Suburban senior communities offer different levels of care

You’ve made the decision to move into a senior community, but what are the choices? What kind of community will fit your particular needs?

All suburban Chicago retirement communities offer one or more types of living arrangements, each with differing levels of care.

Independent livingWith independent living, a resident lives independently in a townhouse, villa or apartment within the senior community. The unit is probably equipped with some things to make life easier like emergency call buttons, grab bars in the bathrooms, accessible tub or shower, and so forth. But otherwise, it is just like a private home.Activities, meal plans, housekeeping, transportation and other services are also offered, but they differ from community to community. And the financial arrangements differ greatly, as well.Some communities rent units. Others sell units. Still others sell shares in the community.Suburban independent-living facilities vary widely.Poplar Creek Village in Hoffman Estates is an active-adult community that is entirely independent living, offering 121 one- and two-bedroom apartments in a two-story building. Daily continental breakfast, as well as fitness programs and classes, are included in the rent but additional meals and trips incur an additional fee, said Phil Moeller, general partner in CareFree Development, which owns Poplar Creek Village, as well as Liberty Village in Elmhurst, Hunt Club Village in St. Charles and Emerald Village in Schaumburg. Its Zurich Meadows in Lake Zurich will open in January.#147;We keep them going from morning to late at night so that they love getting up in the morning,#148; Moeller said. But transportation is not provided at any CareFree Development community.Friendship Village in Schaumburg, The Holmstad in Batavia, Luther Village in Arlington Heights and The Garlands in Barrington, on the other hand, all have large campuses with facilities for all levels of senior need.The Holmstad, for example, is set amid 38 parklike acres and features numerous buildings, including its magnificent new Town Center that acts as the hub of the community. It features a creative arts center, two pools, a sauna and steam room, two dining options, two floors of apartments, underground parking and more, said Kathy Viney, marketing director.Several other dining rooms that serve particular populations are located throughout the campus and door-to-door transportation between buildings is offered. The community offers several types of independent living, assisted living with or without memory care, and skilled nursing.Meanwhile, The Devonshire in Hoffman Estates limits its offerings to independent apartment living and assisted living, while Delnor Glen in St. Charles has an intimate campus offering independent townhouse living, assisted living and memory care, along with rehabilitation therapy for those recovering from surgery or illness. The community also work with hospice care, as necessary.Asbury Court in Des Plaines has independent living, supervised living and supportive living, while Alexian Village in Elk Grove offers both assisted and supportive living.Assisted livingAs people age, they often require additional levels of care. Assisted living, or sometimes called supportive or supervised living, is designed for seniors who need help with some day-to-day activities, like bathing or remembering to take their medications, but they still live in their private apartments.The entire seventh floor at The Devonshire of Hoffman Estates is an assisted living facility. It features 30 apartments ranging in size from studios to two-bedroom units, all of which include full kitchens. No skilled nursing is available, but there are between three and six nurses on duty within the building during business hours and nurses on-call during the overnight hours.Since the facility is located on the campus of St. Alexius Medical Center, the proximity of the hospital also allows for peace of mind.#147;Our philosophy is to raise our residents to their highest degree of functional independence,#148; said Tim Sullivan, director of marketing and sales at The Devonshire. #147;The assisted living area has its own dining room, computer lab, recreation room and family area and private apartments that are exactly the same as the ones on our independent living floors. The residents of assisted living simply have people checking on them round the clock and they get help with bathing, dressing, medication reminders and so forth. They also get three meals a day, along with housekeeping and laundry services.#148;Assisted living residents at The Devonshire also have access to all of the transportation, trips, programming and facilities enjoyed by the community#146;s independent living residents.Asbury Court also offers supervised living, in addition to its independent living and supportive apartments. Delnor Glen offers assisted living as well as memory care and independent townhouse living. Alexian Village offers both assisted and supportive living.Of course, full continuum of care communities #8212; which provide all levels of care #8212; like The Holmstad, Friendship Village, Luther Village and The Garlands, offer assisted living facilities on their campuses, too.Skilled nursingSkilled nursing facilities primarily exist in these full continuum of care communities, or as free-standing buildings that also offer Medicare-paid rehabilitation for those recovering from surgery, hip or knee replacements or some other major health problem.Skilled nursing care is needed for those who need more intensive short-term or long-term nursing support and 24-hour health care monitoring, said Jeanne Heid-Grubman, health care administrator for The Holmstad.#147;There are state standards that dictate when someone needs skilled nursing care, like the number of people it takes to transfer them from a chair to a bed, for instance,#148; Heid-Grubman said.The large communities, including The Holmstad, will usually give preference to their own residents, but if short-term rehab beds are available in their skilled nursing facilities, most will accept nonresidents, as well.The Holmstad recently updated its short-term/rehab care area, making most of the rooms there private, she added.Memory careMemory care units are designed for people suffering from types of dementia, including, but not limited to, Alzheimer#146;s disease. Some communities integrate these seniors into their assisted living areas, while others have separate and distinct memory care rooms or wings.Delnor Glen has a very small and intimate memory care unit that only houses 15 residents at a time. Each resident resides in a studio apartment with a private bath and shower, said Cathy Duer, marketing and sales director. It is a secure unit with alarms on doors to prevent the residents from wandering off and getting hurt.The residents participate in a variety of activities like word searches and challenges, weekly bus rides, decorating for holidays, arts and crafts, singalongs, baking classes in the community kitchen and church services. There are also periodic family-centered events like an annual ice cream social and a holiday party.At the Luther Home on the Luther Village campus, the early memory care unit is organized on the housing model of neighborhoods with activities and socialization within the neighborhood, said Peg McGrath, executive director of Luther Village.As dementia progresses, residents move to the #147;Cross Roads#148; program, as they call it, which allows for a higher level of care. The #147;Pathways#148; program is for advanced dementia patients who may also require nursing care.Memory care is also available at The Holmstad, The Garlands and Friendship Village.Respite careRespite care is a wonderful service offered in relatively few communities. This is short-term residency at a community so that family members may take a vacation or just get a break from caring at home for an elderly loved one.In some cases, respite care is provided to those who are recovering from a hospital stay and need some extra help for a few days or weeks.Heritage Woods at Huntley, a facility that specializes in assisted living, is one community that provides respite care. It also provides this service for families who would like to spend some time trying out Heritage Woods before they decide whether or not they want to move a senior there, Swanson said.Under the respite care plan at Heritage Woods, a senior may stay five days or more in furnished rooms that are like a hotel suite. They get the same services as a resident does during time spent there. The cost is $140 per day for a studio apartment and $155 per day for a one-bedroom apartment.#147;We get lots of prospective residents who decide to give us a try this way, before they make a more permanent decision to move to Heritage Woods,#148; Swanson said.Asbury Court in Des Plaines, Delnor Glen in St. Charles and Alexian Village in Elk Grove also offer such programs.This winter Delnor Glen is even offering a winter respite special, Duer said. A senior may choose to live in one of their furnished assisted living apartments for the winter so that they don#146;t have to worry about going to the mailbox or getting to the store or shoveling snow. Those who are rehabbing from an injury or illness may also choose to spend a few weeks at Delnor Glen until they feel ready to return home.In order to view quality ratings for the area#146;s various health care facilities, log onto www.medicare.gov. 32642448 25391643 533800Friendship village