Higher Ed: Marijuana Use Increasing Among Seniors
Image credit: Business Insider While at the federal level, marijuana is still an illegal drug, recreational and medical marijuana/cannabis use has been legalized in 11 states and Washington, D.C., for people over age 21. (Another 22 states have legalized use of marijuana only for medical purposes.) While legalization has naturally led to increased [...]
Willow Valley Communities: A COVID-19 Prevention Case Study
Pictured: Townhomes at Providence Park on The Manor campus of Willow Valley Communities (photo credit: Willow Valley Communities) The COVID-19 virus has been especially lethal to older people, as exemplified by a tragic statistic revealed last week by Pennsylvania’s Department of Health. Of the state’s 700+ COVID-19 deaths, approximately 52 percent have been residents of [...]
Lessons in Resiliency from Senior Living Communities
It’s understandable if you find the news headlines frightening. Each day, the death toll of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic climbs higher. And it also seems like nearly every day, there’s a new story about a nursing home hit with cases of COVID-19 among their residents and/or staff. As I’ve written about in recent weeks, nursing [...]
How Rental and Equity CCRCs Work
Over the last few years, I’ve written a number of posts describing the various types of residency contracts offered by continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs or “life plan communities”), the less understood nuances among each, as well as how to properly compare and contrast the choices. But it was recently pointed out to me that [...]
Why Patient Care Protocols Are Critical During a Pandemic
You’ve heard the heartbreaking story of the LifeCare Center nursing home in Kirkland, Washington, which was an initial epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in that state. At least 35 residents and staff members of that long-term care community have died as a result of this highly contagious virus. What went wrong As I’ve written recently, [...]
CCRC, Life Plan, Lifecare: What are the Differences?
There is so much terminology in the senior living industry that it can be confusing for consumers who are researching the options. While I understand the reasons behind the industry’s recent efforts to replace the term “continuing care retirement community” with “life plan community,” consumers now have yet another descriptor to add to the already [...]