The Foreign Service Journal, January 2006

a familiar location with friends and support, situated to carry on independently. • You may want to simplify and pare down, to make the tough decisions on weeding out excess furniture and the paraphernalia of decades, so as not to leave that chore to others. • You may be interested in reducing unnecessary expenses in order to better conserve resources for travel, study and entertainment, or for children’s needs. • You may have realized that, given markedly in- creased longevity and growing demand, most senior liv- ing facilities have a waiting list of two years or more; and that postponing the decision courts being unprepared when a health emergency strikes. Common Characteristics of Retirement Facilities There are three basic levels of accommodation. They are: Independent Living , which means a private apart- ment or cottage on the premises, from a one-room studio up to three bedrooms, with a study and two baths. You live essentially on your own, but are usually required to take at least one meal per day in the compound’s restau- rant facilities. Assisted Living , which means more modest quarters, typically without a kitchen. You have some dependence upon nurses or therapists, and perhaps reduced mobility. You normally take all meals in the compound’s dining facilities. Skilled Nursing , which resembles hospitalization, often requiring round-the-clock attendance. This is nor- mally in a designated wing of the facility, and usually there is a seperate ward for dementia/Alzheimer’s patients. Most senior living facilities include all three levels and are termed “continuing care;” some, often linked to a hospital, have only assisted living and skilled nursing options. An attractive feature of the continuing care arrangement is that a couple takes an independent living apartment and then, if one of them suffers from, say, Alzheimer’s, and shifts to the dementia corridor, the other can remain in their apartment and easily visit and take meals with the cared-for spouse. The initial focus is upon independent living. There is usually a minimum age of 60 or 62. In some cases apart- ments are sold as condominiums, in others as coopera- tives. A few establishments offer separate cottages. Senior living facilities always have apartment floor plans and pricing charts available for review, and you can arrange to visit various models. Typically, there will be 150 to 250 apartments with extensive common recre- ational, health and sports spaces. The health center, pro- viding many hospital services, is normally a separate wing. Prices vary, of course, among facilities and among the apartments in each, but senior living establishments run from the spartan to the truly luxurious. There are always one or more dining areas, as well as fitness centers, libraries, hobby workshops and studios, and some sort of auditorium or theater. There is usually a swimming pool, a garage and a game room. Often there are gardening plots, a business center with computers, a hairdresser/barber shop, a bank branch and a conve- nience shop. All of the retirement facilities we visited provide shuttle service to a Metro station, and scheduled shuttle trips to shopping centers, churches, outings to museums, sporting events, art galleries and concerts. Most facilities program weekly concerts, lectures and movies on site for residents. All places we reviewed per- mit cats or dogs, although some impose rules about their number and size. A sense of community seems to grow among the resi- dents of most senior living facilities, and this is encour- aged by the architecture and the recreational opportuni- ties provided. For example, there are bridge, chess, gar- dening, art and book clubs. Residents often publish a weekly newsletter. In one facility, we encountered an amateur theater group. Fans watch football games together on a large-screen television. Resident commit- tees arrange for outings and for cultural events in the facility, and you have the impression that if the quality of the food declines, a committee will spring up to put pres- sure on the management. The Financial Equation There are standard monthly fees that cover utilities, maintenance of grounds and public areas, use of sports and recreation facilities, taxes, security, garage, and so forth. To assure sustainable funding for their restaurant F O C U S J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 6 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 53 A former AFSA president, Bill Harrop was an FSO from 1954 to 1993, serving as ambassador to Guinea, Kenya, Seychelles, Zaire and Israel, and as inspector general of the State Department and Foreign Service. He is on the boards of five diplomacy-related organizations.