News-Press – June 2008
Excerpted from original article published in The News-Press, June 2, 2008 edition
Seniors citizens often happier at home: Planning can help many avoid nursing homes
By JENNIFER BOOTH REED
Stay at home? Go to a nursing home?
A no-brainer for most seniors, right?
But staying home requires planning, say financial, home health and construction representatives who are planning a free workshop for seniors and their adult children Saturday at Hodges University in Fort Myers.
“If you plan ahead for aging, you have the opportunity to make an informed choice that respects your parents’ preferences and independence,” said Stephanie Kirch, a mortgage specialist with Naples Classic Mortgages. “Too often, a family is forced to make an emergency plan with fewer options in reacting to an unexpected injury or illness.”
Studies suggest most people prefer to stay at home. That’s also the cheapest alternative for couples, their children — and taxpayers. Kirch, citing a new MetLife Inc. study, said it costs an average of $212 a day to live in a nursing home. If a senior runs out of money, Medicaid picks up the tab.
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Kirch’s company is beginning the state’s first chapter of the National Aging in Place Council, a Washington, D.C., group that encourages local leaders to build business and resource networks and better serve seniors.
In that spirit, Kirch and her colleagues will introduce residents to the concept of aging in place and planning tips for a comfortable future.
Move in reverse?
Kirch will discuss the option of reverse mortgages, which allows homeowners ages 62 and older with at least 60 percent equity in their homes to use that equity for living expenses, remodeling costs or other needs.
Some older adults feel ashamed of the process — as if they’d mismanaged their finances. Kirch said that’s usually not the case.
“Because people are living longer, they are outliving their finances,” she said.
The reverse mortgage process used to be rife with abuses and tragic stories of people losing their homes, Kirch said. Today, the industry is regulated by the Federal Housing Administration.
Money in the bank?
Not everyone needs a reverse mortgage.
Certified financial planner Mac Moise Jr. of the Moise Financial Planning Group will talk investment strategies for those with other resources.
“You want to make sure your investments are matching up with what your needs are,” said Moise.
Finances can be frightening: Moise met with a 70-year-old woman recently who was caring for her 90-year-old husband. His nursing bill runs $6,000 a month. He devised a new spending strategy for them.
Moise said he can answer questions about long-term health insurance and establishing health care trusts. He’ll also stress to reticent seniors the importance of being candid about finances.
“If you are going to run out of money, somebody needs to know,” he said.
Looking around
Look around your homes, seniors, encourages Kathy Guyitt, a licensed contractor and owner of the Bonita-based DesignTech of Southwest Florida.
Then ask yourself: Will you be able to navigate the stairs, climb into the bathtub, push a walker or wheelchair through the plush carpet?
Guyitt is a certified aging in place specialist, and will talk about adapting your home for the future.
A full remodeling project can run $80,000, so Guyitt suggests people start planning for it when they’re in their 50s.
“If you want to stay in your home, and you want to start remodeling it, that’s a big commitment,” Guyitt said.
The good news is the design industry has come out with products like grab bars that look anything but industrial, Guyitt said.
Finding a nurse
Staying at home could require medical help. And sometimes good help is hard to find, said Ted Wolfendale, the administrator of Dial-A-Nurse home health agency.
“We’ve seen all sorts of horror stories,” he said.
Frail seniors are easy prey for unscrupulous caregivers.
He’ll offer tips on choosing a well-qualified — and honest — nurse.
Those include: Talk to law enforcement about would-be caregivers or work through a nursing agency that runs background checks; make sure the nurse is keeping up-to-date with continuing education requirements; make sure the nurse has had a current physical exam and proof of negative tuberculosis test; and make sure the nurse has liability insurance.