When people hear the phrase “planning for the future” they’re immediately filled with anxiety and apprehension. After all, “planning” sounds like a lot of effort. And as a healthy and active retiree, you may feel like you’re nowhere near ready to begin creating a Life Care plan. Isn’t that something people do when they’re much older or become sick? When exactly should you begin to plan?
Sun Health Senior Living’s Corporate Director of Sales, Jackie Lusson, hears these questions a lot. Nearly every day, she works with retirees making decisions about Life Care planning. Recently, we sat down with Jackie to offer you more insight into how this process works, when to get started and the top challenges seniors face.
Could you please share a little bit about your background?
I’ve been in the healthcare and the senior housing industry for more than 23 years. I’ve opened many Life Care properties, I’ve worked as executive director of Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC), director of sales for Life Care communities and as national director of sales.
In your opinion, what sets Sun Health Senior Living apart from other senior living options?
Sun Health is not just housing—a place for people to live—but also an environment that gives residents the opportunity to be in charge of themselves for the rest of their life. That’s the power of Life Care: You decide which agreement is right for you, and we personalize it. Then you enjoy the peace of mind of knowing you have access to whatever care you may need for the rest of your life.
In addition, Sun Health whose overall mission is to champion health living, research and superior health care, has many other assets to help our senior population age successfully. We have a division called Community Wellness that provides numerous programs and services to the larger community (not just our senior living residents), including community education, medication management, memory care navigator, and the Center for Health & Wellbeing, just to name a few. Our Sun Health Foundation is the leading philanthropic partner to our two area medical centers, in addition to providing support to many of our programs.
We truly believe in being an advocate to healthy living—not only in our residences, but also for our employees and surrounding communities. Everything we do goes back to our mission and our purpose: creating healthy living environments.
What are some of the biggest concerns future residents have when they begin planning?
People worry about whether or not they’re going to outlive their resources. Expenses are going through the roof, and everything’s changing. Health care is changing, Medicare is changing and other things are changing all the time. The average annual cost for skilled nursing is around $95,000 a year and assisted living is around $60,000 a year. That’s a lot of money when you think about it.
More importantly is knowing that you’ll have access to everything people need to stay as healthy as possible as you age. That’s Masterpiece Living®—it’s a movement to promote successful aging versus “getting old.” Our campuses have partnered with Masterpiece Living, and everything we do promotes successful aging.
What are some of the biggest obstacles future residents face when it comes to getting started in the planning process?
When we’re young—12 years old, for example—your goal is to get older. That’s what we want to do. We want to to be a teenager, then 16, then 18 and 21. What we don’t realize is life goes so fast. All of a sudden you’ve raised your family, you’ve retired and life is wonderful and full. People don’t often think about that next stage in life. But it’s absolutely crucial that you begin planning so you can be in charge of your future. You don’t ever want to let go of being in charge of yourself and making your own decisions.
The biggest obstacle is realizing that while your house is wonderful, you need to be realistic and think about the importance of staying in charge of your next phase in life. The hardest part is making the decision to get started. After that, once you’ve made your decision, your Life Care plan will take care of you.
What if I’m not ready? Perhaps I’m newly retired, or I’m not prepared to begin thinking about that next phase because I still feel active and young. What should I do?
Sun Health Senior Living communities are very young, active and dynamic. Sun Health is an innovative company that continually strives to be at the forefront, and we’re fortunate to have a forward-thinking senior leadership team.
When future residents walk on our campuses, they see the life they can have—all the wonderful possibilities. They also begin to understand the power and comfort that comes with knowing whatever decisions they make today aren’t going to change in the future. You never have to give up your lifestyle when you move to a Sun Health Life Care community . We provide the lifestyle. Most importantly, you will be in charge of your life and your decisions.
Statistics that show about 70 percent of people 65 and over will need some type of long-term care, so you need to make that decision as soon as possible.
Anytime you’re preparing for something new in life, you’re always going to feel some stress and anxiety. How do you help future residents overcome these concerns?
Unfortunately today, people are waiting longer and longer to make decisions about their future, which is part of what causes that stress and anxiety.
When retirees come to one of my educational workshops, they say, “What if I’m not ready yet?” And I tell them, “The fact that you’re here shows you’re ready. You’re in the right place, getting the education you need to go forward and make decisions for your future.”
The fact that someone attends a workshop—they’ve made that call, and they’re there—I know from experience that means they know it’s time to start exploring. Maybe they’ve seen the experiences of a friend, neighbor or family member. Whatever it is, something encouraged them to take that step—to gain the knowledge necessary to prepare for the future.
The first step in planning for your future is learning more about your options. Reserve a seat at one of our educational workshops to discover more about how to enjoy retirement to the fullest.
