Massachusetts Senior Living Options

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There are many senior living options. Some are government supported others are not. Unfortunately, many seniors have difficulty affording senior living options that are not government supported. Those government-supported senior living options are not well-funded and provide outrageously poor services.

We can organize the senior living options into two major areas Independent Living Options and Dependent Living Options:

Independent Living Options Include:

· Aging in place

· Senior Cohousing communities

· 55+ retirement communities

· Senior home sharing

· Senior cooperative corporate models

Dependent Senior Living Options Include

· Nursing homes

· Respite care.

· Assisted living.

· Memory care facilities

· Hospice

Other options include Continuing Care Retirement Communities.

Nursing Homes (Extended Care Facilities)

Nursing Homes (Extended Care Facilities) are facilities licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health that provide nursing care and related services on an inpatient basis for short and long-term care stays at skilled, intermediate, or custodial levels of care.

Most seniors do not want to end their life as a resident in a long-term care facility. Unfortunately, that is exactly where many of us will end up. There are many reasons why seniors do not want to end up in a nursing home. The most important reason is that, in the United States, the long-term care system is broken. The system is a patchwork of public and private services, costly institutional care, poorly supported by government, experiencing a shortage of skilled professionals, and vulnerable to COVID-19. Most nursing home residents rely on underfunded Medicaid to afford these services.

The system is broken because long-term care in the United States is not a societal priority. Americans are obsessed with staying young. Being old is something nobody wants to think about. The cost of this obsession is that the elderly are forgotten, removed from the community, and ignored. In other cultures, such as Africa in Asia the elderly are honored, respected, and valued for their experience and wisdom. In the United States, the elderly are stereotyped, mocked, and ignored. In some cases, children want nothing to do with their parents. Seniors are often portrayed as out of touch, ignorant of technology, inflexible, and of little value to society.

Given the above situation what can we seniors do about it:

1. Avoid becoming a nursing home resident. Find services that can be delivered to your home.

2. Understand the long-term Care system.

3. Be selective in finding a nursing home.

4. Advocate for change.