RetirementHomes.com - CCRC Continuing Care Retirement Communities

Standards of Care in Long Term Care in Canada

aadmin — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 11:59:49 +0000

Everyone knows that the senior population is growing fast. By 2051 one in four people in the population is likely to be a senior over the age of 65. Yes, this will put a strain on our healthcare system, but this has been known for years yet what has been done to prepare? Very little!

Working in retirement home in Scarborough, Ontario, I see this every day. On a daily basis we get phone calls from social workers and families saying that they need immediate care for a senior. We spend a great deal of time educating families who are told that their loved one is ready for discharge from hospital and they don’t know where to turn. They end up at our home often with very little information and are distressed, confused and frankly without being given the information they need to make an informed decision.

Retirement homes in Canada are now regulated by the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority (RHRA) and prior to this many were voluntarily members of ORCA that provided standards of care and regular inspections to ensure quality standards were met. I agree, not all retirement homes are affordable but plenty are, and with tax credits available to seniors living in retirement homes it is a viable choice for today’s seniors. The cost of a bed in a LTC facility is approximately $2875 per month, retirement homes can offer private accommodation for not much more than this. Long Term Care is dealing with much more chronic conditions now than ever before, providing care for our most fragile seniors. Retirement homes are a place of fun and vitality and can be a great option.

Retirement homes will never be the same as living in your own home, but it can be the next best thing – with full activity calendars, nursing staff on hand, accessibility to doctors it can provide the social aspect of life that many of today’s seniors are lacking by living at home alone.

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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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Connecticut Retirement Community Holds Holiday Toy Drive

aadmin — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 13:55:56 +0000

The annual holiday toy drive benefiting the Southbury Needy Fund was a great success for The Watermark at East Hill Connecticut Retirement Community.

New and unwrapped toys for children in the community were generously donated. Tax deductible monetary donations were also accepted to acquire college books for students faced with the high cost of text books.

Michelle Bettigole, Executive Director of the Connecticut Retirement Community told ConnecticutPlus.com that she was delighted to have its residents, guests and associates contribute to this holiday toy drive. “All of us at The Watermark at East Hill would like to extend a big thanks to those who participate in the toy drive, helping to make the holidays special for those in need.”

The Southbury Needy Fund is a year-round support fund for families in need. One hundred percent of donations support local families.

The Watermark at East Hill offers a full spectrum of care: assisted living, nursing care, Alzheimer care - in one retirement community. Also, it houses Watermark University, a senior learning institute with a variety of innovative brain and body fitness courses - computer, cooking, art, music, literature, Yoga, Tai Chi and more.

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Aging in Place and Its Implications for Senior Living Communities

aadmin — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:01:17 +0000

No matter how one defines a senior living community – as a full continuum CCRC or MLRC, as an IL/AL/MC community or IL/AL – seniors’ desire to age in place has impacted both the business and care model. A trend best described as “acuity creep” has seniors eschewing earlier life-style moves into retirement communities until a physical need arises, foregoing transitions from IL to AL or Skilled Nursing until absolutely required by regulations, and changing the mix, look and feel of retirement communities across the nation.

The reasons for this shift seem to be primarily economic and emotional. The economic crisis has depleted seniors’ wealth through loss of investments and loss of value in primary real estate. It has also brought with it a sense of fear and uncertainty as it relates to the future. Seniors are less inclined to leave their own homes until it is absolutely necessary.

Consequently, the average age of a resident has risen in most senior living communities over the last ten years. As they age, they are requiring more services. A recent anecdotal survey of operators indicates that many are providing “assisted-living-lite” services to many residents in independent living. The idea that a resident transitions from IL to AL then to either MC or SNF services is less and less the norm. Many are bypassing the AL transition entirely and remaining in their IL residences. When not bypassing levels of care, residents are utilizing greater levels of services and resources. Communities are responding by establishing home care service affiliates to provide bathing, medication reminders and companion services and the like to an increasing number of residents. On the one hand providers are to be commended for meeting the needs of their residents.

However, that flexibility is not without risk. As seniors age in place concerns for their safety also rise, as well as the risk of increased liability. In addition, aging in place causes an IL community to begin to look and feel a little more like an AL community. This could decrease the appeal of the community to that next generation of potential residents, now put off by the more frequent reminders of their own mortality. A third factor revolves around pricing; many IL communities were built in the last ten years with an increasing array of amenities which may not be perceived as necessary by the new customer. The pricing models based on these higher fixed costs may need to be revisited as well.

By most accounts, aging in place is here to stay. It will be interesting to see how providers deal with the necessary changes to their business and care models in the coming years in order to remain viable and caring communities.

By Keith Kreidel, Haskell Senior Living Solutions

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Seniors set down Memories in Life Stories

aadmin — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 15:38:16 +0000

Some of the greatest literary works have been autobiographies. The Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau comes to mind, as do the accounts of Primo Levi. On a popular level, there are the memoirs of modern musicians like Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards. Celebrity autobiographies flood bookstore shelves and e-book downloads. President Bill Clinton accomplished a second career with the popular publication of his life story.

