Say you saw it in the Beacon | Housing Options
BALTIMORE BEACON — JUNE 2013
Assisted Living From page B-4 extra help while they’re dressing or bathing. Make sure all special requirements and wishes, including favorite social activities, are documented in a personalcare plan. Eat a meal, and ask whether there are menu choices. Also note if staff members are attentive and kind to residents. Speak with residents and their visiting family members about their experiences. Find out about the training the center provides for its staff, and make sure the facility conducts criminal background checks on employees. Because of low wages, turnover is typically high industrywide. Compare the turnover levels for each center as well as the staff-to-resident ratio. Still, there are no hard-and-fast rules on staff levels. “Assisted-living communities are staffed based on the level of care and service needed by the residents,” said Jamison Gosselin, a senior vice-president of the Assisted Living Federation of America. For example, he said, there will be fewer
Sell your home From page B-3
Potential benefits of selling There are a number of benefits to selling your home that enter into the equation. • You may be able to diversify funds and receive a greater return on your money for the future. • You may be spending less without property taxes and insurance. You may reduce expenses for maintenance and upkeep of the property, not to mention the re-
caregivers per resident in a community that “serves a pretty independent group of seniors” than at one where residents need more assistance. Review the contract’s provisions on the facility’s discharge policies. After a resident leaves for a stint in a hospital or rehabilitation, the facility will decide whether the resident can return. The resident could be charged for food or other services if gone for an extended period. “Even for death, a resident may owe a few months,” Modigliani said.
How much does it cost? Because assisted-living arrangements don’t provide round-the-clock skilled-nursing care, they typically run about half the cost of nursing homes. In 2012, the average “base rate” — a one-bedroom unit, at least two meals a day, housekeeping and minimal personal-care assistance — in Baltimore was $4,307 a month, according to the MetLife Mature Market Institute. But costs vary widely. Most facilities offer several pricing tiers, each with its own set of services. A resident needing little assistance would be at the lowest tier, duction of physical exertion and stress due to snow and leaf removal and yard work. • You may have more free time. • You may have less need to drive. • You may have more security in a medical crisis. • Your family members will have less worry. • You may have more freedom to travel. Excerpted from Selling Your Home: A Guide for the Mature Seller and Their Families. Helen L. Flynn is a real estate agent with Real Living Evergreene Properties in Ashburn, Va.
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Looking for a Skilled Nursing/Rehab Facility? Here is just some of what we offer. Orthopedic Surgery Rehab • Cardiac Surgery Rehab Dialysis and TPN therapies for Long-term care • Therapy Gym Mental Health wing for younger people • New Renovations New Fine Dining Program • Family Reception Areas TV, cable, wireless Internet • Private bathrooms. Social events Locked dementia and Alzheimer's care • Buffet-style dining Private bathrooms • Private and 2 person-only rooms Call Julie today to schedule your personal tour at 410-979-4822.
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Baltimore
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410-823-5310
410-367-9100
410-664-5551
Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurances accepted.
or base price. You will need to find out what services are included in each tier, such as the number of meals each day, and how much it will cost if your relative needs more care in the future. As her father’s needs grew over five years, his monthly costs rose to $6,000 a month, from the initial $3,000, said Elizabeth Campbell. Eventually, her father needed help dressing and managing his medicines, and took his meals in his apartment. Because Medicare doesn’t pay assistedliving costs, most residents pay the entire tab out of pocket. Elizabeth said her father’s long-term-care insurance policy covered most of the costs. Regulatory oversight varies by state. Ask to review complaints made to state agencies, as well as all state-inspection reports. For information on your state’s reg-
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ulatory agency, contact the Assisted Living Federation of America at www.alfa.org or (703) 894-1805. You can also find a state’s ombudsman at the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center, www.ltcombudsman.org or (202) 332-2275. Information on assisted living regulation in Maryland can be found at http://dhmh.maryland.gov/ohcq/SitePag es/Home.aspx. The Maryland state ombudsman’s office can be reached at (410) 767-1108 or www.aging.maryland.gov/Ombudsman.ht ml. For Baltimore City, call (410) 396-3144; Baltimore County, (410) 887-4200; Anne Arundel County, (410) 222-4464. — Kiplinger’s Retirement Report © 2013, Kiplinger. All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.