Our Ask An Angel correspondent is Arlene Petersen, Life Care Navigation Specialist in the area of senior home care.
Q. My aunt lives in an assisted living community, but we learned she cannot continue living there because she will be running out of money. What options does she have?
A. Sadly, when a senior who lives in an assisted living community runs out of funds, they must move out. This is an upsetting situation that is very real. It happens because many seniors donāt have unlimited resources to pay for care for an extended period of time. If your aunt still qualifies to live in an assisted living environment, meaning she can meet the physical requirements to live in such a community, then one option is to consider supportive living communities. Assuming she lives in Illinois, our state is one of the few that offers the option of supportive living. Like assisted living, supportive living enables seniors to receive the same care, but the monthly ārentā is taken care of through Medicaid. A senior must spend down their money to qualify. If you do a little research on the internet, you will find several supportive living communities in the Kane county and surrounding areas. If she needs more care than what an assisted living community can provide, then she may have to consider skilled care. Many skilled facilities provide care through Medicaid. In either situation, the demand is high for such arrangements and she may have to be placed on a waiting list to gain residency in either type of community. Much depends on how much care she needs. Other options include families working together to provide care as best they can. This may involve enlisting the help of a professional in-home caregiver to assist in many ways. Others look to day care during the day hours and then provide care in the home when their loved one goes home for the day. Costs for each of these options will vary, so you may have to do some research on this. One last suggestion is to investigate if she may qualify for Veteranās benefits. If she or her spouse served in the military, she may qualify for benefits. Of course, there are requirements for these benefits, but it never hurts to investigate the options available. In the end, the goal is to find a solution that allows for a safe and happy living arrangement to your aunt. When this is in place, she can thrive while enjoying her āhome.ā
Have a question for our angel correspondent? You can send our angel an email to apetersen@visitingangels.com or send your question via mail to Ask An Angel, 65 Woodbury St., South Elgin, IL 60177.
