4 Good Reasons to Take the Plunge Yourself.

1. Peace of Mind. Max Weinberg was determined not to be a burden to his children. He remembered well how difficult it was to raise and educate his three children while supporting first his own parents and then later his wife’s parents. The memory of that monthly panic still haunts him to this day. How will I ever pay the school bill? How will I make ends meet? Max didn’t want his own children to suffer his fate.

2. Maintain Control. While not a control freak, Max always enjoyed being the master of his own destiny. He was afraid of the choices his children would make about his healthcare if he left those important decisions up to them. He had watched in horror as his cousins put their mother in a nursing home. No longer in a position to make health decisions on her own, Aunt Sadie succumbed to Jack and Helen’s wishes as they moved her into a less than satisfactory home. Consumed with their own desire to purchase a new beach house, Jack and Helen opted for a mediocre nursing facility for their mother in order to ensure themselves an estate when she passed. It was then that Max decided he needed to make all his own healthcare decisions while he still could.

3. Location, Location, Location! At age 75 Max took action. Due to his Type II diabetes, Max knew he wouldn’t qualify for long-term care insurance. Top medical and skilled nursing care were a priority for Max, though, and he researched a host of other options locally. Despite the less than hospitable climate, his friends and his life were in Syracuse. His children had discussed the possibility of senior communities where they lived in California and Florida, but Max wanted to guarantee he would be where he felt most comfortable. He decided on a continuing care retirement community in a leafy Syracuse suburb. The assisted living and skilled nursing care areas of the community were given the highest accreditation by CARF-CCAC. Max was confident he would get the best possible medical and nursing care at home in Syracuse.

4. Make it Your Own. While Max liked the independent living options at his chosen continuing care facility, he wanted to pick out his apartment and have the necessary work done to set up his household the way he wanted. He had hated the ratty second-hand sofa and furnishings Jack and Helen had provided for Aunt Sadie’s tiny room. He went ahead and turned an ordinary two-bedroom unit into a gorgeous one bedroom with a cozy den. This left his more formal dining/living room available for entertaining, a favorite social activity. To date, Max is still the only community resident to have redone a kitchen.

At 84 Max is now happily living in his new environs. He knows he will not be a burden to his children and is relieved that he’ll have the best health and nursing care when and if he needs it. The antiseptic scent from Aunt Sadie’s nursing home is still lingering in his nostrils. He knows he’ll be in Syracuse and, while he loves visiting his children, he won’t have to worry about being moved to another city.

As for me, I am eternally grateful to my father, Max, for taking the initiative to move himself into a continuing care community. When he had a serious health scare a few years ago, my siblings and I never had to worry about where Dad would go or how we would move him. Assisted living was there if he needed it. As a fee-only financial planner I frequently see clients struggling with the challenges of aging parents and am so glad that I won’t have to do the same. And while I hope not to be a burden to my children, the description of Great Aunt Sadie’s nursing home is more than enough to motivate me to make my own decisions while I still can too!