Housing Alternatives

SENIOR APARTMENTS - federally subsidized rental programs

These programs are subsidized through the Department of Housing and Urban Renewal. Residents must be 62 years of age or older or be mobility impaired. In Ames, Keystone and Stonehaven are two examples of this program. They are privately owned by Ames Ecumenical Housing Inc. There is an apartment manager and a social worker who coordinates services for residents. Keystone has 56 units (efficiencies and 1 bedrooms) and Stonehaven has 54 units (all 1 bedroom). A few units are designed for wheelchair mobility. Income guidelines are $15,600 for a single person and $17,850 for a couple. Rent is based on a percentage of income and HUD subsidizes the rest. Parking is available at both buildings. There are also coin operated laundry facilities and a meeting room. Keystone is conveniently located behind Cub Foods and near the mall. Stonehaven is located behind Target. There are waiting lists for both, 15 and 12.

Similar types of housing are available in Bayard and Panora. Farmers Home Administration Housing Units are rental units subsidized by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. There are 14 one and two bedroom units in Panora and there are additional units in Bayard. There are waiting lists in each town for these units. Adjusted gross income guidelines that apply are $27,450 for 1 person and $30,600 for a couple. They are managed by West Central Property Management and the Property Manager is Lyle Peasley (800-654-4546). For more information you can contact the Atlantic Office of Rural Development (712-243-2107) or Laurie Gilbert, Farmers Home, Region 12 (712-792-9914) See folder for details including price lists and floor plans.

RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITIES OR ASSISTED LIVING

Residential care facilities or assisted living facilities are for persons who do not need the full-time care of a nursing home, but are not completely independent and need some services or medical care. Assisted living is often done in cooperation with a local hospital or care center that can provide medical services. Types of assistance available in these facilities are generally: personal care, laundry, housekeeping, meals, grocery delivery, and transportation.

The residential care facility available in Guthrie County is:

COUNTRY VIEW ESTATES
R.R. 2, Box 184
Guthrie Center, IA 50115
515-755-2125

This facility has 41 beds. Residents must be able to care for themselves with some assistance. There is assistance in bathing and dressing. The rates are $50/day . They are private pay and Title 19. The new building is one level and the older part is a three story facility. A few single rooms are available, but most of the rooms are double. There is a waiting list.

OTHER RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITIES OR ASSISTED LIVING

8013 GRAND
Des Moines, IA
515-255-499

Maintain independent living with personalized assistance.

• Licensed RCF
• Private apartment with private bath
• 24 hour personal care staff
• Three meals served daily in dining room
• No entrance fee or endowment
• Respite care

SENIOR SUITES
4700 84th Street
Urbandale, IA 50322
515-270-9700

An assisted living community and residential memory loss center.

• A warm home-like environment
• Assistance with medication
• Private suite with full bath
• 24 hour assistance
• Housekeeping and maintenance
• A professionally trained staff
• Three delicious meals
• Scheduled activities

See folder for details including price lists and floor plans.

RESIDENTIAL MEMORY LOSS CENTER

A specifically designed program for those individuals with Alzheimer's and other memory impairments.

DEDICATED RESPITE CARE SUITES

A program for short term stays after hospitalization or during an illness when extra care and love is needed.

CONTINUING CARE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY (CCRC)

According to Golant in Housing America's Elderly, "the continuing care retirement community, or CCRC (also known as a life care community), offers a planned centrally administered continuum of shelter and care accommodations within the same facility. Over the course of residency in a CCRC, an older occupant could conceivably occupy a rental apartment in the independent accommodations of a congregate housing facility, a room for the semi-independent in an assisted living center, and a bed in a skilled nursing home." As expressed by a consumer guidebook published by the American Association of Homes for the aging (1990): "As a continuing care resident, you can enjoy a comfortable, independent life style, secure in the knowledge that, if you become frail or ill as you grow older, your needs will be met in a familiar environment". The Association identified three subgroups of CCRCs, distinguished by the type of contract they offer to their residents:

EXTENSIVE: continuing care contract includes shelter, residential services, and amenities. It also offers unlimited long-term nursing care for little or no substantial increase in monthly payments, except normal operating cost and inflation adjustments.

MODIFIED: continuing care contract also includes shelter, residential services, and amenities. However, a specified amount of long-term nursing care is provided for little or no substantial increase in monthly payments, except normal operating cost and inflation adjustments. After the specified amount of nursing care is used, residents pay the full per diem rates for nursing care required, or, in some cases, a discounted per diem rate.

FEE-FOR-SERVICE: continuing care contract includes shelter, residential services, and amenities. Emergency and short-term nursing care are included in the contract, but access to long-term nursing care is guaranteed only at full per diem nursing care rates.

