A Parting Word – By David Ammons

For several decades I have heard key players in the retirement industry, at various association meetings and the like, seek more effective ways to help prospects understand what is being offered at a particular community. In an effort to help us understand differences between communities, I have come up with my own scale. [...]

In today’s article I address a common question about retirement communities. Specifically Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC) which some call Life Plan communities. The question varies but is around which financial plan is best for me or us. CCRC’s are generally available as either: [...]

Moving can be stressful, but there are a number of resources available so that it doesn’t have to be. Those who have a team of professionals working together to get someone from a home to most likely a much smaller apartment in a senior living community are the residents who are set up for success. The professionals below can make selling your home, packing and moving to a senior living community a much less tedious task. [...]

In past articles I have shared the types of senior living options that are available. One of the commonly mentioned options is Assisted Living. A recent article produced by Argentum a Senior Living Industry Association provides a great deal of information about Assisted Living. I want to share a few of the highlights from this article. [...]

I want to share a few thoughts to be sure when one equates "Aging In Place" with "this is all I will accept" that they think a little further. My points really revolve around a differentiation between aging-in-place-in-current-setting-no-matter-what versus aging in "place" where "place" is a community. [...]

I hope not to overwhelm the reader of this article with statistics and examples, because the impact of cost increases in both inflation and staffing vary by location, type of community, and management decisions. Over my 37 years of involvement in the retirement community industry, I thought I had learned not to let a few events or factors cause panic. But the reality of inflation’s impact to tangible purchases [...]

I still get caught by surprise by a particular community’s process for their Waiting List. I will share what I know or believe I know, but let me be very clear at the beginning of this article that you need to be sure to ask enough questions with a community you are talking to in order to fully understand their “_________ List.” [...]

Retirement Community options in the Triangle and Triad continue to become more diversified and varied. In an effort to simplify the choices, I believe they can be grouped in several broad categories:  Independent Living, Independent Living with bundled services, and Licensed Care. [...]

This month, I have asked Brandon Hair, Executive Director of Springmoor Retirement Community in North Hills, Raleigh, to talk about an exciting evolution underway in the skilled nursing world. As more skilled nursing facilities adapt to a more homelike model than a traditional hospital model, [...]

Different communities handle their Waiting List or Priority List with their own rules and policies. It is important to get on a Waiting List or two or three. It is even more important to Make A Plan. More and more seniors witnessed the need for their parents to have a plan and now it is time for them to make their own plans. [...]