AVOID ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES

Assisted Living Facilities have experienced a pattern of growth in the past decade. Families are happy to turn their loved ones over to the care of professionals. Many facilities are clean, and the staff are invested in their clients. The care is the best they can provide, however, reducing a person to one room, limited activities, institutionalized meals, and loneliness deteriorates the psyche of the residents, resulting in severe depression and death.

The mortality rate of people moving into a skilled nursing facility within the first 12 months ranges from 50%-60%. The mortality rate is even higher in the first 6 months.

Assisted living facilities are a financial hardship on the family. The national median cost for a one bedroom room in 2010 was $3,185 per month. 75% of the costs of living in a facility are out of pocket, and the high cost of care is quickly depletes the senior’s savings within one year. The senior applies for Medicaid. In order to qualify for Medicaid, he or she must be deemed “categorically needy.” For the states who use the SSI standards, SSI has a $2,000 limit on countable assets for one person. This limit is accomplished by dissolving (“spending down”) any remaining assets so that the applicant can meet the standards and be under the complete care of the State. Imagine the impact of this process to a once proud, hard-working person.

Our goal at Seasons of Washington is to avoid the mental and financial hardships of placing our senior citizens in Assisted Living facilities, allowing them to remain in their homes and enjoy the final years of their lives.