Assisted living communities with a vibrant vibe?

[Anonymous]

Trying to find an assistant living community for an elderly relative who has been turned off by how old and frail everyone seems (walkers and wheelchairs).

Are there communities that are more active? Young 80s/late 70s?

Looking in the dc metro area.

[Anonymous]

Try Goodwin House Alexandria if they have no mobility or cognitive issues.

[Anonymous]

Be sure to check what happens if someone needs a higher level of care. Are they required to move out?

[Anonymous]

Think about whether you want to live in a community that kicks you out once you have a stroke or decline in some other way.

I don’t think the absence of older people who need a lot of care is the answer. You just want to make sure that that’s balanced with a lot of more active people.

[Anonymous]

https://leisureworldmaryland.com/

[Anonymous]

I think many older people feel this way—they can’t believe these other people are anything like them. They are young! The other people are old! But by definition someone who needs assisted living is old and at least somewhat frail.

[Anonymous]

Leisure world doesn’t offer assisted living. It’s independent living.

Most assisted living places I’ve seen offer different levels of care, and I am not worried about nursing home level of care at the moment.

They basically need a community of their peers plus meals and someone to notice if they fall, don’t eat, or decline.

Relatives aren’t local and nobody is equipped to provide such care since everyone works and nobody has a home with an extra bedroom, accessible bathroom, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think many older people feel this way—they can’t believe these other people are anything like them. They are young! The other people are old! But by definition someone who needs assisted living is old and at least somewhat frail.

Agreed 100%.

But you can’t force people into such situations.

[Anonymous]

OP, are you really looking for assisted living? Or a CCRC? Everyone is going to be frail in assisted living, but I think you mean CCRC or maybe even independent living.

[Anonymous]

Also, ask yourself if Assisted Living is really necessary at this stage. If there are real needs involved (e.g., help dressing, bathing, food prep), make sure it's a place with "scalable care" so that your loved one does not get kicked out when they require greater levels of assistance (odds are very high that they will!). A place that has a good mix of residents is what you should be focused on.

[Anonymous]

What about Asbury Methodist Village or some place like that?

[Anonymous]

CCRC seems crazy expensive.

Relative is on a fixed income.

I’m definitely looking for a community with scalable care (seems common)—but everyone seems really frail.

If relative lives alone, they won’t manage their nutrition—so they need a place that provides meals and makes sure they aren’t skipping meals.

They have fallen before, although not recently. We are worried they might fall again if left alone and nobody would notice. They can do stairs, but not without risk—which is why we want them to move to AL (and why none of us can have them in our homes since they can’t do stairs unassisted).

They don’t drive anymore, which is a big reason why they would benefit from AL.

It’s become difficult to handle their bills. Another plus of AL.

[Anonymous]

Check out Collington in Mitchellville Md.

[Anonymous]

Independent living in a CCRC place usually includes some meals as well as daily health checks. It won’t help with bill paying but there are far fewer bills in most places.

Vibrant late 70s people aren’t going to be in AL. That’s not what it’s meant for. Plus it’s much more expensive than IL and most aren’t going to pay for that for 15-20 years.

[Anonymous]

PP here - Take a look at Knollwood. It’s a buy in place but pretty low buy in. There are also some rental only places. My parent is at one but it’s predominately Jewish (of course anyone can live there) so may not be of interest to your tentative.