Spiky Bugger
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2014
- Messages
- 6,201
We are looking at a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC), a place where old folks move before they need Assisted Living (AL) or Nursing Home/Skilled Nursing (SNF) accommodations.
First, you bring a truckload of money, move in to the Independent Living (IL) unit…which can be a free standing house, a little cottage, a duplex, a triplex, or an apartment…and pay a not-cheap monthly fee…which includes rent, utilities, some meals in their dining room—you can buy more if you desire or go out, get delivered meals, or cook at home—bi-weekly housekeeping, annual deep cleaning, access to pool/fitness center/social activities/transportation to local shopping, all that kind of stuff.
As your needs increase, through age or infirmity or a combo, more help can be sent to you in your unit, or you can move to an AL or SNF unit if that is a better fit. IF you run out of money paying for all that help, that’s okay because that truckload of money you brought with you covers it all and you don’t have to leave.
We are looking into this because back In November, his hip went out and I broke my spine’s T-12, we couldn’t help each other and we realized that EVERYTHING here— doorways, light switches, electrical outlets, showers, exterior ramps for access to the house, counter heights, cooking facilities—would need to be remodeled for us to “age in place,” especially if we both had problems at the same time. Doing all that would probably cost less than that truckload of money, but then we’d likely STILL need human-type help at some time.
Importantly, by entering into a CCRC, MiniSue will be relieved of the stuff that my sister and I had to deal with fifteen years ago for our mother and, as we have seen here recently, DianaCox and hilary1617 while loving, caring for and caring about their parents, suddenly having to scramble and find ways to meet changing needs. It can be exhausting.
So, off we go…bravely (?) peeking at the future and wondering how to figure out how to time it all.
First, you bring a truckload of money, move in to the Independent Living (IL) unit…which can be a free standing house, a little cottage, a duplex, a triplex, or an apartment…and pay a not-cheap monthly fee…which includes rent, utilities, some meals in their dining room—you can buy more if you desire or go out, get delivered meals, or cook at home—bi-weekly housekeeping, annual deep cleaning, access to pool/fitness center/social activities/transportation to local shopping, all that kind of stuff.
As your needs increase, through age or infirmity or a combo, more help can be sent to you in your unit, or you can move to an AL or SNF unit if that is a better fit. IF you run out of money paying for all that help, that’s okay because that truckload of money you brought with you covers it all and you don’t have to leave.
We are looking into this because back In November, his hip went out and I broke my spine’s T-12, we couldn’t help each other and we realized that EVERYTHING here— doorways, light switches, electrical outlets, showers, exterior ramps for access to the house, counter heights, cooking facilities—would need to be remodeled for us to “age in place,” especially if we both had problems at the same time. Doing all that would probably cost less than that truckload of money, but then we’d likely STILL need human-type help at some time.
Importantly, by entering into a CCRC, MiniSue will be relieved of the stuff that my sister and I had to deal with fifteen years ago for our mother and, as we have seen here recently, DianaCox and hilary1617 while loving, caring for and caring about their parents, suddenly having to scramble and find ways to meet changing needs. It can be exhausting.
So, off we go…bravely (?) peeking at the future and wondering how to figure out how to time it all.
I'm a fan of barricades, myself. Good fences make for good neighbors.
