Miss Ima Oldie strikes again! Last month I wrote a post regarding why seniors are so reluctant to give up their homes. I used information that came from a paid advertisement in the Coeur d'Alene Press written by Julie Tastad, an employee of Fairwinds-CDA, a local "retirement" facility. I'm beginning to think the Press should run her columns as a public service rather than as an advertisement. She provides real heads up information.
This week she takes on the issue of "licensed" and "unlicensed" apartments within the same facility a step further. Previously she (and I, in turn) addressed how one had to be in a "licensed" apartment to receive certain services from the staff. Now, it seems, if you've finally made the move to the "home" even though you are still able to care for yourself, if a point in time comes when you cannot you have to move from one apartment to another within that facility! And back again if you mend!!
Please! She is suggesting Idaho take a page from Washington and have floating licenses to prevent this measure from being necessary. Is it me or is this bureaucracy run amok?
Realistically I would suppose one day to have to make such a move. Once done I would not want to have to do it again. Don't the blockheads who write these regulations know how traumatic such a move is in the first place? If I have to go, and manage to create some degree of comfort zone, leave me alone. Even if I can't have my cats!
Explain to me why all the apartments in a facility aren't of equal nature. If in Washington they can float a license I would assume all the apartments meet the same safety criteria that one expects no matter the degree of infirmity. Are the costs of these homes so high because of all these layers? Sheesh!
I'm going to move to England, meet 101 year old Buster Martin , join him for a pint or two and see if he can get me in shape for the London Marathon.
Enough of this nonsense!
2 comments:
Some of it is Fed regs. And some of it is State regs. But most of all it has to do with staffing.
In an assisted living section (where you can take care of yourself, and someone makes sure you take your meds. There is one aide that is on call (she is in building but you call her) and with the next step up, is where you have aides who check with you every two hours, plus a nurse who gives you your pills, and any other care you need.
The apt. living which is the less of the care has only a caretaker, that you can get ahold of...much like a college dorm.
So it is all about how much staffing is needed. The more the staff, the more contain the area, hense, moving from apt. to a room.
I know what you're saying, but Word Tosser is right: it's a matter of staffing and level of care. It's sad, but only very rich elders can pay enough to have personal attendants for what ever level of care they may eventually need. I'm facing reality. I'm moving into a lifetime care facility soon, and I realize that if I live long enough, I'll probably have to move from my independent apartment to assisted living, etc. We elders need to be flexible, difficult though it may seem.The only alternative I can see is to be very, very rich, and I don't know how to achieve that.
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