But you don't have to be a famous historical figure or modern celeb to write the story of your life. And writing a memoir can be therapeutic especially to seniors in retirement, who have lots of experience and spare time.

“A lot of older folks want to put their life into a shape that is easy to understand and a great way to do that is through a short book or memoir. They’re so great because their perspective is so long. To hear the stories about the ice man or the guy next store who sold eggs — all of this lost culture. It’s just so wonderful,” said Bill Roorbach to The State-Journal Register in Springfield, IL. Roorbach is the author of “Writing Life Stories,” a guide to writing memoirs.

Writing down memories can be healthy, balancing suppressed emotions and offering a great form of self-expression to residents in retirement settings, like assisted living and continuing care.

“There’s something about the visual memory that’s fun and easy and nonthreatening. And what happens is that all kinds of memories rise up that don’t necessarily come up if you were to just to sit down and write,” Roorbach told the media source.

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Gardening Offers Hope in Retirement to Active Virginia Man

aadmin — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:02:00 +0000

Gardening offers a wonderful opportunity to get away from everyday troubles, letting the mind wander, getting the hands dirty in fresh earth. And it doesn't have to be a large garden. Any size will do.

Mr. Kelly Burgess, a resident in the Virginia-based assisted living unit at Lake Prince Woods continuing care retirement community (CCRC), attests to gardening’s life-enriching values. Raised on a farm, and through homespun handy craftsmanship, he utilizes a small garden patch on the residence to grow an abundance of fruits and vegetables including strawberries, cantaloupe, watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers.

Also, the crafty gardener is prevailing against his arch nemesis - rabbits. A fence built with his own hands is warding off the furry foes. His secret defence is to spread cayenne pepper on the ground.

Psychologists acknowledge that working in a garden helps to lower stress and make life much healthier. It helps people stay physically active within an established time frame and is beneficial for retired people who lack the familiar structure of the working day. Gardening is an excellent recreational resource in continuing care communities because residents with limited mobility can participate – and there's always the fresh air. Case in point – Kelly Burgess.

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Choosing the right continuing care community

aadmin — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 13:04:05 +0000

A continuing care community (CRC) has an advantage over other retirement homes because seniors can move into a new area and spend all of their golden years there. Medical and personal needs can all be provided for at a CRC.

Seniors residing in these facilities can start in an independent living home - such as a cottage - and move from there to different facilities as they age, according to Garner News.

Older adults who choose these living arrangements may find it easier to keep can form deep, long-lasting relationships with other residents and staff.

Each older adult should be sure to ask themselves when it's right to move to a CRC. The news source suggests that those who are having difficulty maintaining a big home and yard or need more assistance in daily tasks may want to consider this step.

When looking at different CRCs, be sure to look at each level of care. That way, seniors can be sure they will be receiving the best possible assistance throughout their stay.

One advantage to CRCs is that couples can also stay together as they age, even if they require different amounts of care.

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When a couple needs different levels of care

aadmin — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 13:04:02 +0000

No one ages the same and as one enters their golden years, this problem may become even more pertinent. Much of this is because seniors will require different levels of care, so while one individual may be fine at an independent living facility, a spouse will require a nursing home.

This is exactly what happened to one couple from Cambridge, Massachusetts, according to The New York Times.

A professor moved into an assisted living facility with his wife, but over time she started needing extra care because of her dementia. She moved to another home and he stayed behind.

The 87-year-old professor is now living alone for the first time in 55 years, but he is coping by visiting his wife for lunch, walks and conversations.

While home care may be a temporary solution to the problem of different requirements, the news source suggests that round-the-clock nurses may start to become more expensive than a facility.

Emily Saltz, an industry expert, states that continuing care communities can offer the best way for older adults to age together. This kind of facility offers independent living options for those in good health, but can also take care of seniors with chronic health conditions.

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Retirement communities offer wide spectrum of services

aadmin — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 13:04:03 +0000

Older adults who are looking to get the most out of their golden years may want to consider moving to a retirement community, if only for an improved social life.

"There's the lonely factor. We take that away. These have become small communities, safe and secure," William Day, president of St. Barnabas Health System, told Pennsylvania Caregiver Magazine.

The advantage to these continuing care facilities is that a senior can remain in the same area as their needs change with age.

Many communities offer everything from independent living facilities to skilled nursing care.

From a luxurious villa to a one-bedroom apartment, senior living options can also accommodate older adults who have saved their entire lives for retirement or those who are simply looking for a modest home where they can meet new friends.

Generally, retirement communities have a central area for dining, shopping, beauty and banking services, in addition to exercise and entertainment buildings.

One option that is gaining in popularity is to live on college campuses. Here, retirees can use university resources, attend classes and even go to sports games to root for the home team, according to The New York Times.

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