Assisted living communities. Does Utopia exist?

[mthomson]

I'm 56 and a C6/7 Quad. I've grown weary of Indiana winters and would like to relocate somewhere warm. I currently live alone in my own home and pay aides to help with up/shower in the morning and down at night. I've got some $ and my SSD income on top of that. I'm envisioning a condo type community with aides and a la cart services available.

I get along independently during the day and enjoy the freedoms of that.

I'm most definitely not talking about a nursing home type scenario.

Does anything like this exist?

thanks in advance, mark

[Gearhead]

I had an Aunt & Uncle that moved to Mississippi. They lived in an apartment like facility. Free to come and go as they pleased. On site were nurses and aids that could be scheduled to suit individual needs. Never knew the name of the place but the way it was described to me, it seemed ideal for elderly and/or handicapped that had some independence. Assistance could be increased as they aged.
Seems ideal. Never asked about the cost, money was never an issue with them.

[pfcs49]

Your post allowed me to envision a "facility" for crips that need help with daily living. If a large enough community could be organized, the economies of scale would prevail!
And the "helpers" would necessarily know about most crip issues and how to respect and deal with them. Although I don't know how I'd feel, being the BP specialist, dealiing with assholes all day
So you wouldn't have to deal with idiots who don't know what they're doing.

As a T12 72yo self sufficient para, this looks like a low function quad villa

But, an interesting concept, especially if you could have it in a tropical setting.

[funklab]

I'm 56 and a C6/7 Quad. I've grown weary of Indiana winters and would like to relocate somewhere warm. I currently live alone in my own home and pay aides to help with up/shower in the morning and down at night. I've got some $ and my SSD income on top of that. I'm envisioning a condo type community with aides and a la cart services available.

I get along independently during the day and enjoy the freedoms of that.

I'm most definitely not talking about a nursing home type scenario.

Does anything like this exist?

thanks in advance, mark

I have limited experience with this, but for a little while I met with someone who was in a very nice retirement community in Chapel Hill, NC. Winters aren't super warm relative to Indiana, but snow is almost never a thing (like maybe once a year for a day or two, or maybe none some years). They have several very nice communities with aides and services. I'm unsure if they are a la carte services as you say, but certainly it's a thing they do based on your actual needs. Meals provided in a very nice social cafeteria, but depending on your level of independence you're also welcome to cook and eat in your own apartment. They had a variety of living options ranging from town-home type deals with private outdoor entrances and parking spaces for your car to more apartment style with indoor walkways so you don't have to risk getting rained on on your way to get breakfast.

These places also have nursing units, so should you briefly require more intense care (pressure sore, recovery post hospitalization or surgery, etc, etc) you can just pop next door for the duration of your rehabilitation, then go back to your apartment.

I'm not sure your definitions of "some $", it sounds like you're fairly well off, but for others who might be wondering I got the impression it was a few hundred thousand to buy in and reserve a spot, plus something in the neighborhood of $4-6k per month in ongoing fees and rent. When I was visiting someone there they had a 5-10 year waiting list.

This is the place I saw
https://www.carolwoods.org/

But judging from their website I guess a "continuing care retirement community" is the model that I described above if that is interesting to you in any way.

[mthomson]

I have limited experience with this, but for a little while I met with someone who was in a very nice retirement community in Chapel Hill, NC. Winters aren't super warm relative to Indiana, but snow is almost never a thing (like maybe once a year for a day or two, or maybe none some years). They have several very nice communities with aides and services. I'm unsure if they are a la carte services as you say, but certainly it's a thing they do based on your actual needs. Meals provided in a very nice social cafeteria, but depending on your level of independence you're also welcome to cook and eat in your own apartment. They had a variety of living options ranging from town-home type deals with private outdoor entrances and parking spaces for your car to more apartment style with indoor walkways so you don't have to risk getting rained on on your way to get breakfast.

These places also have nursing units, so should you briefly require more intense care (pressure sore, recovery post hospitalization or surgery, etc, etc) you can just pop next door for the duration of your rehabilitation, then go back to your apartment.

I'm not sure your definitions of "some $", it sounds like you're fairly well off, but for others who might be wondering I got the impression it was a few hundred thousand to buy in and reserve a spot, plus something in the neighborhood of $4-6k per month in ongoing fees and rent. When I was visiting someone there they had a 5-10 year waiting list.

