Long-Term Care.. Know Your Options
Have you asked any of the following questions, or perhaps heard a loved one ask these questions?
Now that I am having trouble walking, where can I live? I value my independence! ▪ I don’t want to be a burden to my family! I took care of my mother for years and don’t want my children to do so for me! ▪ I may have trouble walking, and my memory isn’t as good as it used to be, but nobody is going to put me in a nursing home! My daughter can take care of me just fine! ▪ I don’t need any legal papers, do I? I can get help from the government to stay in my home, can’t I? ▪ I’m 35 years old and forced to live in a nursing home because of a car accident! Are there any options to let me move back home? Can I spend some time outside of the nursing home? Can I go on vacation?
Know Your Housing and Care Options
Preference is Staying Home – The main goal when deciding on what is best for a loved one’s well-being is to try and keep them in their comfort environment, the place they call “home.” Assistance can be provided within the home via family, friends, or professionals. Caregiver Agreements and Life Care Plans can be developed to ensure that all needs are being met and put the welfare of the client as top priority within their scope of expectations.
We Understand You Want to Avoid Nursing Homes – In some situations the home is no longer a safeguard option and the time comes to looking into what best meets the needs of the client. Some families consider moving the loved one into the home of a family member, but if that doesn’t fit the request then there are options such as independent living communities. This option provides a since of community, but a private sector, with services available to provide meals, housekeeping, and security. Home care would not necessarily be a provided service but if in home care is needed it can be arranged.
Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC) is a progressive development in housing alternatives for active and engaged seniors, but with an assisted living component and even a nursing home. CCRC’s serve as models for engaged living, with residents supporting each other through activities and social connections and management providing easy access to several levels of services and on-site health care.
Assisted Living Communities, sometimes referred to as assisted living facilities or assisted living centers, are residential facilities which aim to provide individuals with as much autonomy as possible while providing a variety of support services to residents within a homelike setting. Services may include meals, transportation, help getting around, grooming, housekeeping and a limited number of medical services such as medication management.
Nursing Facility, also known as a nursing home, refers to a facility providing both 24-hour medical care and custodial care for people unable to care for themselves, either temporarily or permanently, due to mental, emotional or physical conditions. Facilities may be either independent or part of a senior continuing care community and have a licensed physician, as well as a nurse or other medical professionals on the premises most of the time.
Payment support for these different levels of care and placement are available upon qualification and/or creating policies that will work best for you when the time comes to make claims for expenditures.
• Title III, Older Americans Act
• Veteran Benefits
• Medicare
• Long-Term Care Insurance
• Reverse Mortgages
Strohschein Law Group strives to counsel their clients to manage their independence as long as possible. Meeting with Linda Strohschein to discuss options and design a plan that best suits your needs or the needs of a loved one will give everyone involved the peace of mind to enjoy life to its potential. Our services include Estate Planning to put all of your wishes and expectations to work for you now, Long-Term Care Planning to map out the steps needed and allow your assets to work for those needs, Life Care Planning to build a team and design a process with the well-being of the client as top priority, and Caregiver Agreements to ensure the people put in place to provide care are ethical and personable to the needs of the client. To learn more about these options, call to RSVP for our November series of workshops to be hosted in Huntley and St. Charles. Details can be found on the Events page or simply give us a call at 630-377-3241.