Continuing Care Retirement Community

CCRCs (Continuing Care Retirement Communities): The All-In-One Senior Living Option

CCRCs, which stands for continuing care retirement communities, is a retirement community type that offers accommodations for assisted living, nursing home care, and independent living. Seniors can live out their lives in a CCRC, which also goes by the name of Life Plan Community, which allows the residents to move between care levels as needed.

Many people prefer aging in place, which means they would like to stay in their homes after retirement and through their “senior years.” Since the CCRCs provide several types of care from one location, these facilities offer a form of “aging in place,” even when the resident is no longer living at their original home.

CCRCs are ideal for people that are only interested in moving once. They may be required to move to different care units, but it is all in one location. Before choosing a CCRC, it is essential to determine the services on offer, the costs, possible disadvantages and benefits, and any contractual obligations linked to the CCRC.

What Is A CCRC – Continuing Care Retirement Community?

A retirement community is only defined as a CCRC when providing nursing home care, assisted living, and independent living from one campus.

Depending on the actual community, the living spaces can include cottages, townhouses, houses, apartments, clusters, and duplexes.

Even though the settings may vary, many of the CCRCs include:

• Activity centers

• Common dining rooms

• Gyms

• Social events that include outings to shopping centers, museums, or theaters

• Outdoor recreation that often includes swimming pools

Lifecare Communities and the Other Names Used For CCRCs

CCRCs are also called:

• Life Plan Communities

• Lifecare Communities

• Lifetime Communities

• Continuing Care Communities

What Should You Look For In A CCRC Facility?

Beyond the Continuing Care agreement, a potential resident needs to thoroughly explore each detail of all the CCRCs they have in mind.

Some Continuing Care Retirement Communities have been accredited by the CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities), the country’s sole accrediting body for Continuing Care Retirement Communities, and the Continuing Care Accreditation Commission also goes by the name of CARF-CCAC. Accreditation is a very long process that requires renewal every five years. If the CCRC has been accredited, there is also an ongoing and annual reporting process within this 5-year term.

When visiting a CCRCs, these important questions should be kept in mind:

• What will happen when the nursing home and assisted living facilities have filled up?

• Does the CCRC have reciprocal agreements with any nearby communities?

• How well trained are the staff? Have the staff members undergone criminal background checks?

• What is the patient-to-staff ratio for each of the living settings?

• Is the CCRC clean. Safe and well-maintained?

• Is there memory care or Alzheimer’s units?

• Can residents participate in the decision-making of the organization? Are there roles for the residents that wish to become involved?

• Does the culture of the CCRC match up to the residents? Is the environment formal requiring blazers or formal attire in the dining areas, or is the atmosphere casual?

Try exploring all the wellness and health activities, along with both off and on-campus social events. It is also essential to look further than only the independent living accommodations.

Make sure to visit us, and you may also call (410)-343-7592 or write us an email at Info@wellhomed.com.

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