CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — "I didn't want to wait till I was a lot older, where all of a sudden the children said, I have 3 sons,'okay, what are we gonna do with Mom? Where are we gonna put Mom?'"
Trudy Kenyon says there are many other reasons she made the decision to move into the Mirador Retirement Community.
"I wanted a Long Term Care facility. That was important to me, so I could age in a facility. And if I needed help, if I fell and broke something say."
Another reason in Kenyon's choice, and perhaps the most important one for all seniors.
"Should I run out of money, they will care for me till I die."
What that means, according to Mirador's director of sales Vanessa Hancock, is that should a resident outlive their financial resources through no fault of their own, the Mirador offers a Benevolent Care Program. A donor fund guaranteeing that residents receive care until the end of their life.
According to the website 'after55.com', there are 30 retirement living communities in Corpus Christi offering these four care options.
- Independent Living
- Assisted Living
- Skilled Nursing
- Continuous Care
Hancock encourages that, depending on the type of care you can afford, you decide where you want to go while you can.
"So that they're making that decision for themselves as opposed to waiting for a crisis. A time when the adult child is usually calling us and saying 'oh my gosh, what do we do from here?'"
Hancock offers a checklist when making your decision.
- Go online or visit facilities you're interested in
- Make sure to have a discussion with family members
- Get a Long Term Care insurance policy and find out what it provides
- Are you renting or buying your unit? In other words, is it a 'for profit' or 'not for profit' facility
- Does your choice include a Benevolent Care Fund
- How long has the entire staff been at the facility
These tips will help ease the burden as you start thinking about your future and what it looks like in the long-run.
