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What is your plan for living a long life?
My mother's plan initially was to "stay put" at home and hope somehow everything would "work out". . .
Mom was quite certain that she would never end up in a care facility. She emphatically said, "You'll have to drag me out of the house kicking and screaming to get me to leave." She was referring to my childhood home, the house she and Dad built in suburban St. Louis, MO when they married.
After working in health information management in hospitals, I decided to go to graduate school. My Master's in Hospital and Health Administration is from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. Because I enjoy working with seniors, my focus was Long-Term Care Administration, which guided my new career in area care facilities.
You may have seen this for yourself. In nursing homes, I witnessed the plight of countless women and men who never dreamed they would end up there. Walking down the halls you could hear the almost constant pleas that began with "I want to go home." I realized that I couldn't change their situation or surroundings, but I COULD help others who were younger and healthier.
It was an easy decision to change my career path from nursing home administrator to long-term care insurance advisor. My motivation was to help individuals and couples prevent loss of life savings, burnout and stress on family caregivers, and subsequent institutionalization due to a chronic care situation. This is done through education and proper planning.
When my mother was in her upper 70's, she decided to apply for LTC insurance with me as her agent. She was lucky to have qualified medically for her policy. If she had waited six months to apply for coverage, she would have been turned down due to new diagnoses of diabetes and heart disease.
Mom's independent, strong-willed attitude kept her going through her years of declining health. She still insisted she would never leave her home. She went through periods of rehabilitation in skilled nursing facilities (SNF) after falls and surgeries. Then she would return home, receive home health care, improve and say "See, I'm fine." Until she wasn't . . . Once again, she was in a rehab facility expecting to be released to home "any day now." One morning her doctor walked into her semi-private SNF room and announced that Home was no longer an option. Living alone in a house with stairs was not safe for her. Mom had only a few days to figure out where she was going to live!
While initially very upset that she could not return home, she recalled that her long-term care insurance policy could help her live comfortably in an Assisted Living facility of HER CHOICE. It would help her have dignity and control over her life. Her policy benefits kicked in shortly after that.
At age 90 Mom sold her home and moved into a new Assisted Living facility in St. Charles, MO, not far from my brothers. Her apartment was filled with her own furniture and selected cherished belongings. On her bedroom wall was a gift from her realtor, a watercolor painting of her home of 60 years! While Mom was challenged physically, her mind was sharp. She kept up with baseball, politics and family. She exercised her memory by learning the names of EVERY resident and staff member. She advocated for healthy menus while on the Residents' Committee. Mom lived there almost 4 years and nearly exhausted her policy benefits at the time of her passing in 2013.
What I recall vividly are her words to me about a year after she settled into her new life in Assisted Living. With her eyes welling up, she expressed how grateful she was to have her long-term care insurance policy. Why was she grateful? Because the monthly benefit payout meant she didn't have to invade her investment principal (which was important to her). She was able to afford a better care facility than she would have otherwise (also important). Mom was also glad she didn't have to rely on family members to care for her (quite important to her, as she never wanted to be a burden). She also expressed concern that her benefits might run out (which almost happened). She said these things on other occasions too.
I hope that none of my LTC insurance policyholders need to file a claim. However, if they did, they will be glad they hoped for the best and planned for the worst, just like my mother.
My mother bought herself peace of mind and was happy she did.
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