Have you come across a great CCRC?

[W2R]

I helped my friend with Parkinson’s disease find a very nice place that could adjust to his changing needs. He started in a independent living apartment. Now he moved to a assisted living apartment because he had a episode with his afib and had a small stroke. In AL they manage his medications, dress him, help him with the bathroom and getting in and out of bed. He has his privacy and dignity but wears a pendant and hits the button when he needs help. Staff is nice and it’s a beautiful older place that is meticulously maintained.

How did you find it? Sounds wonderful.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Yes he has the money to pay for it. I found it by researching online and then taking him to visit the top 5 I picked.

 

[Koolau]

Same thing happens at Naval airfields. They were built in the middle of nowhere for a reason. Naval aviators practice landing a LOT. And we are low and noisy. When a carrier is getting ready to deploy, there will be 6+ aircraft in the pattern from 0800 to 0200.

Then people decide to move in under the pattern and complain about all the noise. Idiots.

I lived under the pattern at Cecil Field and always enjoyed the sound of freedom.

I'm sure what gave me my interest in aviation (leading eventually to my PP license) was living under the landing pattern for our local airport. 6 or more times a day, a WWII era C47 (converted to a DC3) would fly over so low it felt as if I could reach up and touch it. Then my parents rented an apartment to a Korean vet who was on the GI bill getting his commercial hours in flying those same DC3s. As often as I could corner him, I'd ask him about flying and if he could see our house when he flew over his wife and their new baby. He COULD. What a time to be alive. I miss the old noisy prop planes.

So when we moved to Kāneʻohe I used to go watch the C-17s and P-3s shooing landings at MCBH. Heh, heh, in my late 60s I was still fascinated. Still am in my 70s.

Thanks for the memories and aloha.


Returning you now...

 

[John Galt III]

We have been researching also. Some of the contract terms are appalling. Some places seem reasonably fair. I am leaning toward the non-buy in full service places after reading the contracts but there were a few I thought seemed to be structured favorably. My top CCRC choice for us was:
https://www.homesteadvillage.org/about-us

I liked their 'Home Care' program where you can hire help through them to stay in your own home.
https://www.homesteadvillage.org/home-care/
If you are in an apt. you can convert to assisted living and stay in the same apartment, no moving. I like this also.

They also had alot of gluten free menu items printed on the menu. Very important for those of us with special diets.

Many places I looked at required you to move to the next level of residence to get additional help. This means the facility gets another buy-in, and often they don't have to give you your refund yet, if you bought in at a refundable level. I didn't like the motivation this gave them. If they had a budget shortfall, pick a few people to move to a higher level whether they needed it or not, and get a cash infusion.

One place in Washington State said they wouldn't allow you to receive benevolent care if you ran out of money and had hired in-home help. What?!?

Several places charged you excessive fees whenever you moved residences. So $10K to go from your cottage to apt. Another $10K to go to assisted living. Another $10K to go to memory care. Another $10K to go to skilled nursing. This was on top of a hefty entrance fee. Any place pulling this stunt was taken off my list. For two people progressing through the facility this would really add up.

The one thing that became clear after reading a number of contracts and disclosure statements was that there was no commonality. Even when comparing type A to type A.

For any place you are seriously considering get a copy of their disclosure statement, contract and residential handbook. Read every word of them. Some places seemed to have terms that advocated for the residents. Other's had terms that felt like every single term was in favor of the facility and nothing was in the resident's favor.

On the entrance fee matter. My mom's entrance fee is 90% refundable to the heirs. But the fine print is that it is the lesser of the actual entrance fee paid by the entrant, and the next resident's entrance fee.

So if the next resident has an entrance fee lower than Mom's entrance fee, the heirs get 90% of the lesser amount. The ccrc decides what the entrance fee is.

Interestingly, the monthly rent has gone up 50% since Mom moved in 7 years ago, but the entrance fee for her unit has gone down 10%.

The 'lesser of' clause is clearly stated in the contract, but not in any of the promotional materials.

Just another thing to think about !

 

[JoeWras]

I just worry about the finality of it all, especially if you have a large buy in. What could change in 25 years? A lot.

So on the "cult site" bogleheads (ha ha, see other thread), someone is bringing up the fact that their CCRC has found a clause and way to change the contract, and it involves getting rid of their nursing section. Bummer!
https://bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=383920

 

[audreyh1]

That is indeed disturbing.

 

[Teacher Terry]

My friend’s ccrc didn’t have a entrance fee.

 

[JoeWras]

My friend’s ccrc didn’t have a entrance fee.

As mentioned earlier in the thread, there are different types of CCRCs that range from no entrance to (nearly) fully paid ahead.

 

[Scuba]

Many CCRC’s have been getting rid of or significantly scaling down their skilled nursing operations as it is very difficult to operate them profitably any more. Reimbursement to the provider for services has declined, while costs continue to increase. Even the not-for-profits have to make some money long term to stay financially healthy.

 

[bmcgonig]

I came across this person, Jack Cumming. He’s lived in a CCRC since 2006 and writes about the “Senior Living” business. He’s 85 and still quite active, and seeming a prolific writer of articles for this website.

Anyway. This one caught my eye. He’s writing about a fellow CCRC dweller who has written a self published book about his life in a CCRC. The title is a little dark, but apparently the book is quite positive.


https://www.seniorlivingforesight.net/life-in-the-old-folks-home-a-very-personal-story/


Another article he wrote about him doing some traveling to a conference. He’s very up on technology etc. But his legs are giving up. I enjoyed reading it and hope I’m as active both mentally and physically at 85.


https://www.seniorlivingforesight.net/old-guy-travel-notes/