How to Determine Whether a Continuing Care Retirement Community is Right for a Loved One

Depending on a family's situation, a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) may be the right choice for an elderly person in the household. However, how does one determine whether a CCRC is the best place for an elderly person?

What Does a Community Care Retirement Community Provide?

The first task at hand in determining whether or not a CCRC is the right place for a family member is to understand the difference between a CCRC and an assisted living center. A continuing care retirement community is a living establishment that caters to elderly people that have the facilities to take care of senior citizens. Some benefits of using a CCRC are; single person housing, nursing care, services catered towards seniors and their families. In most occasions, senior citizens join these communities at a younger age when they still are mentally healthy and active. The reason why they join the community before health problems occur is because they want to be in a long-term location and have the comfort of knowing they will be cared for when the time comes for nursing services. Financial plans are drawn and prepared ahead of time in order to be cared for by these facilities for the remainder of the senior's life. There are many living option arrangements that come with CCRC packages and allow for seniors to choose from independent living, nursing care, and assisted living quarters. Most independent living quarters look like regular single-family condominiums and are located right on the continue care property. When the time comes to seek out nursing care options, a senior will be comforted in knowing that these arrangements can be made discreetly and that the transition will be prompt.

Advantages and Disadvantage of Choosing a CCRC

One of the main reasons for people not to choose a continuing care retirement community is because contracts are a lifetime commitment and this means that the senior citizen is allowing the CCRC Company to take care of the senior for the rest of their life. However, an assisted living home does not carry this type of lifetime commitment contract and seniors can move into homes when they need to seek nursing care. Some advantages of living in a CCRC are that the senior will not have to move and transition from a single-family living quarter to an assisted living program as the CCRC will have nursing home facilities on the company property. If a senior's health becomes apparently better, they are no longer obligated to use nursing care assistance and can resume living in single-family quarters within the same complex.

What Makes a Good CCRC Candidate?

Traits of a good candidate to live in a CCRC are that the person has one of these characteristics:

Have the ability to take care of themselves and are healthy

Require some practical nursing care

Desire to live in a community with people the same age

No longer desire to take care of a home

Desire to have an all-in-one living facility

There are many advantages to living in a CCRC and performing an online search for the best Community Care Retirement Community is a good way to take a proactive step when caring for a senior.

Source

Amara Rose, Tina de Benedictis, Ph.D., and Doug Russell, M.S.W. "Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRSs)." HelpGuide