This is the place I saw
https://www.carolwoods.org/

But judging from their website I guess a "continuing care retirement community" is the model that I described above if that is interesting to you in any way.

That's almost exactly what I was envisioning. Thank you.

[Joe-MN]

This is in MI.

https://evergreengrovellc.com/

[vjls]

dumb question I know I ca not afford 4k to 6k but why not look at the villages in Orlando I think its 55 and older. buy ur own home I would image be easier to get care and I know they have a social golf car communitity

https://www.thevillages.com/cost-of-...-the-villages/ also keep in mine being a quad or para no property taxes for me that 2500.00 a year which is 1/2 of my caregive pay as I only get 5 days a week 1 hr a day

[Art454]

dumb question I know I ca not afford 4k to 6k but why not look at the villages in Orlando I think its 55 and older. buy ur own home I would image be easier to get care and I know they have a social golf car communitity

https://www.thevillages.com/cost-of-...-the-villages/ also keep in mine being a quad or para no property taxes for me that 2500.00 a year which is 1/2 of my caregive pay as I only get 5 days a week 1 hr a day

I thought someone was looking at this place or live there. Was a few years ago

[ancientgimp]

My wife and I visited Evergreen Village in Otter Lake and had lunch with the developer. At the time they had a pontoon boat on Otter Lake and there was a wheelchair accessible trail adjacent to the community about 10 to 12 miles long, Evergreen Village had a nice fire pit and there were visiting PT's and shared PCA's. All condos were designed for quads, Impressive! Nice little bar in the tiny village of Otter Lake. Pricey!

Earlier, when I was a rehab counselor in Flint, Mi - there was a small apartment complex in Flint where 6 or 7 quads lived in a horseshoe shaped compound in inner city Flint. Most of the residents were on SSI, some had power doors allowing them to admit their PCA's. Residents would share their PCA's if someone failed to show up. The complex was started by the Flint ILC, it failed due to the deterioration of the neighborhood - lots of gunshots and too much drug activity nearby. I was always impressed by the mutual support and strong friendships among the residents

There is a low income housing complex in Davison, Mi near Flint ( the home of Michael Moore) where a good number of wheelchair users reside. I worked with some of these people as clients, they also shared PCA's and were mostly supported by SSI and Medicaid. There was no medical care available at the facility but there was some sharing of aides as needed.

I think In Europe there are a lot more communities where aid is shared. Individuals living in these communities are able to make their own decisions as to how much they want to integrate into the disabled community at large or whether they just want to select the services that will benefit them so as to not feel institutionalized.

[Rook98006]

If the Pacific Northwest interest you this place looks like an option with different levels of support.
https://www.panorama.org/index

[gjnl]

Many senior communities who offer tiers of care often require that residents are completely independent when they move into the community. I am touring facilities with a friend whose husband will need memory care shortly. Except for memory care units, which are usually separate from the rest of the community, in these facilities, most everyone we have toured have this initial independence requirement at move in. Save yourself some time, and make the independence requirement your first question.

[Tetracyclone]

I'm 56 and a C6/7 Quad. I've grown weary of Indiana winters and would like to relocate somewhere warm. I currently live alone in my own home and pay aides to help with up/shower in the morning and down at night. I've got some $ and my SSD income on top of that. I'm envisioning a condo type community with aides and a la cart services available.

I get along independently during the day and enjoy the freedoms of that.

I'm most definitely not talking about a nursing home type scenario.

Does anything like this exist?

thanks in advance, mark

You presently find enough aide support and this seems to be people's biggest challenge going forward. I have read of numerous assistive living situations where, the moment you need intense care, they no longer want you. I would be very careful believing any of their promotions, especially when you cannot visit. Crips in CA are now facing nursing homes as their only choice because they cannot find carers, so yes, take a long time to investigate.

[mthomson]

You presently find enough aide support and this seems to be people's biggest challenge going forward. I have read of numerous assistive living situations where, the moment you need intense care, they no longer want you. I would be very careful believing any of their promotions, especially when you cannot visit. Crips in CA are now facing nursing homes as their only choice because they cannot find carers, so yes, take a long time to investigate.

Great advice and thank you.

Mark

[Rook98006]

Assisted living is something very different from intense care. I think a lot of people misunderstand the difference.

[cementhead]

Interested in this if anyone has more info. Hoping to pay 2500-2800 a month and share a P.A. Need maybe 10-12 hrs a week P.A assistance. Some days 1 1/2 hrs some days 3.