Continued from Elder Medical Care
Assisted living has come a long way since I visited my Grandmother in the
1960's. If you've paid off your house and developed even a small nest egg,
you have a lot of choices for residential assisted living communities.
1. Assisted Living In Independent Apartments: Depending on
where you live, if you can do most things for yourself, you can rent a small
assisted living apartment where they clean for you, check on you daily, have
social activities, provide meals if you want, even shuttle you to shopping and
church, all for $ 1-2,000/mo.
2. Assisted Living Elder Dependent and Medical Care: This is where you
need a little more care; cooking, dressing, bathing, etc. There are a wide
variety of Assisted Living Communities designed to provide this level of care,
from small homes with 3-6 residents to large luxury communities with hundreds of
rooms. Obviously, the larger the community, the more services and
activities they can provide. The prices range around $ 1,500-4,000/mo.
depending on the level of care and the other services provided. Don't be
afraid to pay a higher price for a little more luxury...there's more to life
than food, clothing and medicine.
3. Special Assisted Living Elder Medical Care Needs: A relatively new type of
assisted living facility is popping up to provide the unique care requirements
for special needs Seniors. The most common of these is for Degenerative
Mental Diseases, like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Senile Dementia. These
communities provide a caring environment to meet the specialized needs of
seniors like my mother. They are more expensive on average, but are far
better equipped to provide the required care. It's better to choose the
facility as soon as you've been diagnosed with the early stages of one of these
diseases...long before you need this care.
4. Skilled Nursing Medical Care Facilities: You may not be making this
decision. This is where you need so much care, there really isn't another
option. This level of care is usually temporary, to recover from surgery,
for instance. It's far less expensive than the hospital but it isn't
cheap...$ 5-10,000/mo. Fortunately, Medicare provides Skilled Nursing Care
for the first 6 weeks or more. Medicaid will cover it if your assets are
depleted, so, you never need to worry about not having the care you need.
This is probably the most difficult part of Elder assisted medical care living...moving from total independence to dependence. Imagine the process of raising children in reverse, where you're the child. It's a gradual process that takes place over many years in most cases. Still, after being independent, it's frustrating having some of your decisions made for you. At some point, someone else will have the responsibility to decide where you go, what you eat, where you eat, when you eat or who you're with. Later, someone may be deciding when your laundry, housecleaning, even bathing is done. Then there's control over bodily functions. None of this is welcome or pleasant, but it doesn't have to be a surprise. If you plan as well as you can, you have a good chance of having the best possible experience of life even in these later stages.
Finally, it's important to plan, not just for the end of this life, but the beginning of the next. This can be the most exciting part of aging. The same God who made you and everything, loves you very much and wants you to spend forever with Him. He can help you through the rough spots into the glory of his kingdom. If you want God's help, just click on Healing From God.
Health And Fitness
Alzheimers Disease
Arthritis Treatment
Chronic Illness
Disability-Long Term
Elder Medical Care
Health Estate
Planning
Living Trust-What Is
It
Living Will-What Is It
Medicare
And Medicaid
Osteoporosis Causes
Power Of
Attorney
Terminal Illness
Health Forums
Care for Seniors Books
Senior Care Resources
Health-Fitness Videos