Since the downturn in the economy our company did not really recognize any negative trending one way or the other until the first quarter of 2009. Independent living was already beginning to weaken back to the summer of 2008 as the housing marketing especially existing home sales started to slump.
What is interesting is that with Assisted Living always being a “need driven” product we have seen the “need” steadily increase with an equally steadily fall in admissions. The assisted living resident needing services from our communities today are visiting us in very frail and progressively declining health, in fact most are not able to visit at all. Money of course as always is a defining issue.
In years past we could take a resident just coming off the recovery of an event such as fall, fracture or minor stroke and have moderate success in returning them to a happy quality of life. All of our communities utilize third party rehab providers, home health specialist, as well as provide a transportation program to help the resident obtain the healthcare they need. To our detriment we were experiencing such positive results that some of our residents were able to return to their home.
We have also seen an increase in dementia related issues. With many of the speciality units having little if any vacancy, pressure to push the envelop in assisted living is increasing. This pressure is two sided as the families are many times facing a discharge from a hospital or rehab facility and the operator or provider is facing the need to meet income or cash flow objectives. With this increase in acuity, additional staffing becomes necessary which adds cost. The length of stay also becomes shorter as we have seen an average drop to 12 - 14 months.
Independent living has become what assisted living used to be 10 years ago. May I suggest if you are facing the possibility of having to consider assisted living for your loved one, give heavy consideration to a short term stay. If the discharge planner or medical professional suggest a home discharge consider an assisted living community. They can provide proper nutrition, consistent medication and assistance with bathing and dressing.
Short term respite stays usually include furnished units which can easily be converted to accommodate longer term stays.
Be prepared and plan ahead, home will always be home it is our job to make sure it stays that way.
