Aging in Place: A person can spend the rest of his life in a Continuing Care Retirement Community, moving between levels of care as needed. Continuing care retirement communities are retirement communities with accommodations for independent living, assisted living, and nursing home care, offering residents a continuum of care.
With all of the options in senior living, it can be overwhelming to decide what type of care is best for you or a loved one. From nursing homes to assisted living and senior apartments – there are many different levels of care to choose from and not all retirement communities offer the same variety of services and support.
The main thing that distinguishes a Continuing Care Retirement Community from a traditional nursing home or assisted living facility is that they provide multiple levels of care at one geographic location. This typically includes long term care, skilled nursing care, assisted living and senior apartments. Some communities also have private homes or condos on the same campus for truly independent living within the larger retirement community.
There are a couple of situations in which this type of setting is ideal for our clients:
- For married couples in which one spouse is healthy and independent while the other person requires nursing care. Each person might receive different levels of support within the same community.
- If you/your loved one requires more care in the future, they can stay within the same care system and be cared for by familiar staff. This is particularly helpful when rehabilitation is necessary – residents can go to the skilled nursing unit for therapy, or a brief stay and then return to assisted living or senior apartment afterwards. Residents of the community often get priority placement in facilities where a rehabilitation bed might be hard to come by.
- In cases of dementia, this limits the need to introduce your loved one to a completely new place and entirely new staff if/when dementia progresses. Moving within the same community might involve less of an adjustment than moving to an entirely new facility.
It may also be easier for you/your loved one to receive additional care and services in a senior apartment (and stay there longer) if you live within a system that has a lot of services for residents with higher needs. For example, you might be able to have meals delivered because they are connected with a full service kitchen, etc. Or therapy services can be provided in independent apartment by staff from the Occupational and Physical therapy departments.
Like other residential care settings, there are a variety of ways to pay for the services and support of Continuing Care Retirement Communities. Some services on a private pay basis, while long term care insurance, Medicare and Medicaid may pay for others. Often, there may be wait lists for senior apartments in these type of desirable communities – so planning ahead can be helpful. Some of our clients place their name on a wait list long before they plan to move, even years ahead of time.
For additional information about Cleveland area Continuing Care Retirement Communities, please contact our Care Coordinators. We are happy to provide support and guidance through each stage of the search and decision making process and help you determine the best plan for your personal needs and financial situation.