CAREGIVER • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2022 • 7
Amber Woods Assisted Living
at HarmarVillage
Private rooms and suites.
Ask about our
short-term Bridge-to-Home program.
• Three delicious, nutritious meals daily
• Daily housekeeping
• Cable and internet included
• 24-hour licensed nursing staff
• Emergency response system
724-274-3770
myamberwoods.com
facebook.com/AmberWoodsAtHV
214811
724-715-1043
Seek advice to find best fit
Another similar, but less expensive option
to look into is board and care homes. These
offer many of the same services as assisted
living facilities but in a much smaller home
setting.
Your Area Aging Agency is again a good
resource for finding assisted living facilities
and board care homes, as is Caring.com.
Nursing homes: If your mom needs ongoing
medical and personal care or has very
limited mobility, a nursing home, which
provides 24-hour skilled nursing care, is
the next option. To find a good one, use
Medicare’s nursing home compare tool at
Medicare.gov/care-compare. This tool will
not only help you locate nursing homes in
your area, but it also provides a 5-star rating
system on recent health inspections, staffing,
quality of care and overall rating.
But be aware that nursing home care is
very expensive, costing anywhere between
$4,500 and $13,000 per month for a semi-private
room depending on where you live.
Most residents pay from either personal
funds, a long-term care insurance policy or
through Medicaid after their savings are
depleted.
Continuing-care retirement communities:
If your mom has the financial resources,
a CCRC is another option that
provides all levels of housing (independent
living, assisted living and skilled nursing
home care) in one convenient location. But
these communities typically require a hefty
entrance fee that can range from $20,000
to $500,000 or more, plus ongoing monthly
service fees that vary from around $2,000 to
more than $4,000. To search for CCRC’s, visit
Caring.com.
If you’re not sure what your mom needs,
consider hiring an aging life care expert
(AgingLifeCare.org) who can assess your
mom and find her appropriate housing for
a fee — usually between $300 and $800. Or
you can use a senior care advising service
like A Place for Mom (APlaceForMom.com)
for free. They get paid from the senior living
facilities in their network.
Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior,
P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit
SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor
to the NBC “Today” show and author of “The
Savvy Senior” book.
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