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Finding the best assisted living apartment for your loved one

My husband’s aorta was dissected three months ago and he has been hospitalized ever since. He is now in a rehab unit and may be fired at the end of the month. The dismissal worries us both, because his legs are paralyzed and he needs help to get from the bed to the wheelchair. To meet health insurance guidelines, I had to find a place to live and find it quickly.

I started calling places for seniors all over the city. Most had no assisted living vacancies. One had a 500-square-foot “apartment,” if you can call it that, and other places had two-year waiting lists. The last call I made returned results and I put a deposit on a 700 square foot unit in assisted living. It may not be perfect, but my husband and I are lucky to get it. You need enough space for your wheelchair and a variety of health services.

You may find yourself in a similar situation. In fact, finding an assisted living apartment can be a dizzying experience. These are the questions I answered.

1. Am I buying or renting? A city skyscraper had a beautiful empty apartment overlooking the city. Unfortunately, the apartment was expensive and the complex refused to give us access to their health services. You would have to hire a home health service. We reject this apartment and the one we accept at another complex is a rental.

2. What are the monthly fees? The assisted living community should provide you with a list of fees and all the items they cover. Read the list carefully because you will probably need more services and this will cost you your life.

3. What are the medical care fees? The community we join uses a point system to calculate rates. You look at the list of services, determine the ones you need, and add the points to calculate the total cost. Like most assisted living communities, the fees are very expensive.

4. Is the parking inside or outside? We are moving into a senior community that has indoor parking, a real bonus in Minnesota winters. A parking spot costs $ 47 per month.

5. Does the floor plan fit a wheelchair? I rent a hospital bed for my husband. The bedroom is not big enough to hold a hospital bed, our largest bed, and it can still accommodate a wheelchair, so I will have to rent a single bed. Unfortunately, the bathroom sink is not wheelchair friendly and you may have to pay to install one.

6. Will you be able to connect your computer? I’m going to have to rent a module to connect our computer. Since I am not a technician, I will also have to hire a computer technician to move our computer and connect it again.

7. What is the storage situation? Visit the apartment you are considering and bring a tape measure. Determine if there is enough storage space. Ask if additional storage is available for a fee. We will rent a six foot by six foot storage locker, not much space, but space anyway.

8. Does the senior community have a bus with a wheelchair lift? Our new community has a wheelchair-friendly bus that takes people to medical appointments, shopping centers, and restaurants.

Moving to assisted living will not be easy for us, but we will be together. You may have come to the same conclusion. As I told my husband, “Love will help us get through this,” and it will. No matter where you move or when you move, love will move with you, and that is a blessing.

Copyright 2014 by Harriet Hodgson

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