In my conversations with people about Continuing Care Retirement Communities it often becomes apparent to rather quickly that many people are not entirely clear on the difference between a CCRC and an assisted living community or other type of long-term care facility. Therefore I thought a quick post to address the confusion might be helpful.

The main thing that distinguishes a CCRC from other types of long-term care communities is that a CCRC embraces the “continuum of care” concept. This means that ta person will typically enter a CCRC while still healthy and active and, in exchange for a fee, will be guaranteed by the community that the appropriate level of care will be provided in the future as the resident’s lifestyle and care needs change.

A non-CCRC community will often provide the sames levels of care but without a guarantee that the care will be available to you and without accepting pre-payment for future care needs.

CCRC’s are a viable retirement option for “Baby Boomers.” There are several things that have changed the face of retirement communities over the years and have helped to create a growing demand for CCRC’s. For more information, see our recent article in the December 2009 issue of Raleigh’s Midtown Magazine: http://www.carolinacontinuingcare.com/inc/files/editor/files/Midtown.pdf