Table of Contents
Cover Story:
Taking Rockland’s Pulse
When it comes to healthcare, the prognosis is good for Rockland County
Feature Story:
Trends In Senior Living
From home health care to hospice care, assisted living to nursing homes, find out what's right for you
RBD Round-Up:
RBD's First Annual Small Business Awards
We’re looking for you! Find out more about our new awards program—and how to nominate a small business
DEPARTMENTS:
Economic Round-Up
• The Smart Investor
How should you manage your retirement?
Retail Round-Up
• The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Retailers expect respectable sales as shoppers head into the holidays
Business Round-Up
• Things You Should Know
The County hires a new health commissioner, Wyeth celebrates the century mark
• Marketing By Design
The fine art of advertising
• Rockland Newsmakers
Ask The Expert
• Limited Liability and Company Retirement Plans
Dedicated Section:
Rockland Business Association:
The President’s Desk
It’s Been A Very Good Year...and It Ain’t Over Yet
Marking a Milestone
The Old 76 House in Tappan becomes
the RBA’s 1,000th member.
RBA Happenings
• Committee and Council Info
• Calendar of Events
• New Members
Publishing Information
Rockland Business Digest, LLC
Co-Publishers:
Ken Mahoney & Steven Powell
For complete publishing information, please click here.
Trends In Senior Living
From new communities to assisted living
in Chestnut Ridge, Rockland County has
something for everyone.
By Carol Vinzant
Most dramatically, today's retirees are finding ways to live at home longer and still get the care and services they need. Those who opt for retirement-community living are creating communities that suit their lifestyle. As Baby Boomers start to retire en masse, "I think that's going to produce even more options," says Elinor Ginzler, director of livable communities for AARP. "There's going to be an increasingly varied array of more choices."
Boomers are making nursing homes a thing of the past and creating their own communities—their way. There’s a waiting list for condo units at a 55-and-over adult community—Encore Palisades—to be built on 163 acres on the Letchworth Village property in Thiells. The switch here? The community will include townhomes, condos, and single family detached homes. It will be built with a Main Street and village center feel, allowing retirees to stroll this new “home town.” “We’ve done a lot of market research, and we believe the Rockland County residents are looking to live in a community that feels like a traditional neighborhood, yet is designed for an active adult lifestyle,” said a representative of WCI Communities Northeast, builders of the development.
In Chestnut Ridge, The Esplanade at Chestnut Ridge provides options for assisted living, such as spacious residential apartments, but also boasts things like scheduled transportation to local shopping and entertainment; social events, activities, and entertainment, along with meals and an on-site beauty and barber shop. Health care support services are available, and the level depends upon the senior’s current state of wellness. As residents age, their level of care will change, and each need is met by the community.
Why so many options?
One reason retirees have so many more options is that they are working longer, often in part-time jobs or even in whole new careers. Ginzler thinks we may need a new word for retirement because so many seniors continue to work, just with fewer hours or in a field outside their previous career.
For many people approaching retirement age, the big question is where they want to live. Some move, but into their dream home—in a city filled with the cultural institutions they love, or in a vacation area they've always loved to visit. They are seeking out low-cost destinations like Costa Rica. And university settings are proving popular among retirees who want to go back to school. Many universities offer senior housing near
campus. According to Kiplingers, Madison, Wisconsin, home to the University of Wisconsin, is one of the top 10 spots to retire.
If they make a mistake, today's retirees aren't afraid to change course. "Half-backs" is a new trend among retirees. The term stands for northerners who retire to Florida, find it too hot, expensive and boring, and then go halfway back home, settling in the Carolinas where property is less expensive and temperatures are still mild.
The vast majority of seniors want to stay in their home and end up doing just that, Ginzler says. Some neighborhoods have aged in place, by total chance, becoming their own sort of retirement communities. The residents of Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood formed a kind of senior services co-op in 2002. Residents over 50 can pay annually -- $580 for an individual, $780 for a household -- for help with household services, wellness and assisted living services, transportation and fun field trips. Now people are moving to the neighborhood for the program.
In some parts of the country, neighborhoods have been designated as Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities -- NORC, in industry parlance -- where the government provides services to seniors. New York City has 28 such communities.
Those who opt to live in retirement communities are demanding much more to do than shuffleboard, and communities are evolving to meet their demands. Along with omnipresent golf communities, there are now gay communities, more pet-friendly communities and communities centered around water activities. While the industry is lightening the rules allowing much-loved pets, it is also getting stricter on age limits, in many cases allowing only residents older than 55 or 62.
Plan-ahead types who worry about what to do when they need round-the-clock medical care, may want to seek out what’s known as Continuous Care Facilities that offer the security of moving only once. "As your needs change, you don't have to leave," says Ginzler. The retiree may start in independent living, but can easily move into assisted living or nursing care in the same community if the need arises.
Traditional options are still around, such as the Tolstoy Foundation Nursing Home in Valley Cottage, while the Northern Services Group has a continuum of care, ranging from skilled nursing facility to assisted living to a retirement community, Fountain View in Monsey.
But for seniors who stay at home, there are whole new professions springing up to provide help when they need it. Geriatric care managers can coordinate medical care and practical needs. The AARP has teamed up with National Association of Home Builders to create the Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS), someone who can remodel homes for aging. Even the government and insurers are starting to realize—however slowly—that they can sometimes save money by providing a few services to keep someone at home.
With this range of options and more cropping up all the time, many Baby Boomers will get to live out their later years in a place that can supply services they need, while still approximating the dream home they have always desired. RBD
Assisted Living
Nine out of 10 Americans say they don't want to move when they retire, according to a 2006 report by AARP. They may be mentally fit, but need help with certain errands or need some medical attention. A geriatric-care manager assesses their changing needs and coordinates help.
Forget Retirement!
Retirees return to work either because they get bored or need the money. According to the May survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 15.7% of those 65 and over are working and 7% of those 75 and over are employed. In a 2005 cross-cultural study, the AARP found that only 14% of Americans -- less than any other country surveyed -- planned to stop working completely in retirement.
What Do You Think?
The latest census has turned up some pretty interesting information about Rockland. According to the latest figures, Rockland homeowners with a mortgage spent 30% or more of their income on housing.The study, the American Community Survey which was conducted by the U.S. Census bureau. Found that the median monthly rent was $1,141 in 2006; median monthly housing costs for mortgaged homeowners was $2,504. Rockland Business Digest would like to interview business owners and home owners on how the property tax burden affects them.
Email your comments and a contact name and number to editorial@rbdigest.com. A follow-up article on the high cost of housing will appear in our next issue.
