In an article on Forbes USA, Ashlea Ebeling states that moving into a continuing care retirement community requires a big investment and a lot of research. She invites us to ask the right questions “…Are you (or your aging parent) the kind of person who likes to plan for all contingencies? Then you might want to consider a continuing care retirement community–a development that usually includes independent apartments or town homes for spry seniors; assisted living units for those who need some help; plus a nursing home…”
Tags: age in place, Aging, Aging in Place, Assisted Living at Home, independent living for seniors, Living Well Assisted Living at Home, Living Well best practices to age in place, senior wellness
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Excellent article! The majority of people when shopping for a ccrc look at how pretty it is and how much it will cost, yet don’t always consider many other attributes that contribute to their overall experience.
I would also ask to see the last two years of financial statements. Take them to your financial advisor, CPA to review with you and draft questions to ask management. Make sure the community has good cash flow.
Secondly, I would ask to see the occupancy report for the last two years in a month by month format. Ask questions about low occupancy percentages. You want the occupancy to be stabelized in the 90-95% range.
Good article. It is especially important to consider graduated care – whether or not, for example, you are effectively excluded when your care needs grow. With graduated care you can transition without necessarily losing friends or general amenities – subject to your care needs of course.
For example, moving into independent living is a great choice first of all, but as time passes this may become less suitable. You may find that more time could be spent enjoying life and less cleaning which, due to the frailties of age or the effects of illness, have become more significant. So a transition within the same location into a serviced apartment might be an advantage. Later, as your care needs increase, the same type of transition into low-care hostel-type accommodation might occur, and finally into high-care.
Such transitioning is not available everywhere. Many sites offer one type of living accommodation only. Transitioning from independent living into low-level hostel accommodation may not be possible within the same facility.
It is well to understand what is available and to factor that in to the balancing equation. Your needs tomorrow are important considerations for today as well. Leaving behind friends – and sometimes spouse – because you have moved from one type of care into another can be a daunting, frightening and isolating experience.