I have been seeing a few protests recently that are being staged by seniors living in nursing homes and senior resident facilities. One such nursing home in Colorado was in the news yesterday and at the forefront was the statement, “I’d rather die of Covid-19 than to die of loneliness”. https://thehill.com/homenews/state-...nts-stage-protest-of-coronavirus-restrictions Leaving a facility because of a financial problem is probably an ongoing thing throughout the year. My wife has a friend (Evelyn) who was kicked out of a senior care home about 3 years ago because medicare/medicaid wouldn’t pay any longer. It’s a good thing one of her daughters took her in otherwise, if my wife couldn’t find her a place near here so could pop in on a daily basis, Evelyn would have to live in some low budget apartment by herself which would probably be a death sentence since she needs to be looked after.
I don't know why anyone would move into a facility like where I am living without knowing how to pay present and future costs. Assisted Living typically has a monthly rental fee plus a monthly care fee for various levels of care like bathing, dressing,grooming, prescription care,transportation,toileting.continence. Not all residents need or pay for the same level of care.
Possibly something so simple as “life happens” or they might have found someplace for less money or got tired of spending 5K a month just to live in 1 room for the last 8 months. My goodness, we moved 6 times in 6 years for different reasons so the possibilities as I see it are pretty much endless.
My mother had Alzheimer's and later dementia. She would not stay put in assisted living. Fortunately, she purchased Long Term Care insurance on advice of a friend, so had the ability to hire a live-in caretaker she bonded with at the facility she was briefly in. In between the two, we tried putting her with a sister who needed the money and had the capacity to look after her. Our mother would have no part of it, any more than she would stay put in assisted living. She freaked out so much that my brother drove from Virginia to New Jersey in a horrible snowstorm to go get her and bring her back...that's when we hired the live-in. As we all know, there's more to the problem than merely putting a roof over someone's head. -Many require 24 hour attention that no single person can give -Many require medical care that the lay person lacks the capacity to give -Many are purely unmanageable and present a risk to themselves and to others outside of an institution It's not just us. Japan's elderly problem is much more acute than any other nation's (17% of Americans are 65 and over, while 26% of the Japanese are in that age group.) Half of Japan's parental caregivers are over 65 themselves! Developed nations' declining birth rate problem (well below the Replacement Rate) is exacerbated in Japan by an aversion to immigration...they choose to suffer the ills of a declining population in the short term (defined as a generation or two) to maintain their long-term cultural goals. The percentage of Americans "Over 65" is predicted to increase to 22% by 2050, somewhat diluted by immigration. It's gonna be quite the burden.
Makes ya think doesn’t it. I’ll soon be 71 and I thank God and my own need for muscle mass and good health for indeed, I am definitely in good health. That said, I do think about the possibilities and just as a wealthy person is only one disaster away from being homeless, I, however unlikely I think it may be, might find myself in a bad situation if my health doesn’t hold up. Will there be a time when I too will need help and have to live in a managed care facility? I shudder to think about such things and as cantankerous as I can get even now, I pity the staff of any facility I might be resigned to living in. (Actually, I’m pretty easy going but I do have my moments) Other than my wife, I really do not have anyone I can count on so if worse comes to worse, I really do not know what will happen if things go south. Vets home maybe? Dunno. If the truth be told, I really don’t want to be around anyway if I cannot enjoy life and be functional but alas, that might not be my decision to make.
Yup. I got nobody. I leave Emergency Contact field blank on medical forms. When the time comes, we all want to die in our sleep.
Me too. The only thing that worries me is the cat. I can't figure out how to solve that problem, unless I can train her to use the phone.
There is an advantage of growing old in a third world country. In a first world country with the old age pensions do have the ability to have someone look after the old. They younger are all busy making money to live well that the the time for caring for the old just is not there. Here in this country there is a lot of 100+ year old people all being looked after either family or just neighbors. Maybe the people know they will be old one day and want to be treated that way. It is a crime that when people reach an age that they find it difficult that family will put them away in a retirement home. Sad that this advanced country treats its older people worst than a third world country. In these first world countries both parents work leaving the children to be raised by a stranger the older people put into senior living places. This is called advanced???
The interesting thing about quality Assisted Living costs is that there is little or no competition. There are six quality facilities in my area that provide the same services and their charges are identical. If I were to move 3,000 miles to Albany, New York I would pay just about the same as I pay here in California
This place just opened up in July about 5 miles from my house. Offers both assisted living and memory care. Capacity 93. The cost is listed at just over $5000/mo, for a private suite, but they won't provide details unless you give them your phone number and address. There is a Dunkin Donuts within walking distance right out front. I thought about putting my name on a waiting list. Can you imagine a worse time to open a facility like this.
Lon said he's paying around $7,000/month. (He said about half of that is paid for by insurance.) There are places in rural Virginia whose prices I'm shocked at, considering their low-rent/low-wage locations. I just read that the median cost for a one bedroom assisted living apartment in the United States is $4,000/month. (Median means the exact mid-point, not a true average. So there are an equal number of facilities that are higher and lower than $4,000/month.) Absent insurance, I guess most of us would at least have a monthly Social Security to help pay for it.