This
week, a postcard advertisement came from “A Continuing Care Community,” where my
father lives. The heading reads, “Do you know what is included at the Caring
Community?” followed by the answer, “These are your costs at the Caring
Community” and then the following list:
|
Property taxes
$.0.00
Gas or Propane
$.0.00
Electric
$.0.00
Homeowners
Insurance
$.0.00
Maintenance &
Repairs
$.0.00
Sewer &
Water
$.0.00
Basic Cable
$.0.00
Medical
app'sTransport
$.0.00
Three Meals
Daily
$.0.00
Movies/Entertainment $.0.00
Housekeeping
Service
$.0.00
Linen and Towel
Service
$.0.00
Snow Removal
$.0.00
Winter Valet
Parking
$.0.00
Trips &
Activities
$.0.00
Lawn Care
$.0.00
*Vehicle
insurance
$.0.00
(*if you do not bring a
vehicle)
|
 |
Many
of these are indeed included at the institution. But what, if not these, does
your $4000 (give or take a few hundred, depending on level of care and other
factors) pay for?
So,
while one doesn’t get an individual bill for property taxes, gas, electric,
insurance, maintenance, sewer, water, and cable, surely the corporation which
owns the place gets a bill for these things and passes that on in your $4000.
How can they possibly say that these cost you $0.00?
And
then, there are a few missing caveats here. For just one
example, that medical transportation to appointments? Those are made one day a week only, Mondays say. So if your doctor isn’t in that day, or if for any other reason you
need to go on another day, they will arrange for a private service for that, at about
$50 an hour.
Then, too, notice, that you don’t pay vehicle insurance if you don’t have a vehicle, which duh,
is true everywhere. And the “Winter Valet Parking” is a mystery to me because I
have never seen valet parking there in my two years visiting the place. Perhaps
that is also what you do not have to pay if you do not have a car. It is also an
expense which virtually no one in Canton, Ohio ever paid before coming there, I
would wager.
The
“Movies and Entertainment” gets a mixed report on my Truth-O-Meter. Two
terrific activities directors do a good job with a small budget. There are
concerts, a series of Friday woodworking, morning chat sessions over the morning
paper—anything the directors can do themselves or get for free. I will say that
similar activities can be found in town for free—at the county parks and
libraries—and I can’t imagine seniors would be shelling out much if any money
for these things if they weren’t in the Caring Community, but I will grant that
the activities directors do the place proud.
As
do the cooks, and clearly “Three Meals Daily” is the draw here. The food is good
and balanced. It is served individually to each of the 3-4 people at each table,
with nice table and linens. Visitors tend to be impressed by the quality and
presentation of the food. The desserts are homemade and the party food, on top
of the regular meals, tends to be exceptional. The Christmas party, to which
family are invited, features huge bowls of shrimp, generous slices of Beef
bourguignon, homemade cookies, wine. AND, in addition to the three meals a day, there is a coffee hour with snacks
very morning, snacks delivered to the room one to two times a day,
cocktail parties and other holiday parties, and every bingo game or spelling bee gives
away packages of candy and cookies and chips. All of this is terrific for
seniors who are wasting away in their homes. Others, who led active lives and maintained their weight previously can have significant weight gain and resulting diabetes. Exercise is hard to come by.
However,
I get tired of hearing people say, “I wish I could eat there every day with
tablecloths and cloth napkins.” How about with difficult table mates? One man was
so mean thathe made every meal an attack on his tablemates and the staff. When he
snapped at the staff, they would laugh it off, as though he were joking, “Oh
John, you are such a kidder!” When I ate at his table once, the man told me he did not like my looks, and he said this to one other table mate. Then there was the man who had a card at
his place that said, “I will not grab people’s bodies in inappropriate ways. I
will not say inappropriate things to the women.” He never said anything
inappropriate to me, but he was gone in a month. Which is not to say he was
dead, rather disappeared. In that sense, the dining room reminds me of Argentina
in the 1970s.
Because tablemates and hallmates disappear frequently. For privacy reasons, the
institutions cannot tell the residents what has happened to residents who
disappear, and to anyone who is sentient, it is the least comfortable part of
the dining experience, having tablemates or hallmates
suddenly gone without knowing what has happened.
It
is true that I take a dim view of senior institutions. I’ve never been
comfortable living in institutionalized settings. The college dormitories nearly
drove me to distraction, especially in the late 1960s when they were as
controlling as the senior institutions are today. For sure, having to sign in
and out every time I left the campus, even if only to walk to the drugstore four
blocks away made me crazy at Otterbein U, so I would find it very aggravating after a lifetime of not signing out.
I
understand that some people thrive in senior institutions, and this particular
Caring Community is one of the best in town. The people who work there, cleaning, cooking, and providing activities are nearly all kind, caring, and cheerful. I know many people here who look
forward to the day when they can move to this institution and not pay for these
items which the Caring Community is giving away so generously.
I an just suggesting that before they move in, they spend some time there with the residents
and not as a visitor to the lavish luncheons. Make sure they visit Skilled and
Assisted as well as Independent because there is a big probability they will end
up in all these situations, if their money holds out that is. (The Caring
Community does not accept Medicare.) Consider whatever other options there may be, if there are any. Most of all, do not be snowed by ads like this list
of what you don’t pay for. Figure out what your own costs are. Then if you like
it, as many people do, well you go.
But
as for me, as my mother used to say, “Just shoot me
first.”
