm sure if I moved there, I'd make it work, but I am content with semi-isolation in my dream house in the woods. I'm 61 and work full-time now. I have my eye on the Erickson community on Boston's North Shore, Brooksby Village, in Peabody. There is also an Erickson community on the South Shore, but I've never felt an affiliation with that part of the state.
The buy-in depends on the size of your unit, and current buy-in for the unit size I'd want is about $200k. Hey, indoor pool and restaurant meals. I'd go for that right now!
I can hire out most things I don't want to do now- like home maintenance, the yard, even shoveling. If I could afford a cook, I'd have one! But I do assume that, with old age, I will need to live somewhere like a continuing care place, and think it would be just fine.
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