If you are a Senior, or your parents are Seniors, and you’re trying to figure out how to navigate the journey of selling your home, staying in your home, or understanding what kind of Senior housing is available and how to pay for it, it can feel overwhelming. A lot of people who come to us know they can’t live in their house any longer but they don’t know where to go. Our book, Home to Home The Step By Step Senior Housing Guide, breaks down the options and processes involved in making the best move for yourself or the Senior in your life. Contact us to get your free copy.
Consequence number one of not understanding the Senior housing world is overpaying. It is so easy to choose a facility that is way out of your budget, or is simply has amenities you do not need, and blow through all of your savings. Even if you sell your house, it is possible to go spend all of your money too quickly. Some facilities are very expensive.
Consequence number two is, in our opinion, the most important: choosing a facility you want to live in. If have you lived your whole life and now, as a Senior, you need some extra help or care, you want to make sure that you’re at the absolute best place that you can afford to be at. You want a facility that is in the right location so your family can see you, has the right amenities, and meets any other criteria that is personally important to you. Remember to factor in the emotional aspect of any move. We know that if we had to move our parents somewhere new, we would want to choose a place where they will be happy and enjoying themselves.
Another option to consider is a facility that has multiple levels of care: independent living, assisted living and medical. These are called CCRC’s. These are very unique and people have to move in when they’re independent and still running around. Then, if they start needing some help with personal care, then that’s when the assisted aspect kicks in. Finally, if they need medical assistance, they have that available too. These types of facilities are pretty awesome because they contain all the three main types of Senior housing in one place.
What are the three main types? As mentioned above, the first type is independent. In an independent living facility, you’re on your own. You’re walking around, you’re having fun, and you just want to downsize. Sometimes people move to those because there was a death of a loved one. Some people just do not want to deal with the maintenance and all the responsibilities of owning houses and so they’re moving into a 55 and older community. They want to live around people in similar situations. There are a couple of different options within this category, such as apartments, townhouse, or garden homes. Some facilities have a lot of amenities, some of them are basically an apartment with age restrictions.
The second type is assisted. There are larger, more corporate facilities that are kind of like hotels and then there are the smaller ones that are more residential. This second type is known as Residential Assisted Living which is typically a house that’s converted to accommodate folks who need help with daily living: preparing meals, eating, getting dressed, bathing, remembering to take their medication, etc. There will always be professional staff on site and there will be some sort of care giver to resident ratio. Some of these facilities have memory care; some of them do not. Memory care is technically a subcategory of assisted living.
The third type of Senior housing is medical, usually called nursing homes. Many of these facilities have rebranded to rehabilitation facilities. These are places where residents can receive short and long term medical care. This is an option for Seniors who require medical assistance such as feeding tubes or monitored vitals but are otherwise stable and do not require hospitalization. Medical care facilities are staffed by nurses and medical professionals and are the highest level of care.
Before making any decisions about the next move for yourself or your Senior, be sure to do your research and identify the reasons behind the move. Whether you are downsizing or there has been a change in mobility, you want to be educated on the options because there are so many different options. There are some great options. There are some that are not as good. If you would like a copy of Home to Home The Step By Step Senior Housing Guide simply contact our offices. The book and workbook are full of checklists, questions, and scripts to use when touring facilities that can really help put the odds in your favor.
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