You have a lot of choices for where you want to live your retirement years, and it’s best you know all your options before choosing. Continuing care retirement communities (i.e. life-plan communities) are one of the most innovative options. CCRCs offer everything you need as you age, providing you with peace of mind knowing you can seamlessly move to a higher level of care if and when you need it without having to move to another community.

Services and amenities you can expect in a CCRC

Proactive commitment to wellness
In line with a commitment to aging well and living a healthy life, CCRCs provide many opportunities for staying active on many levels. At Lutheran Village at Miller’s Grant, our award-winning wellness program, Flourish™, includes a seven-dimension approach to active aging. As detailed in our Stay Active as You Age blog post, our program focuses on emotional, environmental, intellectual, physical, social, spiritual and vocational dimensions so you can exercise your body and mind, gain new knowledge, engage in fulfilling activities, eat and sleep well and relax and have fun. Find out more about what’s in store in our Is a Senior Living Community the Right Choice for Me? blog post.

Socially connected neighborhood
It’s a fact that staying socially engaged while you age is essential for maintaining mental and physical health. Living at home alone can potentially lead to social isolation and loneliness. In a CCRC, you are part of a greater community of peers and will quickly find that forging new friendships and participating in daily social engaging activities will make a big difference in your quality of life.

Of course, this doesn’t preclude spending time with family. Top CCRCs go the extra mile to welcome family, and in their absence provide hands-on assistance with helping you connect online or on the phone anytime you like. For more information about the impacts of becoming socially disconnected, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Loneliness and Social Isolation Linked to Serious Health Conditions offers excellent insights.

Never a dull moment
On-site entertainment (e.g. performances, events, daily activities) is another aspect that sets CCRCs above average senior living communities – no ticket or membership needed! For example, you can sing along to a live music concert, join a club with others over a shared interest, enjoy the great outdoors walking the community’s walking paths or take a community trip to an outdoor attraction, play tennis or croquet, practice your golf swing at the putting green, take classes to explore interests – our life-long learning program offers classes taught by local college professors and more.

You can also get out into the greater community with free planned trips and transportation to local venues like shopping, parks and museums. You will never have to worry about being bored or uninspired because each day is packed with things to do and places to go. And on days when you want a little rest, that’s an option too. You fill your days with as much activity as you like.

A carefree lifestyle
If a carefree lifestyle sounds like the perfect scenario for your retirement, CCRCs are your best choice. They specialize in providing maintenance-free living so you can live in a beautiful modern home, which includes a variety of built-in accessibility features, without having the chores of routine maintenance or repairs. Additionally, on-site services provide a great deal of convenience. For example, at LVMG, we have a spa, multiple restaurants featuring chef-prepared meals, free local transportation, lawn care, snow shoveling, 24/7 security and more. CCRCs are an all-inclusive option that can make your retirement seem like a never-ending vacation. Still not sure? Our blog, Tips for Deciding If the Senior Living Lifestyle is What You Really Want can help.

Access to medical care
Unlike typical senior living communities, CCRCs offer access to on-site medical care so you can get help if you need it. For example, our on-site Health Care Center offers a full range of medical services from nursing assessments to short-term rehabilitation to post-surgical care to long-term care in an award-winning, person-centered community. For an in-depth look at what you can expect, check out our Evaluating the Senior Living Care Options blog post.

Contract options
If a CCRC is starting to seem like the perfect solution for your retirement, it’s wise to understand that all CCRCs are not created equal. There are three types of CCRC contracts:

• Type A: Life Care Contract
• Type B: Modified Life Care Contract
• Type C: Fee-for-Service Contract – LVMG offers this contract

Learn more from our Types of CCRC Contracts: Which is Right for You? blog post.

With a focus on active aging and convenience, CCRCs offer more than typical senior living communities. Instead of performing home maintenance chores, you can spend your days meeting up with friends to play a game of tennis or cards, over great food and drinks at an on-site restaurant, in a class to learn more about a subject of interest, to sing along at a music concert or simply have time to yourself enjoying nature walks, reading, swimming or whatever makes happy.

Still wondering if moving from your home to a CCRC is right for you? Download our Stay or Go Guide. It’ll help you decide.

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