With everything the ACOF has to offer, it has always been my dream to build a low-cost, low stress community for our members to live in.
This following meeting is the first official step to make this community a reality. - Tomcat
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On Saturday, June 25, 2011, a meeting was held during the A Celebration of Friends (ACOF) convention in Fort Lauderdale for those interested in our new non-profit entity ‘A Habitat of Friends, Inc.’ (AHOF)
The following large amount of research and information came from Ed Marchi, a recognized expert and professional specialist in elder care. Those who attended the meeting were informed of what is currently being done to help retired men, especially those with limited resources, to live out their lives with dignity. There are several organizations offering an array of retirement options for gay men, but these are all quite costly and are not available for those of medium or low-income. This meeting was been set up to address the needs of that pulation.
The group’s first priority is to set up a proper working ’model’ and develop a ‘business plan’.
Ed stated; “The government supports smaller, non-licensed home-care units and hospice houses, which allows people to live their lives in dignity in their own homes instead of being institutionalized. With this in mind, the group discussed a ‘Golden Girls’ type situation where we could buy a home housing several individuals and share living expenses. Medicare funding would support the in-home healthcare options and the place would not have to be licensed as a ‘medical-provider’ or “care facility” of any sort, but rather merely a residence.”
Ed further talked about the AHOF providing support services; such as case management, healthcare advising and providing assistance with personal and home care tasks such as yard work, housework, transportation, etc.
He then created a survey and summarized the results.
Q. Should AHOF be located in South Florida?
A. 38% strongly agreed, 29% agreed, 33% were neutral
Q. Should AHOF be close to a Metropolitan Area?
A. 43% strongly agreed, 37% agreed, 20% were neutral
Q. Should AHOF be for people 55 and older?
A. 46% strongly agreed, 24% agreed, 15% were neutral, 10% disagreed, 5% strongly disagreed
Q. I would like to be living at AHOF in the next three to five years.
A. 11% strongly agreed, 20% agreed, 33% were neutral, 15% disagreed, 21% strongly disagreed.
Q. I would like to purchase my living space.
A. 6% strongly agreed, 52% agreed, and 42% were neutral.
The top 3 services people would like to see offered are:
Personal Emergency Response, Transportation, and Companionship.
Discussion/Options
According to Ed, The current model is that the individual sell his home, pay an entrance fee and then live in either an independent, assisted living, or skilled nursing setting depending on their medical, and /or mental condition. These settings can be either “stand alone” or offered as a Continuum in a campus often referred to as a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC). The independent and assisted living options offer basically the services that were listed in the survey and can be purchased as a package or menu driven—for most middle and low income men the cost is prohibitive.
The average cost for Assisted Living with basic services falls between $2,500 – $3,500 per month for a studio or small one bedroom. As Ed stated,. ”the flaw in the system is that as your needs change, you have to physically move to the “next level.” In other parts of the world, they separate healthcare from housing, bringing healthcare to the person. There are signs that some of the current policy makers are seeing the benefit of this approach.
What does all this have to do with AHOF?
It was generally agreed and recommended that anyone starting a community from scratch is to throw away the current model, not replicate it! There are better options. Trying to finance a start up AHOF community based on the current model and its heavy costs would be next to impossible. The group concluded that a condo/property but-in was too risky and expensive.
Alternatives/Future Models – Food for thought !
Home based and Community Based Services (HCBS). According to Ed, several years ago, his organization started taking care of people in their homes. They are currently doing this through a (Medicaid-Medicare) waiver from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). This is made possible through the use of new technologies. People are being taken care of, who just three years ago would have been confined in expensive skilled nursing facilities. One possibility for a AHOF community would be for members to independently purchase condos, trailers, mobile homes, an old motel, etc. in a common complex, mobile home park, or geographic location. One could own their own property and AHOF would offer the services for a low cost monthly fee. If you google “Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities(NORCS)” or visit http://www.norcblueprint.org/community you will see various kinds of NORCs and how this concept could be a potential HOF model.
As people age they could also access differing features of their Medicare/Medicaid benefits for licensed homecare and medical needs. There are several states that currently offer a Money (public funding) Follows the Person (MFP) alternative. Florida is one of those states. In the MFP program, if one qualifies for Medicaid and needs a nursing home level of care, one can stay at home (age in place) and the extra support services you need to live at home would be provided there and would be paid through Medicaid. Having the support of your HOF and your loved ones nearby, for gay seniors, could make this a nice fit.
Under the MFP you can select your own caregiver (consumer directed care) and it can be a relative, friend, or younger lover! In Federal Care legislation there is the CLASS act, which is designed to provide $50 per day to spend on services to keep people out of the nursing home. This is where the future financing of aging services may be going, and the NORC model is a natural fit for our group.
The strengths of the NORC model for a AHOF community is that it would take very little capital (cash) to start, residents could own or lease their own property with a much lower monthly fee for the same services offered in a traditional CCRC model. Services could be provided in several different geographic locations, or wherever a big enough group of “Friends” may choose to migrate.
Currently a group of people in Texas have created an RV assisted living community. We should not be boxed in by a single old-fashioned, expensive model! This is not a “build it and they will come deal.”
Additional notes/information offered at the meeting:
Hundreds of services are available in EVERY county in the US (required by law). MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW WHAT IS AVAILABLEAND/OR HOW TO ACCESS.
These are some statistics of what Broward County Florida has offered in one year:
888,842 home delivered meals
569,625 units of personal care services
368,915 congregate meals served
291,218 units of homemaker service
All states are required to offer similar programs through their Office for the Aging. ACOF members should look in their areas for similar services.
Ideas brought up in the meeting:
· don’t isolate by age (interaction with younger people keeps seniors active and younger)
· animal therapy
· locate where services are available, not always where real estate prices are best.
· some home healthcare providers now include cameras in the home (if desired), which allow people outside of home to know when someone might need assistance, monitor their sleeping, etc. Also cameras can be used to visit with doctors and report vital signs.
· isolation is one of the biggest problems with seniors.
· our group is not just from Florida; offering services is a model that could be set up in any state once established. We do need to set up an initial model (whether brick and mortar or just service agency in some place first, Florida is logical, since Ft. Lauderdale is #1 senior gay retirement center (Palm Springs is #2). While Port Charlotte county has the oldest average age population.
· set up gay community that is close knit and takes care of each other.
The group decided that the best move now to establish a board of directors and to come up with a business plan/proposal, detail that information and look into best location/scenario; etc.
Ed Marchi has promised to assist and facilitate the development of AHOF community in any way he can. We will communicate through the COF web – site and email.
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So my friends, we now need YOU! We’re looking for people to help us make the A Habitat of Friends Community a reality!
We’re asking for all your comments, questions and expertise to help out here!
Let me know what you think!
Sincerely,
Tom (Tomcat) Pence
President,
A Celebration of Friends, Inc.
A Habitat of Friends, Inc.
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