Extra-care housing

Assisted living allows residents to maintain independence while help is nearby.

Assisted living facilities are touted as the best of both worlds for older adults: independence with the comfort of knowing help is always there when you need it.

People residing in ALFs can maintain and enjoy their personal freedom and privacy while living in a safe, secure environment. ALFs offer minor medical care, such as medication supervision to make sure residents take their medications correctly and on time.

Additional supportive services offered are meals three times a day, while some ALFs feature residences with their own kitchens. ALF residents also can benefit from housekeeping services, assistance with bathing and personal hygiene, laundry, transportation, onsite security (usually an emergency alert system for each residence), exercise and physical fitness programs along with a plethora of social activities.

Assisted living facilities can be found in a variety of ways, from pockets of apartments, single-family homes to condominium-style facilities.

In Florida, the industry is regulated through the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration’s Assisted Living Unit, and stringent guidelines must be followed for accreditation. Most assisted living communities offer residents the choice of all-inclusive or fee-for-service pricing. All-inclusive means a single monthly fee covers rent, meals and any additional services a resident chooses such as housekeeping or transportation. Fee-for-service means a resident pays only for those services they use.

In 2019, the average monthly cost of assisted living nationwide is $4,000, according to payingforseniorcare.com. Alzheimer’s and dementia care in assisted living (called memory care) costs, on average, an additional $800 to $1,200 per month. Costs for assisted living vary from state to state. In the South and Midwest, the approximate average monthly costs are $2,800 to $4,500, which is about $2,000 less than the cost in the Northeast and on the West Coast.

Genworth.com reports the monthly cost in 2018 for assisted living in the Orlando area was $3,275, which broke down to $267 a day for a semi-private room and $292 for a private room.

Aging At The Cove

“We want to make sure when a resident moves here, they are able to be cared for without having to move again,” says Debbie Kenny, marketing director at The Cove at Tavares Village. “It’s a home environment where they will be able to go on to higher level of care within the same building and the same nursing staff.”

The facility has an extended congregate care (ECC) license, which first allows residents to age in place and be cared for in their home by an ECC nursing staff. The Cove also offers senior independent living, assisted living, memory care and dementia care.

“Our senior independent living is very independent living; it’s completely maintenance-free,” Debbie says. “In some cases, it will keep them safer longer. And if they need additional care, they can move up to assisted living and then on to memory care, so ours is a true continuing care environment.”

Meal times in the dining room are popular social gatherings at The Cove.

“Residents love the food, and we hear that a lot,” Debbie says. “They love lasagna day, which the chef makes from scratch. We have lasagna two to three times a month, and our chef is very good with Italian dishes.”

The Cove also offers social activities such as live music, plays, worship service, cards and board games, dancing, bingo, crafts, art classes and organized outings for lunch, fashion shows and shopping.

Michigan native and widow Sharon Ferguson, 77, has lived in Florida since 1992, and she was apprehensive when two friends initially encouraged her to relocate to an assisted living facility.

“My arthritis was getting bad and I was by myself a lot,” Sharon says.

Now she’s glad The Cove at Tavares Village is her home. She made the move a few months ago.

“It’s nice here,” says Sharon, who enjoys recreational activities like bingo, golf, trivia and a variety of games. “The people are nice, too, and I’ve made some friends.”

She loves having menu choices for her meals, and she happily showed a large wad of $5 and $10 “play money”—her bingo winnings—that she anticipates spending at the facility’s auctions.

Sharon believes her late husband would have been pleased seeing her enjoying fun times at The Cove.

“He always wanted me to be wellcared for,” she says.

Assisted Living Facilities

Benton House of Clermont 16401 Good Hearth Blvd., Clermont 352.241.9994

Spruce Creek Assisted Living 603 Chautauqua Drive, Mount Dora 800.385.2527

Osprey Lodge 1761 Nightingale Lane, Tavares 352.253.5100

Village Veranda at Lady Lake 955 S. Highway 27/441, Lady Lake 352.268.3523

Mission Oaks 10780 U.S. Highway 301, Oxford 352.330.3901

Evaluate Alfs

Just as in other stages of life when people research and visit places to live, elderlaw.com advises people to evaluate assisted living facilities with these guidelines in mind:

• Assess your needs.

• Tour facilities.

• Study the fees and the contract.

• Find out about the staff.

• Look into the medical services.

• Find out what types of activities are offered.

• Observe the staff in action.