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CCRC Continuing Care Retirement Communities

Commune for Seniors Goes Beyond Materialism

aadmin — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 19:11:56 +0000

The Fellowship Community’s adult home offers a wealth of opportunities for an aging population looking for an alternative to traditional assisted living retirement.

Located in Chesnut Ridge, New York, bordering New Jersey, and only 30 miles from Manhattan, the commune-like setting maintains a farm, a dairy barn with 10 cows, a candle shop, a print shop, a metal shop, a wood shop, and a pottery studio.

ABCNews describes the community as a collection of about 130 men, women and children. Founded in 1966 it's a setting for seniors and aging baby boomers.

A Part of Life - Birth and Death

Administrator Ann Scharff told ABCNews: "We provide a space in which people can prepare to die in a way that is accepted and nourishing to them and fraught with meaning.” Scharff added “it’s not something you run away from, but it’s part of the whole spectrum of life, just as birth is part of life and is prepared for.”

The commune is based on Rudolf Steiner's principles of anthroposophy centered on inner development for those who wish to bring their inner work to benefit the wider world. Some residents enter The Fellowship with a firm grasp of Steiner's philosophy; others learn it over time.

Going Beyond Materialism

Helpers assist the elderly with meals, bathing, and medication. Rather than expecting to being catered-to residents, the seniors help maintain the grounds, do farm work and contribute to the commune's sustainability.

Will Bosch, head of the community's board of trustees told ABCNews, "Communal life and work appeals to people who are dismayed with the materialism of the world and are trying to get above it."

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Oklahoma retirement home builds tornado shelter for residents

aadmin — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 19:25:55 +0000

For residents of ‘Tornado Alley,’ a wide swath of the central United States stretching from Texas to Iowa, springtime brings tornados and the possibility of life threatening winds and property damage.

But one Oklahoma assisted living community isn’t waiting for a major storm to hit before planning for the safety of its residents.

As reported by The Norman Transcript, the community, called Fiddlers Green, has already completed construction on a shelter which can be used for the roughly 70 residents of Fiddlers Green in the event of a tornado.

And although the shelter is above ground, residents told the newspaper they are confident it will offer all the protection they need if a tornado arrives in their area.

“I saw them build it. There is 26,000 pounds of steel reinforcement in it,” resident Maurine Garton told the newspaper. “I’m proud of it. After the landscaping is done, it will be safe and comfortable, and it will be an asset to our community.”

Residents voted to develop the structure in October, 2012, construction began in December, and the facility was completed in mid-February.

Fiddlers Green is located in Norman, Oklahloma, a city of about 150,000, 20 miles south of Oklahoma City.

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CCRC Continuing Care Retirement Communities

Portland Retirement Residence Goes Green

aadmin — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:26:27 +0000

Mirabella Portland Oregon is a youthful community at heart. Environmental concerns are a major driving force behind this the urban community.

It's LEED certification means it has achieved 'green' status. The U.S. Green Building Council certifies that a senior living community has made a commitment to become environmentally- conscience and verifies governmental standards.

The cutting edge community has gained a reputation of one of America's best assisted living communities. Comforts and conveniences like kayak parking, golf gear storage and a woodworking bench might seem unlikely to outsiders, but not to residents.

Mirabella is expensive. Entrance fees range from $260,000 up to $700,000, and monthly fees of $3,500 to $4,200, plus $854 for a second person. Still, the occupancy rate is 95, reports Associated Press.

Cutting edge, it houses 220 apartments of participatory retirement residents who create novel projects, sit on committees and plan their own events. The bonhomie of the residents is palpable, described by a resident to AP "as people traveling the road of life.”

A Portland State University gerontologist told the AP, "Certainly older people can be seen as stewards.” For more information on eco-friendly retirement residences, read: Can you tell this retirement home is ‘eco-friendly?’

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Austin Texas Develops Senior Urban Village

aadmin — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 17:22:49 +0000

The board of the Rebekah Baines Johnson Center in Austin, Texas, is looking for a partner to redevelop 18 acres of prime real estate overlooking Lady Bird Lake. The American-Stateman wrote that the housing project is intended for low-income senior citizens in East Austin.

The center also provides housing for people with disabilities. The increase in units will provide new residential, retail and commercial development.

Austin Geriatric Center, a nonprofit corporation, which owns and manages the Rebekah Baines Johnson Center, told the American-Statesman that it will seek proposals from developers with proven track record and finances to assist the board in the redevelopment of the site.

Nearby diversification via grocery stores, restaurants, a health clinic and skilled nursing facilities, will create a veritable senior housing urban village. The goal is to incorporate retail and commercial development for residents and the surrounding community.

The city is creating a master plan for 100 acres of green space near the RBJ project which could galvanize developer interest on the national level. The Rebekah Baines Johnson Center opened in 1972 and was named for President Lyndon B. Johnson's mother.

