As Boomers Age, There’s A Boom In Memory-Care Facilities
By Roger Bull, The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
"She just wasn't in tune anymore," she said. "She had trouble making a meal. If I wasn't there, she'd stay in bed all day, or she'd take a shower and go back to bed still wet."
So she moved her mother, 84-year-old
The
Others have opened recently on
Some have both assisted living and memory care, which is for residents with Alzheimer's and other dementia, while others are only memory care.
It's the first big building boom in those types of facilities since the 1990s, said
"New assisted-living facilities almost shriveled up because there was no financing," he said. "Now there's lots of money available, and people want to invest in this segment."
Assisted-living and memory-care facilities require licensing, but not the same state certificate of need that nursing homes do. There was actually a moratorium on new nursing home beds for more than a decade. It was lifted this year.
Last year, they opened Arbor Terrace Ortega on
They expect to break ground on a third facility, Arbor Terrace San Jose, off
But while many facilities open with both assisted living and memory care -- typically about 75 percent assisted and 25 percent memory -- Whitehall's facilities are strictly memory care.
"What we're seeing is that memory care is a specialized kind of care," said
"Arguably, they're better delivered in a standalone facility."
GROWING NEED
Carey said he first starting thinking about developing memory-care facilities when he and his wife were looking for a facility for a family member. He thought the market was underserved at the time and the need wasn't going to go away.
According to the
"That's expected to triple in the next 25 years," he said. "Short of a cure, there's going to be a lot of people suffering from it. And the demographics are all of us. The number of people who are going to be rolling into that age group is growing quickly."
The pair formed Starling Senior Living and have an assisted-living/memory-care facility under construction in
And they hope to start work on another on
"When you take a step back and look at the demographics," Lucie said, "we are still several years before the boomers start hitting 80."
He also pointed to the last rush of facilities that were built in the '90s.
"All of that product has a more institutional feel; it doesn't have amenities that people want now. Our memory care is built with two secure courtyards, a separate salon.
"When you look at where we wanted to place our bet over the long term, you just couldn't ignore this."
THE COST
Cassidy said the national range for assisted living is
But newer facilities, with those increased amenities, are often at the high end of the range.
At
At Whitehall's Arbor Terrace Ortega, which is all memory care, the cost is
If a nursing home resident runs out of money, there is
"Assisted living is private pay," Carey said. "There is reimbursement for some rehab and there are some VA benefits. But many times, they've sold their homes and can use that money.
"But after two or three years, without assets from a home or elsewhere, you can go bankrupt. Families garner their resources; that's just how it works."
Miller said her mother has long-term care insurance.
"It doesn't cover everything," she said, "but she's in good shape. I don't know what other people do."
THE FUTURE
Cassidy said a recent spate of new facilities has filled some of the need that developed over the last 10-15 years. He recently did a study of 10 markets in one state which he didn't want to name. Two of the 10 had a need for more assisted living facilities, but five needed more memory care.
If the current building trend continues nationally, he said, the market will be full of assisted living facilities in another year or two.
Memory care, he said, will take several years longer than that.
But as more developers get involved with assisted and memory care, Carey had a warning for them.
"They can't be thinking this is a real estate play," he said. "It's about operating a business, not just developing it. You'll have people who get in and don't realize that, who haven't carefully thought through it."
Starling has contracted with
And both Whitehall and Starling plan to keep growing. Lucie said Starling is looking for other sites, but hasn't chosen any beyond the three in the works now.
Carey said Whitehall wants to stay within three or four hours of
"Our business plan doesn't have us going all over the country."
FAMILY
In addition to a population that lives longer and the large group of boomers coming along, there are other forces at work.
"You've got changing family dynamics," Lucie said. "There's more divorce, fewer kids, fewer caregivers. All this is combining for this industry."
Families still struggle with the decision to place a parent in facility.
Even though they had condos next to each other, Miller said it was simply too much for her to work and to care for her mother.
"You do feel like you've kind of failed, like you should do more," she said. "But I was running myself into the ground. In the morning, I'd make lunch for myself and my husband, then I'd go next door to my mother's to get her up and make breakfast for her.
"I couldn't go anywhere because my mom depended on me.
"I'm in real estate and I see families who want a bigger house so they can take care of a parent. I get that, but I don't know if they understand what they're signing up for. It can be all-consuming.
"I don't think my mom would want me to spend all my time taking care of her. So you pick and choose where to put your parents and hope the staff gives her what she needs."
___
(c)2014 The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Visit The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, Fla.) at www.jacksonville.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
Wordcount: | 1402 |
Brand new clinic offers free care
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News