Thursday, February 27, 2020

Why Not Both?: A New Approach To Caring For Our Aging Loved Ones


Andrea Delucia Brand Contributor Jan 16, 2020, 04:00pm
When it comes to securing long-term care for our loved ones, many families find themselves in a crisis. My family was no exception. When my grandmother was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer, my aunt put her personal life (and professional goals) on hold to take care of her. This care consisted of long nights at the hospital and full days tending to her needs, refilling medications, and comforting her fragile emotional state. Combined with the normal stresses of life such as work, bills, and keeping a healthy home, it brought her to the brink of exhaustion. Sometimes she would call me in tears because Grandma wouldn’t take her medicine. My family was forever grateful for her loving sacrifice, especially me.
I couldn’t help her in the way that I wanted to, having three children to watch over and living four states away. But I did learn something very important: Responsible planning is crucial if we want to comfortably transition our loved ones into long-term care. Especially when it comes to the growing number of Americans who will need it in the coming years. According to a 2019 survey by Genworth, “every day until 2030, 10,000 Baby Boomers will turn 65 and seven out of 10 will require long-term care.”
Our parents did their best to create a safe home for us when we needed it, and we’d like to do the same for them as their needs change. As a financial professional, I have a saying that rings true time and time again: “Those who fail to plan plan to fail.” So, I set out to learn about the realities of long-term care so that I could be well equipped to help my own mother and avoid some of the stress my aunt had to deal with.
During my search, I learned of a new approach to home care in the Netherlands. There, instead of the typical large and impersonal buildings with long and lonely hallways, the facility is built into the local neighborhoods. Homes within the community are allocated specifically for the care of the retirees. A single self-governing team of nurses provide the full range of medical and support services rather than relying on multiple different types of personnel, thereby providing high-quality home care at a lower cost. When I learned about this, I pictured my own mother in a comfy home, with pictures of her family on the mantel, making her favorite beef stew and getting ready for her aqua aerobics class. I was excited, but I wanted to be realistic about how much this quality of care would cost and if there was something comparable to it here in the USA.
To my happy surprise, I met Tara, owner of Cary Retreat, a local adult care home in a residential neighborhood in North Carolina. Her business is designed to provide long-term care assistance for 2-6 residents with highly skilled nurses working 24/7. Because of the quality care ratio of 1 to 3, the majority of these facilities target wealthier residents and do not accept state or federal subsidies such as Medicaid or Medicare. However, some do accept Attended Care by the VA and indemnity long-term care insurance policies.
Tara assures, “We know whenever one of our residents sneezes. We love creating a familiar home environment where they can thrive.” Her home retreat is a very cozy house with a state-of-the-art kitchen and an herb garden in the backyard. It’s complete with a recreational coordinator, personalized doctors house calls, and transportation services. It reminded me of my grandmother’s living room.
On the other hand, there are some families, like Juliette Dais and her family, who have opted to keep their parents in their home. Juliette and her sister took turns taking care of their wonderful mother, Adeline Willians-Dais, providing round-the-clock care. It was a lot of work, but she was very thankful for the doctors’ house calls. She recalls, “Our family utilized Doctors Making Housecalls.” This multi-faceted medical practice is located in North Carolina. Not only was this a time saver, but it also gave them peace of mind by keeping their mother out of the hospital, which protected her from catching a virus or infection from another patient due to her frail condition. “It’s a natural cycle of protective love,” Juliette said. “We are giving just a little bit back of what our loving mother showered us with.”
When you take into account the personalized menus, mentally stimulating activities, and living in close proximity to your loved ones, the costs start to add up. So, how much should long-term care cost? That answer gets clearer when you know what you want to get out of the care.
Factors to consider while selecting the best care choice for your loved one:
·         How much family support is available?
·         Do we need homemaker services?
·         In-house doctors calls
·         Home health aid
·         Personal or professional transportation services
·         What type of environment are you hoping for?
·         Assisted living facility
·         Adult day care
·         Luxury resort style of living
·         Small retreat homes (like Tara’s)
·         How much money are you prepared to spend?
·         Family home care (where the family provides the majority of the care) can range between $50,000 and $100,000 annually.
·         In my experience, local adult home care facilities like the Retreat at Cary cost between $81,600 to $105,600 annually.
·         The average cost of a quality nursing home ranges from $80,156 to $102,204 annually, according to Genworth’s 2019.
Of course, there is no upward limit. Mrs. Patti*, one of my clients, created a five-year plan for the most opulent living situation. It cost her $2.1 million.
Whether I am helping my clients, planning for my mother’s long-term care, or even planning my own, I often turn to Proverbs 15:22. Whether you are religious or not, the wisdom it offers is very urgent and true: “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.” I urge you to consider the resources at your disposal and to meet with a financial professional.
Discuss your options, talk about alternative care, and formulate a plan with your loved one. With a plan, you are empowered to create a living situation that allows you to create meaningful moments with them in their golden years. With a plan, you can maintain their dignity while also securing a stress-free arrangement for yourself. As I’ve learned on my journey through the world of long-term care, there is a way to do both.
Resources
·         Eldercare Locator is a nationwide toll-free service to find local services. www.eldercare.gov 1-800-677-1116
·         Administration on Aging lists of long-term care services in each state www.aoa.gov 202-619-0724
*Client name has been changed.
This content is brought to you by Impact PartnersVoice. Insurance and a broad array of other financial products are offered through Paula (Andrea) DeLucia, NC Insurance License #17260134. DT1048423-0121

No comments:

Post a Comment