Green Hills in Ames, is a Fee-For-Service Plan and is one of the few equity-ownership CCRCs in the country. It is located on a 30 acre campus with 59 condominiums (apartments) in an eight story tower and 40 brick town homes with attached garages. Special features in all baths include grab rails, heat fans, and an emergency call system connected to the Health Center. The on-site Health Care Center has 40 beds licensed for residential and intermediate care. Development plans include 24 town homes currently under construction. Property taxes range from $1,800-$2,400 for 1 and 2 bedroom apartments and $2,800-$3,200 for a town home. The following is a list of prices:

Unit	Price Range	Monthly Dues
Studio	$46,500	$312
1 Bedrm apt	$94,000-98,500	$425-500
2 Bedrm apt	$133,000-160,000	$643-770
3 Bedrm apt	$160,000-170,000	$898-922
1 BR Townhome**	$130,000-140,000	$358-438
2 BR Townhome**	$158,000-215,000	$484-607

**All townhomes have attached garages and are designed for main floor living
Garage $8,950 (Optional Underground Parking for Apartment Owners)

In addition to purchasing your own unit, a Health Care Center security deposit is required at the time of purchase. The deposit is $11,500 for the first person and $6,500 for the second. This deposit is 100% refundable at time of resale of a unit and it entitles a resident to three free days of care in the Health Care Center per year and gives them a 12% discount for any additional days. Residents are given priority over nonresidents for admission to the Health Care Center. Charges for the Health Center are:

Members	Non-Members
$82.72/day for semi-private room	$94.00
$96.58/day for private room	$109.75
$108.24/day for private suite	$123.00

The housing side of the CCRC is very much like a condominium or coop development in that residents live in low-rise apartments or clusters of townhouses. However, because it is a CCRC there are many services available to preserve independent living. Some services and amenities included in the monthly fee are: All utilities (including heating and cooling) except long distance phone calls and electricity, bi-weekly housekeeping and flat linen service, scheduled transportation as well as transportation in Ames for professional appointments, activity programs, satellite TV hook-ups, exterior maintenance (including window washing twice annually, painting and roof repair), snow removal, groundskeeping, minor interior maintenance, emergency call system connected to and monitored by the Health Center staff, mail center, dining room, library, crafts room, exercise room offering routine instructor certified classes, lounges, woodworking shop and storage facilities. Townhomes include the above mentioned items in the monthly fees with the exception of utilities, storage facilities and housekeeping/flat linen services which are paid for separately by unit owner. Other services are provided for an additional fee such as assistance in living, etc.

Northcrest in Ames is an example of an Extensive CCRC. Northcrest is located on a 22 acre campus. There are 158 residents, 86 apartments (studio, one and two bedroom) 17 townhomes (one and two bedroom) and a 40 bed Health Care Center. The following is a list of prices. For simplification the Price Range includes the Entrance Endowment, Health Care Center Support and Development Fund. None of these fees are refundable.

Unit Apartments	Price	Monthly Dues
Studio	$54,500	$495
1BR,1 person	$79,900	$620
1BR, 2 people	$90,800	$745
2BR, 1 person	$105,200	$900
2BR, 2 people	$116,300	$1,015
Townhomes
1 BR, 1 person	$98,300	$700
1BR, 2 people	$109,300	$835
2BR, 1 person	?	$985
2BR*, 2 people	$135,700	$1,115
2BR, w/Bsmt, 2 people	$146,800

*Additional $4,500 for a two-car garage
*Additional monthly charge - finished basement $90.00, unfinished - $57.00/mo.

Monthly dues include charge for electricity, water, heat and air conditioning, cable TV, lawn service, snow removal, housekeeping up to 4 hours monthly, program services, health plan filing, insurance, maintenance, depreciation, and administrative services. For the townhomes, monthly dues include all of the above, plus a one-car attached garage. There is an additional charge of $50 per resident for the Northcrest Continuing Health Care which covers routine visits to the Health Care Center, such as blood pressure checks, etc.

Assisted living services are also provided for a fee. There is a $7.00/hr fee for supportive services such as assistance with dressing. Additional services are provided, if needed, at a minimal charge.

If you leave your unit to live in the Health Care Center, you continue to pay your regular monthly fee, plus the $385 for three meals/day at the center. If your needs are beyond those met by the Health Care Center, you continue to pay your regular monthly fee and the Community pays for your stay in another facility. If you exhaust your funds you will still be taken care of.

The closest CCRC to Guthrie County would be Heather Manor in Des Moines. It is managed by Life Care Services Corporation (LCS), specialists in continuing care headquartered in Des Moines. Since 1961 they have been instrumental in planning, developing, and/or managing more than 80 retirement communities throughout the United States. Green Hills, the example listed previously is managed by them. See folder for details including price lists and floor plans.

