Continuing Care Retirement Community

[Disney Anna]

My parents are thinking about moving into a continuing care retirement community. I know nothing about them. It's called Friendship Village, located in Schaumburg, IL. Any thoughts?

 

[mishasmom]

We have quite a few of those here in AZ, and honestly many of them are quite nice. Of course you pay a lot for them, but they have a ton of amenities and a full service restaurant. Are you close enough that you could go and check it out yourself?

 

[Chicago526]

I grew up in Schaumburg, not to far from Friendship Village. I don't know much about them specifically (my parents retired to AZ), but they have a good reputation. Schaumburg itself is a great town, very friendly and safe, and good hospitals are nearby. I've heard Friendship Village is pretty expensive though, so your parents should be certain it will fit within their budget.

 

[tar heel]

It would be one of the greatest gifts your parents will ever give YOU. My in-laws moved into one a year and a half ago. My MIL has since died, and it was so great to know that my FIL had two meals a day (excellent food), people who would look in on him (staff and the women descending on an available man), etc. When my MIL came home from the hospital, she was able to go to healthcare there instead of a nursing home, which was such a blessing. He is in a nice two-bedroom apartment, but it's comforting to know assisted living and healthcare is there if he needs it. There's lots of activities, from sports to bridge to outings, and his place even has a bar!

It's expensive, though. I believe the deposit is six figures and you also pay around $3,000 per month rent. You have to prove you can do that over the long term to get in.

 

[Disney Anna]

It sounds great, but it is expensive. At first I thought you bought the place, and that they took the monthly fee/rent from that amount. But now I think you buy the place, plus you pay a hefty monthly fee/rent. It may be too much.

Does anyone know exactly how the contract works?

 

[barkley]

places differ so you need to look at the specific contract for an individual place.

some of the things to look at-does the resident get to remain in the unit they start in or as their needs change will they have to move to another type of unit (or shared room) with no guarantee of return to their original unit? one of the places my mom looked at would have made her move out of her entry level (no assistance needed) unit for even a temporary need of assistance. if she recovered she could have moved back but not guaranteed to the same unit (and we would have had to arrange for/pay for storage of her belongings b/c the assisted living units were much smaller). place she's at now, short of needing critical care nursing she can stay there the rest of her life. assistance is available in their own unit, and if the need occurs hospice can come in to provide services.

how much can monthly fees increase yearly? with some it can be huge b/c since it's considered 'board' vs. 'rent' it's not subject to the caps some states have on rent increases.

what is the cost if you require meals delivered to you during a period of illness? mom's place won't allow people in the dining room with certain symptoms active (esp. during flu season) so they will do like 3 days where they will deliver your meals to your room. after that it's a charge per meal delivery.

is any part of the fee to move in or 'deposit' refundable? one place we looked at zero was refundable, place she's at now it's refundable.

any charge for having a car? some places charge monthly fees if a resident has a car parked on the property.

any prohibitions on guests? some places don't allow overnite guests, some place a restriction on age/duration of visit (some places have special units set aside, fully furnished which they can rent nitely to visiting out of area family members, at rates much lower than area hotels. realy nice if you are visiting from a distance.).


if my mom were posting this response she'd add "ask them if they pester you" that's because at the first place she lived, despite having a kitchenette (so cooking was allowed), if she did'nt come down for every freaking meal someone would be knocking at her door to "pester" her. place she's at now they reccognize she tends to eat in her room so they don't check on her unless they have'nt seen her take her newspaper off her front door (a friend's mom lives at a place that's automated-they figure if someone's not coming down for meals then they will be opening their fridge at least once over a period of so many hours. there's a sensor in the fridge and if it does'nt indiciate the doors been opened during the day AND the person no shows for meals-the staff checks in on them).