An Austin real estate expert noted that the location and size of the parcel should enable the development of another catalytic project on the near east side.

Many Assisted Living and Continuing Care residences are moving towards the urban village concept.

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Ontario seniors get safety boost

aadmin — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 15:27:39 +0000

There’s a new good reason to live in an Ontario assisted living community – in fact, 20 million new good reasons. As reported by the Toronto Star newspaper, Ontario’s government has earmarked 20 million Canadian dollars (about 20.3 million dollars USD), to update the province’s older assisted living communities with up-to-date fire prevention systems.

According to the Star, the province’s action comes as a result of the newspaper’s report in 2012 about the dangers of senior living communities without proper sprinklers and extinguishers.

The money won’t just be used to install sprinkler systems, but will also be invested in staff training as well as updating electrical and mechanical systems in the communities.

“We’ve not only regulated retirement homes, we’re going to make them safer,” Linda Jeffries, Ontario’s Minister of Labour Minister Responsible for Seniors, told the newspaper.

The funds announced by Jeffries are part of a larger strategy to help improve the health and safety of the province’s seniors.

Another proposal introduced requires Ontario assisted living communities to report any incidents where a resident is sent to hospital, as well as requiring communities to report the presence of any hazards which may present a risk to residents, that is at the facility for at least six hours.

What do you think of these proposals? Will they help safeguard the health and safety of seniors, or does more need to be done?

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Assisted Living Facilities in Las Vegas are Expected to Boom

aadmin — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 19:43:02 +0000

Las Vegas and all of Southern Nevada will undergo a growth in assisted living facilities and ACOs (accountable care organizations) which comes into effect this month as part of the Affordable Health Act, The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

Stacy Scheer, an expert in medical real estate properties at Colliers International told the Review-Journal that new developments will spur an expansion in Southern Nevada's assisted living market. As well, large patient-centered ACOs will partner with small practices and sole practitioners. "The need for skilled nursing and assisted living facilities is rising," Scheer said.

Las Vegas hospitals expect to act on the medical boom by expanding facilities. $68 million in construction at MountainView Hospital will add a new emergency room and an ICU. 326 beds will be added to the St. Rose Dominican Hospital at its Siena campus.

A demand for more doctors' offices, hospitals, outpatient clinics and long-term care facilities will perpetuate the nationwide development of 60 million square feet of medical real estate. Many physician organizations are investing in expansion and cost reduction by recommending the building of retirement residences alongside hospitals.

Assisted Living and Continuing Care Residences are on the rise throughout North America.

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Hurricane Sandy helps New York seniors move into retirement homes

aadmin — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 19:00:54 +0000

Hurricane Sandy hit the northeast United States hard. The storm killed more than 250 people, and caused an estimated $65 billion dollars in damages.

More than two months later, the effects of Sandy are still being felt.

As reported by the Associated Press (AP) newswire, one of the groups most affected by the storm is the region’s seniors, but Sandy’s winds and destruction did offer many seniors a silver lining: it provided a much-needed sign that many seniors would be happier and better off living in a senior living community.

“When your home is leaking and flooding and you're sitting in the dark, you come to realize you no longer have the skills of survivorship,” Dr. Gisele Wolf-Klein of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System told AP.

One New York assisted living chain, Bristal Assisted Living, saw new residents move into their communities in the immediate aftermath of the storm. One of them was 80 year-old widow Marion Johnston, who lived alone in a Long Island condominium.

Luckily, she left her home before the storm hit and destroyed her building, and since then, she has made her new home in the town of Massapequa.

Have you ever lived through a hurricane or tornado? Did it cause you to re-evaluate your housing choices? Tell us about it in the comment section below.

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Blue Santa Helps Needy Seniors in Colorado

aadmin — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 14:28:03 +0000

In Fort Morgan, CO, volunteers broke with tradition when Santa wore a Blue Santa outfit to pay a Christmas cheer visit to local seniors at Hillcrest Apartments. He and his young elves bore boxes of food and toiletries, $50 gift cards and gifts according to The Fort Morgan Times. Blankets, gloves, hats, scarves and bags were also donated.

Also, $1,000 was raised to help needy senior citizens.

The Fort Morgan Police Department's Blue Santa program has been in charge of the drive for almost 20 years. The Blue Santa delivers the gifts, along with young children as elves. The Blue Santa program offers food and gifts to needy senior citizens.

The police department sorts through the donations, puts them in packages and hauls them to the homes of the seniors. This year, several young people accompanied the Blue Santa.

People living in rural areas have higher rates of poverty than their urban counterparts. Rural areas tend to have a higher percentage of elderly in the population than in cities, since the young migrate to jobs in cities. Fort Morgan is in the Northeast corner of Colorado and is primarily rural.

Santa and his young elves love to visit Assisted Living and Continuing Care residences.

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