OTHER CONTINUING CARE RETIREMENT COMMUNITIES

Scottish Rite Park
2909 Woodland Ave
Des Moines, IA 50312
515-274-4614

Owner and operator of this modern, twelve-story, 197 unit building is the non-profit corporation, Scottish Rite Park, Incorporated. Built and opened in 1973, it competes with today's newer facilities. Based on cost per square foot comparisons, is in many cases a more efficient investment.

See folder for details including price lists and floor plans.

Wesley Acres
3520 Grand Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50312
515-271-6500

Wesley Acres is another continuing care retirement community. Living accommodations include apartments, assisted living and a health center.

NURSING HOME

This type of facility is for elderly persons who need continuous, in-depth medical care. Twenty-four hour care is provided under the supervision of a nurse who can administer medication and treatments. Most nursing homes have beds at the intermediate level. Some provide intermediate care and skilled nursing care. Often times hospitals have some swing beds that can be used for skilled nursing care. Sometimes these skilled nursing beds serve as transition for elderly who have spent time in the hospital, intend to go home or to a nursing home, but still require a higher level of care than what is provided in an intermediate care facility. Medicare will pay for skilled nursing care for a limited number of days if the facility is a Medicare provider and meets the requirements to be granted approval from the Health Care Financing Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide post-hospital extended-care services. They will not pay for care in an intermediate facility. The form of payment in most nursing homes is private pay or Title 19. The requirements for Title 19 involve a low income and not very many financial assets. See folder for details including price lists and floor plans.

FACILITIES AVAILABLE IN THE GUTHRIE COUNTY AREA ARE:

Adair Healthcare Center 608 North Street Adair, IA 50002 515-742-205	48 beds Intermediate $50/day double Private pay and Title 19 Space available
Panora Nursing and Rehab 805 East Main Street 95 Panora, IA 50216 515-755-2700	103 beds Intermediate $72-$82/day Private pay and Title 19 (Medicare for skilled nursing available) 8 beds
Bayard Nursing and Rehab Center	50 beds
311 Second Street	Intermediate
Box 310	$72-$82/day, (light care or total care)
Bayard, IA 50029	Space available
712-651-2085
New Homestead Care Center	66 beds
R.R. 2	Intermediate
Box 13	$75 and up
Guthrie Center, IA 50115	Waiting list (women only)
515-747-2204	2-4 weeks
Guthrie County Hospital	Swing beds
710 North 12th Street
Guthrie Center, IA 50015
515-747-2201

SHARED HOUSING

Shared housing is when two or more unrelated individuals share the common areas of a house, while each has their own private space. The house is usually owned by a public or private agency rather than one of the residents.

Different Versions of Home Sharing

1. Self-initiated-existing dwelling: Based on an existing friendship or through other informal mechanisms (e.g., newspaper advertisement, friend of a friend, acquaintance of a professional), an older person shares her or his present house or apartment with a housemate.
2. Self-initiated-new dwelling: The older person also initiates the home-sharing relationship but shares a rented or purchased dwelling with a housemate that neither has occupied previously.
3. Agency-assisted: The older person uses the matching service of some social agency (sometimes, but not always, a nonprofit group) to link up with a suitable housemate. Both home providers (persons looking to share their present dwelling) and home seekers (persons looking to move into and share dwelling of another) use such services.
4. Agency-sponsored group housing: An organization (either for-profit or nonprofit) develops, renovates, or locates accommodations for several (usually four or more) unrelated older persons. The agency assumes ultimate responsibility for building maintenance and management and may arrange for one or more paid staff persons to provide janitorial, housekeeping, or personal care services to residents.

The largest national organization that promotes, advises on, and monitors the development of shared housing is the Shared Housing Resource Center (SHRC) in Philadelphia. National estimates suggest there are currently between 200 and 300 matchup programs that are found in almost every state.

ACCESSORY APARTMENTS
Living quarters created in an existing home. This space has its own living area and entrance. It is rented to a boarder in exchange for household chores and caregiving duties. These can go both ways. Grown children can also create accessory apartments in their homes for elder parents. This creates a living arrangement where both can maintain their privacy.

ECHO HOUSING

Echo (Elder Cottage Housing Opportunity) is where a small building is added to a house or property for an elderly person to live. This is generally done by a child for their parent(s). These work quite well in rural communities.

The Iowa contact is: Loral Hullinger, 264 Country Club Drive, Osceola, IA, 5021. FAX 515-42-824.

See Echo Housing Fact Sheet and floor plan on the next two pages.

THIS SECTION IS MUCH IN NEED OF AN INTRODUCTION...HOW IS IT ORGANIZED, WHAT DOES IT TELL THE READER. WHY NOT ALPHABETIZED BY TYPE...ACCESSORY AND ECHO BEFORE SENIOR APARTMENTS? OR THE ORGANIZATION MIGHT BE BASED ON THE CONTINUUM OF SERVICES, FROM FEW SERVICES TO MANY...BUT LET THE READER KNOW WHAT YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT HOW THESE THINGS GO TOGETHER.

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