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Life Plan Communities

Offering diverse lifestyle options

Life Plan Communities are properties offering a combination of living options for older adults. These communities offer an active lifestyle for residents, as well as a wide array of amenities and services.

Life Plan Communities were formerly known as Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs). Following a two-year research and review process, a task force led by LeadingAge and Mather LifeWays, identified a new name for CCRCs that would resonate with the boomer target audience. The new name better reflects the communities and their residents— individuals who are active, engaged and focused on the future.

Living options available at Life Plan Communities may include independent living, assisted living and skilled nursing services. These different levels of care are all offered on a single campus. Residents have the option to have all their current or future healthcare needs met without ever leaving campus.

Life Plan Communities afford residents endless opportunities to remain active and involved. These communities generally appeal to young, healthy older adults. Amenities vary widely but often include swimming pools, fitness centers, gardening areas, and golf courses or putting greens. Additionally, residents have access to hundreds of clubs and activities—from art classes to yoga classes and from drama clubs to walking groups. Residents are also very involved in the operation and management of Life Plan Communities through resident boards or councils.

Finally, Life Plan Communities are generally integrated into the larger community. With active residents, these communities can focus on giving back and acting as a socially responsible neighbor.

Life Plan Communities give older adults the freedom and security to live active, healthy lives. They are the perfect option for individuals who want to plan ahead for future care needs, while focusing on enjoying every day.

Source: lifeplancommunity.org

Understanding Contracts

By Kelly Hagler

You want to move to a senior living community, but that’s just the first of many decisions you’ll need to make. No matter which community you move to, you’ll have to sign a contract that stipulates the services you’ll receive and what you’ll pay—now and down the road.

This guide can help you navigate the different contracts you may encounter as you embark on your search for a new home. Life plan communities, also known as continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs), offer multiple levels of care all on one campus. This setting is generally attractive to seniors who like to plan ahead. Life Plan Communities are most useful for seniors who can come in at the independent living level and move through higher levels of care as needed over time.

1. Type A (Life Care Agreements).

According to the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, Type A contracts include overall housing, residential services (amenities) and unlimited healthrelated services. Type A contracts provide a sense of stability, as future costs are much more predictable regardless of any changes in needed services or care. Residents pay a much larger entrance fee compared to other contract types, but the monthly fee is flat through all levels of care.

2. Type B (Modified Agreements).

As with Type A, Type B contracts include housing and residential services. Unlike Type A, Type B does not cover all future health care needs but does offer discounted or waived rates for those services.

While Type B contracts have a lower entrance fee than Type A, should an increase in care become necessary, it would be the resident’s responsibility to cover costs.

3. Type C (Fee-For-Service

Agreements). Like both A and B, Type C contracts cover housing, residential services and health care. “Basically, it’s pay as you go,” says Mark Herrera, vice president of skilled nursing administration and risk management at be.group. Residents pay a smaller entrance fee in the beginning. Then, if you don’t need to use higher levels of care, there is no additional cost to you beyond your monthly service fee for using amenities like transportation or activities. While Type C contracts will save you on up-front costs, the resident risks the potential for large costs down the road if there is a sudden need for care.

Building Stronger Communities

Life plan community residents seek transparency and engagement

Life plan community residents want to be informed and involved in their communities. While this can make decision making more complicated for community administrators and boards, involving residents often leads to a better experience for both residents and staff. In fact, increased resident engagement is associated with improved relationships with management and greater overall satisfaction, according to a national survey from Mather LifeWays Institute on Aging.

The survey concluded that to increase resident engagement and satisfaction communities should focus on greater transparency and increased application of resident input.

Providing Greater Transparency

Life plan community residents crave information. They have made a major investment, and they want to be involved in how their communities are managed. Life plan communities can increase transparency by focusing on building trust with residents and expanding efforts to share information.

One key approach that has proven successful is to diversify communication efforts, using both written and oral mediums to reach the maximum amount of residents. The survey found that regular “town hall” meetings are a good way to ensure that residents are informed. Open to all residents, these meetings typically include presentations by community executives on operational information. They also feature time for residents to interact directly with management and ask questions, encouraging open lines of communication.

The survey also showed the importance of resident groups to increasing transparency. Resident groups can be involved in management decisions, serving on committees and advisory boards.

There are many advantages of greater transparency, according to survey respondents. They include a greater sense of trust in management (91%), an enhanced relationship between management and residents (88%), and increased resident satisfaction (83%). While there are many benefits to enhanced transparency, life plan community management also reported some disadvantages that need to be addressed. These included requests for information that cannot be fulfilled and increased levels of complaints.

Key Advantages of Greater Transparency

Survey respondents reported that more transparency resulted in:

91% - a greater sense of trust in management 88% - enhanced relationship between management and residents 83% - increased resident satisfaction

Life plan communities can increase transparency by focusing on building trust with residents and expanding efforts to share information.

Incorporating Resident Input

In addition to providing more information, the other key to increasing and maintaining resident satisfaction is incorporating resident input. Residents want to be informed, and they also want to be listened to.

Survey respondents suggested many different methods for successfully incorporating resident input including developing a sense of trust with residents, utilizing resident councils and committees, and providing structured processes for resident engagement.

Survey respondents also recommended different approaches to addressing the disadvantages of involving residents in operational decisions. To address potential conflicts of interest, the respondents recommended establishing “guardrails,” or clear boundaries on the extent of resident input allowed. They also suggested presenting a small number of solutions for resident discussion. Despite potential drawbacks, more than 70 percent of respondents reported that resident representation on the board positively affects operations.

By keeping residents informed and using their input, life plan communities can keep residents engaged—and make their communities even more engaging.

For complete survey results, visit matherlifewaysinstituteonaging.com.