For many boomer daughters, just as their adult children begin to leave the nest, they are greeted with new demands—the need to find care and support for an aging parent. Navigating the maze of services for older adults (and tackling the patchwork of expenses) is no easy task.
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There is one option though that is, in my opinion, too often overlooked, the continuing care retirement community or “CCRC.” Before you shrug it off as just another “institutional” model of care with another weird acronym, and one that you may not be able to afford, consider the facts.
Akin to a hotel on a pretty college campus, a CCRC offers older adults (average age of entry is 78) the opportunity to age in one place for the balance of their lives. While the 2,000+ CCRCs spread across the country vary significantly in terms of their offerings, they share three common threads. A CCRC offers independent housing (typically beautiful cottages and condo-style apartments), leisure opportunities (golf, tennis, swimming pool, spa/fitness center, lectures, workshops etc.) and three levels of health care (residential living, assisted living and nursing care).
So as a person’s health needs change, they can move to relevant levels of care. For example, if a resident is hospitalized for pneumonia, they can access healthcare easily on one campus, and assuming they get well again, can move back to the independent living area. Through all of these changes, they enjoy a wonderful support system where they have friends who are going through the same things (such as the death of a spouse).
You don’t have to be among the very wealthy either to buy into a decent CCRC. Many older adults find themselves wanting to downsize in the late 70s/early 80s and will take the equity from a home sale as their one-time CCRC entry fee and then make monthly payments thereafter. These fees vary by community, depending on the type of housing and services they offer. In return they receive housing, residential services, amenities, and unlimited health-related services (with little increase in their monthly payments) for the rest of their life. Isn’t that peace of mind? And one-stop shopping? And a place you can feel secure about moving your mother and father into when they are tired of maintaining a house and a yard? For more information, contact CARF.org.
Amanda Sobanet