Whether you are looking to lower your monthly mortgage payment, take out additional equity from your home, or make those home repairs you’ve been dreaming about for years, now may be the time. Interest rates will not be staying low for ever, so make sure you act before it is too late.

One aspect of reverse mortgages that is particularly unique is that they can eliminate monthly mortgage payments. As long as you stay in your home, and pay your taxes and homeowners insurance, your loan will not be payable. This is a very attractive option for seniors who are on a limited budget.

Another important aspect of reverse mortgages is that you can never owe more than your home is worth. The non-recourse nature of these loans means that if your property value declines below the value of the home, you are not required to pay the difference. This means you don’t ever have to worry about leaving a debt to your heirs. If you die and the loan balance exceeds the value of the home, your heirs can simply satisfy the loan obligation by turning the home over to the bank. Of course, they can also choose to repay the loan or refinance it with a regular mortgage if they’d like.

Reverse mortgages come in all shapes and sizes. You can choose to receive your funds in a variety of ways. For example, you can receive a lump sum distribution, a line of credit or a series of equal monthly payments for the remainder of your life. Or, alternatively, you can choose some combination of these options. Also, what you use the proceeds for is completely up to you. You can buy a new car, fix up your home or even take that vacation you’ve always dreamed of.

It doesn’t matter if you’re 62 and older and looking to increase your monthly income or just a typical home borrower looking to lower their monthly mortgage payments. Now is a great time to refinance your home. Despite the down economy, you should investigate your financing choices. This decision could end up saving you an unbelievable amount of money in future years. Make sure you investigate your financing options before this amazing environment of low interest rates disappears.

Looking for more information on a reverse mortgage lump sum or refinance mortgage company? Then make sure to check out Tim Begert’s online resources.

In a previous article, we explored the staffing in assisted living based on ratios versus staffing based on acuity. Ratios are the most commonly used, but it is also clear there is a tendency to overstaff and in all cases, ratios ignore the actual changes in acuity for an individual resident. Staffing based on acuity is preferred, but not widely used as it seems to be too difficult to implement. Let’s look at one method that can be used to develop an easy-to-use acuity staffing tool.

The first step is to build a spreadsheet with a column for each service you are offering and a row for each resident. For bathing you could look at your own assessment document and you might add the following columns: Independent, Provide Reminders Only, Partial Assistance, Full Assistance.

Enter a row just above all of the resident’s names that says, “Standard Time.” In that row enter a standard time. But where do you get that time? Start with an estimate. You know a great deal already and these times can be revised as you learn over time. And be consistent in the way you set the times. For example, hours per week or hours per month is a reasonably simple way to think about the services. Full bathing assistance might be 30 minutes per bath and delivered twice each week so one hour per week could be a good place to start with a standard time for bathing.

Now fill in the cells for each service that a resident receives services. Your spreadsheet is filled out and ready for some simple analysis.

Add totals at the end of each row and each column. You will see the acuity as measured in hours for each resident. Does this comparison across the residents seem reasonable? Does it seem correct that Martha takes twice the time as most other residents? Is John really only taking three hours a week for all of the services you provide? If not, perhaps you need to start adjusting the time for that resident. If the standard time for full bathing assistance is one hour per week and you know John is just difficult and requires more time, then perhaps the cell for his bathing needs to say 1.5 hours.

Now look at the totals for each column. You will likely see the amount of time for medication management for each resident is about six hours per month and is the largest single time for any service. If this is not the case, then perhaps you are doing some work that does not show up on the assessment. For example, does the nurse provide a monthly review of the medications? And does it take about 20 minutes for each resident? Time to add a column to reflect the time the nurse is actually putting into the work for that review.

Build a summary for each job skill of the total time for the period. Caregivers deliver the care for many of the columns.

You will probably end up with something that looks like this.

As residents move in, add a row. As they move out, remove a row. As you update an assessment for a resident, update the cells for that resident. You can gather the caregivers who take care of Mary Albright and have a discussion to see that all services being delivered are documented. You can also ask how long it takes to do the job for each service for Mary.

You can also make the standard times more accurate by actually measuring how long it’s taking for that service for about 30 observations and then take an average time. Adjust the time upward by 20% to allow for lunch breaks, taking time to talk with residents, filling out reports, etc.

You should see several benefits from your use of an acuity-based staffing approach. You will better understand where your staff time really goes. You will adjust your staffing based on changes in census AND based on the change in care you are delivering to each resident. (Ratios just don’t do this!) And our analysis shows you will have enough staff, but not too much, which should save you money.

About the Author:

Doug Fullaway is president and COO of Vigilan, a provider of software for senior living management, and has over 30 years of management experience. In 2002, Doug entered the senior market by joining the executive staff of Vigilan and is the proud owner of several senior communities.  Prior to Vigilan, Doug held positions in distribution, manufacturing, customer support, sales, and general management in the U.S., Europe and Asia.  Doug earned his undergraduate degree in industrial engineering from Oregon State University, served as an infantry officer in the US Marine Corps and graduated from the Harvard Business School.  In his spare time he loves to snow ski, fly a Cessna and go fly-fishing. He can be reached at dougf@vigilan.com.

Surveying 2,576 adults online, Harris Interactive found the public is split on whether we will be able to afford the cost of many more old people (33%). According to Harris, 38% said will not be able to do so or 29% are not sure. More younger people (47% of Echo Boomers) and 51% of Gen Xers (aged 34-45) than older people think we will not be able to afford it.

