Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Long Term Care (LTC) Insurance - What are your facts?

[Carol Agate (carolagate]

> On Dec 8, 2015, at 11:06 AM, Ann Zabaldo <zabaldo [at] earthlink.net> wrote:
> 
> 
> Carol – –
> 
> Building or setting aside an apartment for a caregiver is a very popular idea 
> in Cohousing.  Many of us bought into this idea as a solution without much 
> thinking about it.  It seems like such an easy solution and so congruent with 
> Cohousing values.
> 
> Aside from the Financial (and maybe legal) issues of providing housing for a 
> caregiver here are some questions I have about this:
> 
> 1 what if one or more people needing a caregiver doesn't like The caregiver?

Like anything else in cohousing. They work it out.
> 
> 2. Who chooses the caregiver?

The people needing the caregiver, or if the problem is mental decline it would 
be the relative or close friend who had taken responsibility for the people who 
need the caregiver.
> 
> 3. How many people can one caregiver manage?

It depends on the level of care, and I’m not including people who need a 
full-time person. Jobs might be shopping, preparing simple meals or assisting 
with the preparation (perhaps for more than one person), making sure meds are 
taken (which in some states requires a certification), making the beds, 
assisting with bathing.
> 
> 4. If people need 24 hour care you're going to need more than one caregiver.  
>  You're going to need a place for multiple caregivers.  You may need this 
> even if people don't need 24 hour caregiving.

I can’t see it working if someone needs full-time care. That person would have 
to be able to pay. Although perhaps the community’s room for a caregiver could 
be used if there is no one else needing help. Or someone who is 24-hour for one 
person could handle one problem, since as the meds, for someone else who would 
pay a small part of the support.
> 
> 5. People don't work 24/7. What happens when the caregiver takes a day off, 
> goes on vacation, get sick, or quits? 

It’s usually best to get someone thru an agency. They provide backup caregivers.
> 
> We need to get seriously real about aging in our cohousing  community. And I 
> mean seriously. We need to learn from experts on aging outside of Cohousing 
> what models are already and actual on doing to engage the space between 
> healthy aging and dying.  We need experts with a 30,000 foot view.
> 
> Additionally we need to inform the aging experts about what gifts and 
> resources Cohousing can bring to the conversation about caring for people 
> throughout their life span.
> 
> I do not buy the argument that once people reach a certain level of need that 
> they should find another place to live outside of their cohousing community. 
> This just goes against every grain of instinct I have about what cohousing 
> communities are about. If we can't figure out a way to keep our elders in our 
> communities then we're no different than any other standard housing 
> development.   
> 
> Offloading elderly to nursing homes is The Default action of our society 
> right now. I believe we can solve this quandry because we already have a leg 
> up on all other kinds of communities. We're already intentional, we're 
> already self run, and we've already shown we are the leading wedge  in  
> mainstream collaborative living. 
> 
> I urge you to mark off on your calendars now to attend the upcoming Aging in 
> Community conference to be held in Salt Lake City May 20-21 in Salt Lake City 
> Utah. This is where we can start having these conversations and where we 
> might actually come out with some solutions.
> 
> Ann Zabaldo
> Takoma Village Cohousing 
> Washington DC
> 
> All the mis spelling, grammatical errors, syntax errors etc. are totally the 
> fault of Siri. I take no responsibility for any of this…
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Dec 8, 2015, at 10:10 AM, Carol Agate <carolagate [at] me.com> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> These are good points about the limits of how much care younger neighbors 
>> can provide for older ones who need assistance. One solution is senior 
>> cohousing in which a studio unit is set aside for a caretaker whose services 
>> (and salary) can be shared for those who need help with bathing, 
>> medications, or other less than full-time help.
>> 
>> Carol Agate
>> Cornerstone 
>> Cambridge, MA 
>> 
>> 
>>> On Dec 8, 2015, at 7:44 AM, R Philip Dowds <rpdowds [at] comcast.net> wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Excellent and realistic points from Ann.  From my experience as an 
>>> eldercare architect (designer of nursing homes, assisted living, retirement 
>>> housing, etc.), I’ll add some amplifications.
>>> 
>>> . . .
>>> 
>>> Like assisted living, cohousing can help bridge the gap between 
>>> independence and custodial care.  And probably at a considerably lower 
>>> cost.  But we cohousers need to stay realistic about what we can and can’t 
>>> do (or don’t want to do) for our friends and neighbors.  Do I really want 
>>> to assist my neighbor across the hall with ADLs = Activities of Daily 
>>> Living: bathing, dressing / grooming, feeding and toileting?  Or, do all 
>>> his/her grocery shopping … even as I myself am having more trouble finding 
>>> my car keys?  I’m 71.  Am I expecting my neighbor to do these things for me?
>>>   I think most of us would agree that direct care with ADLs is probably 
>>> mostly beyond the social contract, implicit or explicit, of cohousing.  
>>> Grocery shopping and meal prep for a neighbor is very much within our 
>>> scope.  For a while.  But three meals a day, month after month?
>>> 
>>> Finally, we need to stay realistic about how much help old people can give 
>>> to old people.  If an 80-year-old’s television or computer screen goes 
>>> dark, or door sticks shut, chances are greater that it can be re-activated 
>>> by a 40-year-old than by another 80-year-old.  If supporting elderly 
>>> neighbors is part of our mission, then there is much to be said for 
>>> multi-generational communities.
>>> 
>>> Thanks,
>>> Philip Dowds
>>> Cornerstone Village Cohousing
>>> Cambridge, MA
>> 
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