A Little Help
Assisted-living and independent-living centers are increasingly popular among seniors.

by Kathy McKimmie

(November 2001) - The residents at Westminster Village Muncie don't like the term assisted living, says president Betty DeVoe; they prefer "supported care." And don't call them elderly or old or even seniors. They don't like the labels. Their sensitivity led to DeVoe's unusual request to leave the first word of Old National Bank from its exterior signage in Westminster's mall area, which also includes a beauty salon and gift shop. The bank obliged.

The building boom in assisted-living facilities throughout Indiana is testament to a population that is staying healthier longer and desiring to live as independently as possible for as long a possible. Most residents in these private-pay facilities need only minimum help with the activities of daily living, such as bathing and dressing, but because of this need cannot live alone. Others need help with dispensing medication, which is available in licensed facilities with nursing staff.

Some facilities, such as Westminster, offer a continuum of living possibilities, from fully independent apartments to full nursing care, with assisted living in the middle. This allows residents to "age in place" and move to a more intensive level of care within the same community, maintaining friendships and activities.

Other facilities, those that have seen the most growth in the last few years, are stand-alone assisted-living buildings, such as Bell Oaks Terrace in Newburgh, Fort Wayne and Washington. The 4-year-old Newburgh facility has 50 studio and one-bedroom apartments. "Our average age is 85," says manager Terrye Stoltz. "A few don't require much, but it eases the burden on family, knowing that they'll eat and will get help if they should fall."

Bell Oaks provides a bus for resident transportation, although some still drive, plus three meals a day and assistance to and from the dining room. It also helps with activities of daily living, medicines, and has an activities director and 24-hour staffing. A resident council meets once a month.

Potential residents are assessed before entering, and at three-month intervals thereafter. At a minimum, they must be able to stand and pivot to move from bed and the toilet with assistance. If residents become more disabled and need more care, Stoltz says the family must hire a sitter, 24-hours a day, or move the resident to a long-term-care facility.

Respite care is another service available at Bell Oaks, and many other assisted-living centers, that's widely used when caregivers need to go out of town "for a day or two, or when the family goes on vacation," says Stoltz. "It's very popular in the summertime for a week or two. All services are provided." Some, like Greentree Catered Life Communities, allow individuals recovering from surgery to use their furnished respite apartments, and allow potential residents to test the waters for a couple weeks to see if they would enjoy living in the community full-time.

Greentree Catered Life Communities, developed by Greenwalt Corp. of Greenfield, has operations in West Lafayette, Indianapolis, Kokomo and Columbus. Most residents at Greentree are able to live completely independently in low-lot-line, two- and three-bedroom patio homes. The yards are maintained and an emergency-response system is provided. When the time for more care comes, regional director Sandy Stence says the patio homes become an "excellent feeder" to the "big house," or assisted-living building, right on the same campus, where 40 percent of the residents still drive. Greentree has four assisted-living levels, based on individual assessment of need.

The Harrison Retirement Community on Indianapolis' west side is "an independent-living retirement community where assisted living is available," stresses marketing director Kim Newlin, "not an assisted-living facility." The 16-year-old community has 124 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, rented on a 12-month-lease basis. Each has a kitchen or kitchenette, but one meal a day is included and three are available in the restaurant-style dining room that offers a choice of three entrees.

When residents begin to need assistance with medications, dressing or getting around the facility, they receive it from a home-heath agency, Quality Home Care, owned by The Harrison's parent company, Capital Senior Living Corp. Three basic levels of care are available, with additional services added based on individual need.

"Most people transition through the system," Cindy Lilly, executive director of ManorCare at Summer Trace in Carmel, says of her continuing-care facility's levels of service. "First an independent apartment, then, if they get sick or injured they need additional services. People receiving services live in a normal apartment, a studio, one- or two-bedroom with a kitchen." Many times one spouse will need more assistance, she says, but the couple is still able to live together.

Transition also is a good word for what's happening at Georgetowne Place in Fort Wayne. "Our average age is 86 years old," says general manager Carol Felger. "When it was built (14 years ago) it was for empty nesters-55 to 60 years old. But it has evolved, everyone wants, needs, more help now." The complex now caters to those 65 and over in 163 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, with kitchens and washer/dryers, and offers all meals in a common dining area along with transportation services.

Home-like assisted-living centers are not yet well understood, says Stence. "People look at making the big move as devastating. But people thrive-and even eat better-when they are with others. They live longer and stay healthier."