Other results from the survey found:

• A 47% plurality of adults – but less than a majority – thinks that it is a good thing that life expectancy is increasing and that there are likely to be many more old people. Older people are much more likely than younger people to believe this; 58% of people over 65 think this but only 35% of “Echo Boomers” aged 18-33. While only 20% of adults think this is a bad thing, fully 34% are not sure.
• When confronted with a list of five possible ways of addressing the future cost of Social Security and Medicare, a third (35%) of adults say they don’t favor any of them. Possibly they do not believe the underlying premise that there is a problem. By far the most people (47%) believe we should “encourage people over 65 to work.” The next most acceptable option would be to increase the age of eligibility for Social Security and Medicare (30%). Only 21% think we should raise taxes while very few people (9%) think we should reduce Medicare or Social Security benefits.
• When told that “most economists think it is inevitable that we will have to do one or more of these things, whether we like it or not” and asked to pick two, the same pattern emerges. Fully 61% favor encouraging more older people to work, and 46% favor increase the age of eligibility. Almost a third (31%) choose increased taxes while very few favor cutting benefits for Social Security (10%) or Medicare (12%).
• A large 68% to 16% majority (with 15% unsure) believes “we as a society are not adequately prepared to spend more years caring for our aging parents than for our children.”
• A 50% to 26% plurality of those aged 18-64 believe that “our health care system, as it is now,” will not be able to handle the large number of older people who are likely to have chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and arthritis.
• When told that “many economists think that, to pay for Social Security and Medicare . . . many more people should retire later and continue working after 65,” a large 64% to 25% majority of those under 65 agrees with this.

“These findings are interesting and important,” said Dr. Robert Butler, the president of the International Longevity Institute. “It is good to see public support for people working later in their lives. This would not only reduce the economic problems addressed in the survey; research shows that people with purpose and who have something to get up for in the morning live longer and better lives. There is also evidence that increased longevity creates new wealth.”

Most People Believe that We Are Not Prepared for Increase in Longevity and Number of Old People

Some highlights include:

Nursing Home Costs Continue to Rise

In 2005 the median annual rate for a private nursing home room was $60,225, compared with the 2010 median annual rate of $75,190. This means that Americans can expect to pay approximately $14,965 more per year today for a nursing home than they had to pay in 2005.

Home Care Costs Holding Steady

In contrast, rates charged by home care providers for "non-skilled" services have not experienced significant growth over the past five years. The national hourly private pay median rate charged by a licensed home health agency for a home health aide was $17.50 in 2005, while the 2010 hourly rate has gradually risen to $19. Home care rates have remained in check partly due to increased competition among agencies, the availability of unskilled labor, and the absence of costs associated with maintaining stand-alone health care facilities.

The Least and Most Affordable States for In-Home Care

Genworth’s 2010 Cost of Care Survey revealed that Alaska, Minnesota and Rhode Island are the most expensive states for home care, at a median rate of $25 per hour for a home health aide provided by a state-licensed agency. The most affordable states are Alabama and West Virginia, at a median rate of $15 per hour.

"Long term care is not just about nursing homes anymore. Care options have expanded dramatically over the past several years to include a far greater choice of settings that reflect the ways in which individuals prefer to receive care," said Buck Stinson, President, U.S. Life Insurance Products at Genworth.

"With the establishment of a Center of Excellence in Research on Disability Services, Care Coordination and Integration, we will make necessary data improvements to better understand health and support services for people with disabilities," said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. "The data collected will allow the Office on Disability and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to examine the effectiveness of different services and supports being provided, and in turn, improve care for people with disabilities."

• All owners and operators consistently stated that costs are 50-60% less in Mexico than in the US or Canada for physical development & final costs.  This was a consistent subject when listening to different developers in all parts of Mexico. 
• Healthcare solutions exist at various price ranges throughout the country including coverage for catastrophic emergencies depending on Visa status
• Most developments are for independent living (i.e.  homes and fractional residences)
• Proximity to Airports and Border are critical.
• Safety.  Despite the press, retirement in Mexico remains safe.  Presenters stated that the conflict exists between the druglords and the federales / police, not the retirees.
• Some developers are repositioning their properties as retirement locations rather than second home destinations.  Sales pitch is still resort lifestyle with CCRC type of amenities.
• Connectivity.  Researchers state those who are retired in Mexico today are in communication telephonically and via the Internet on a regular basis not much different than in the US.
• Medicare in Mexico.  This is the most critical part to explosive growth for retirement in Mexico.  While there are initiatives to bring Medicare from the US to Mexico, participants stated that this is a big wish.  Access to healthcare providers is top priority in those looking at retiring and those who already have retired in Mexico.

Final thoughts:  Retiring Mexico is a good alternative if you are looking for a temperate retirement, are mobile, in reasonably good health and have a sense for adventure.  There are groups of Americans retiring and living in Mexico in growing numbers so finding a community with Gringos is not out of the picture.  For development, until there is some kind of relationship between the US and Mexico for medical coverage (think NAFTA for healthcare…), Mexican retirement is a niche that is a viable alternative for a small group of American retirees.

Look for a few follow up articles from the conference focusing more specifically on segments of retiring in Mexico.

Operating Highlights Include:

• Senior living occupancy for the first quarter of 2010 was 86.2% compared to 86.7% for the same period last year.
• Senior living average daily rate for the first quarter of 2010 increased by 2.8% to $149.09 from $145.07 in the same period last year and increased by 3.1% from $144.64 in the fourth quarter of 2009.
• The percentage of senior living revenue derived from private and other resources for the first quarter of 2010 increased to 70.0% from 69.4% for the same period last year.

FVE Q1 2010 8-K

Watercrest at Mansfield

“We are thrilled that the doors of Watercrest at Mansfield are now open,” said Rick Simmons, president and CEO, Integrated Real Estate Group, developer of Watercrest at Mansfield. “The first residents are already taking advantage of the wide array of services and amenities offered by the community.”