Perhaps your health needs or those of a loved one are changing, or you just want to downsize and start the next exciting chapter. Before you start taking tours of senior living residences, familiarize yourself with the available types of long-term care and where they fit on the following senior living continuum of care. Understanding the similarities and differences can help you choose the one that will provide the highest quality of life now and in the future.

Life-Lease Developments
Individuals 55+ pay an entry fee to occupy a town house, condo, or apartment and to use amenities and programming on the campus. Priority access to continuing care options, like assisted living and memory care, is included. In addition to the entry fee, a monthly fee is charged to cover maintenance and other expenses. The development may or may not offer a refund of a percentage of the entry fee when a person moves out or passes away.

Independent Senior Apartments
Individuals 55+ pay a monthly fee to live independently in an apartment with the security, companionship, and convenience of community living. Meals, housekeeping, and organized social programs, as well as priority access to continuing care options, may be included in the monthly fee.

  • Subsidized or Section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher program). A person whose income is below 50 percent of the area median income pays 30 to 40 percent of their adjusted income for rent. The balance is subsidized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
  • Affordable or Section 42 (Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program). A person’s rent is dependent on household size and is not a percentage of income. Income is only used to determine eligibility and must be recertified each year.

Assisted Living Residences
In Wisconsin, this term is used to describe residential care apartment complexes (RCACs), community-based residential facilities (CBRFs), and adult family homes (AFH).

  • RCAC. Those 55+ pay a base monthly fee for an apartment that can provide up to 28 hours per week of supportive services, such as meals, health monitoring, medication management, housekeeping, etc. RCACs are not recommended for those with dementia or health challenges requiring more in-depth monitoring.
  • CBRF. Those 55+ pay a base monthly fee for an apartment that includes care staff available 24/7, meals, laundry, housekeeping, medication management, and up to three hours per week of skilled nursing care.
  • AFH. Those 55+ pay a monthly fee to live in a small residential facility, often a private home. The base monthly fee includes care staff available 24/7, meals, laundry, housekeeping, medication management, and up to seven hours per week of skilled nursing care.

Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC)
These campuses include all the living options shown on the senior living continuum, enabling those 55+ to get the care they need without having to move off the campus. A life lease or long-term contract between the individual and the community may be required.

Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF)
These facilities provide licensed nursing services 24/7 for those who need rehabilitative care or medical services too complex to be handled by an RCAC, CBRF, or AFH.

Memory Care Residences
These secure CBRFs or SNFs include specialized care and programming for those with Alzheimer’s or other memory challenges.

For additional information about all aspects of life related to aging or living with a disability, including long-term care options and possible funding assistance, call or visit your county’s aging and disability resource center (ADRC).

Provided by ElderSpan Management, LLC, operators of All Saints Neighborhood and The Pines Senior Living.

Photographs provided by ElderSpan Management.

ELDERSPAN MANAGEMENT
(608) 243-8800
elderspan.com