Continuing Care Retirement Communities (ccrcs)

[gina 2]

Hi All,

I am curious how many of you work in CCRCs?

In Arizona there are quite a few of these facilities and I am considering a

position in one.

From my understanding of it, the person buys in and gets an apt./unit of their own, then as they age and need more services,such as nursing care, they then go to the other side of the building and still are with you just in a different capacity.

What do you all think about these facilities?

I have worked for twenty years in the buss. but have never worked in a facility like this. I personally think its a great idea if the resident can afford it, they are pretty expensive.

Well, let me all know what ya think.

Gina

[wonytineres 0]

Gina,

 

I work at a CCRC in Southern Wisconsin- non profit, church affiliated- I absolutely LOVE IT!!! The culture is dramatically different than the for profit, private sector LTC facilities I had worked for in the past. Just as you said our residents 'buy in to' our system and are guaranteed care for life. We have condos, apartments, Assisted Living, a memory unit and a SNF. I have found the focus to be much more person centered therefore activities is valued much more than in the typical LTC setting. Also, because we are non profit and because a greater percentage of our residents are private pay we have a generous supply budget as well as labor hours. On the flip side, I have found that my job as AD in this setting is much more administrative than at past facilities. I spend more of my time 'people pleasing', working on reports/budgets/requests for our board of directors and managing staff than in past roles. Overall, I would highly recommend working at a CCRC, you'll develop stronger, long lasting relationships with your residents (some of our folks have been in our system for 35 years!) and their families. If you want to chat further my email is wonytineres@hotmail.com (serenity now backwards).

[Vanessa 0]

I work for a CCRC in Northeastern Wisconsin. We have condos, apartments, studios, cottages, 3 CBRF's, an RCAC, and a SNF. We range from the very active elderly (we have an age minimum of 55 years old) to the very frail elderly. I really enjoy the CCRC atmosphere because you get a chance to interact with resident's in all phases. We have many trips and outings for residents to choose from. We have big campus wide events for all to enjoy, plus unit based activities. There is a wide variety of activities and burn-out from boredom is not an issue! The downside is finding a balance (paperwork, meetings, etc. vs. face to face time with the residents) and dealing with the well elderly who do not want to be exposed to the frail elderly. My facility is non-profit and I agree that it does make a huge difference in wages, budgets, staff hours, etc. Good luck! >Vanessa