The decision to move into a life-assisted community can be both an exciting yet difficult experience for both the retiree and their family. The perfect place can be found, it will just take a little bit of looking around.
For more than 30 years, Mayo Clinic’s Charter House has been the choice for those who value an active and independent lifestyle, as well as the convenience of maintenance-free living. Get in touch today!
Levels of Care and Lifestyle
Before you move to any life-assisted community, you’ll need to conduct extensive research about your options. There are several types of retirement communities available:
Active Adult
Active Adult is for older adults who are seeking a low-maintenance lifestyle but don’t require access to senior care services. It’s geared for adults who are capable of managing daily household and personal care tasks on their own without any support from an aide or trained healthcare professional.
Independent Living
Independent living residential communities offer an active lifestyle and freedom from the hassles of home maintenance. Options include apartments, freestanding cottages or villas, duplexes, and townhomes. At Charter House, we have several floor plans available.
Assisted Living Communities
Assisted living communities help residents maintain their independence while providing assistance with the activities of daily living. This can mean help with eating, bathing, dressing, and maintaining good hygiene. People in assisted living typically pay monthly rent for a private apartment or room and an additional fee for the level of care needed. At Charter House, those accessing Assisted Living are moving from our Independent Living.
Group Homes
Group homes are residential homes that provide a homelike environment for usually under 10 seniors to reside. Some are licensed assisted living, while others do not provide personal care assistance but do provide support. The homes have round-the-clock care and provide activities and homemade cooking.
Memory Care & Nursing Homes
Both memory care and nursing homes provide 24-hour care, supervision, and meals. Staff members also help with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, and medication management. Memory care — sometimes called dementia care — is specialized for people with memory loss. This focuses on enhancing the quality of life for people with dementia in a secure environment to minimize confusion and the dangers of wandering.
Costs
It’s important to plan early for the anticipated costs of living in older age. The rise in costs is mainly due to the increase in demand for communities that provide services. More people are opting for these types of facilities because they offer a good quality of life with reliable services and a better standard of living.
A long-term care insurance policy can be a responsible way to offset the costs of long term care. It can provide you with peace of mind as you age knowing that part or all of your care costs will be covered for a period of time.
Selling your home can be a viable option for helping you cover the cost of assisted living. When calculating how much you can make from a sale, you’ll need to take into account realtor fees, your outstanding mortgage balance, and average sale prices in your area.
Medicare
Medicare will pay for twenty days of care at 100% of the cost for Skilled Nursing Facilities. For the eighty days following, Medicare requires care recipients to pay a portion of the daily cost. If you subscribe to a Medicare Supplemental Insurance plan, the secondary insurance will pay the remaining cost for the last eighty days of coverage. Neither Medicare nor Medicare Supplemental Insurance will pay for skilled nursing care after the 100-day maximum is reached.
With the proper research into the levels of care available, you’ll be able to find the community that best suits your needs. Calculating the cost of the sale of your home can also help you decide on the facility you can choose.
The benefits of life-assisted communities are many – they can provide you with the independence you desire while still having the safety net provided by caretakers
-Millie Jones