FUNDING the Perfect Residential Home – how to budget for residential care

Oakridge Care Group Ltd gives its advice on the key points families and residents should consider

After 25 years in the business, the Oakridge Care Group Ltd http://oakridgecaregroup.com  prides itself on giving families and individuals the very best advice in selecting residential care homes. The Oakridge Care Group is  unique in that is the the only home to have an information booklet endorsed by the local authority that gives potential residents and loved ones the very latest advice about funding care and how to get funding, should that be necessary.

Where do I start looking?

A doctor is a good place to start for needs assessment advice, as is the local social services, and families, friends and individuals shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help, this does not mean that they are giving up the right to choose in anyway whatsoever - the resident and  family members/friends will always have the final say! There are organisations  such as the Quality Care Commission, Age Concern and Help The Aged that can help with advising people  on how to find retirement accommodation, your doctor, social services and even local assisted residential living centres and day centres will all help people to find out as much information as they need before making that all important decision. Be warned, the star rating they previously awarded is no longer operational and so it can be tricky to use this as a guide in the present day if ownership or management has changed since then. Oakridge was previously awarded the very high accolade of three stars and as the management and ownership is still the same, individuals and families can expect the same level of care even if the rating no longer applies.

Who can I talk too?

We as a service provider recognise that at times it can be bewildering journey placing either yourself or a loved one into care.  Taking this a step further we have instigated a Finance Information Clinic.  This is open to everyone who is looking into reserving a placement within the Oakridge Care Group Limited homes, or is placed with us through the local authority.  The aim of the clinic is to try and reduce the stress individuals go through when placed in this situation.   The clinic is available to current and potential residents and their family representative.  It is a walk in clinic but appointments are recommended for the weekends.  You can book a one to one with Philomena Smith Group Finance Manager, by contacting Oakridge Care Group Limited on 01652 240293. This is a FREE service, and as far as we are aware the only one of its kind certainly in North Lincolnshire and North Yorkshire.   

Also you can contact your

Local Authority Adult Health Care Team, Local Carers Support Group, and Care Quality Commission (CQC)

Do I have to sell my/their property?

There are myths pertaining to this question that are raise regularly.  The short answer is “No”, but if the Local Authority were paying the funding there is a protocol to adhere too.

·      The local authority may place a Restriction against the Residents property to ensure the local authority is notified when the property is sold.

·      When the property is sold the resulting capital will be taken in to consideration when assessing the charge.

·      After 12 weeks a resident will be liable for the full cost of their care, but will continue to pay an assessed charge pending the sale of their property.  During this period a debt will accrue against the sale of the property.

What benefits can I claim for while in care?

·      DLA Care / AA cease after 4 weeks in care (LA/NHS funded stays only)

·      Any payments for dependants or housing costs included in Income Support / Pension Credit will normally cease on admittance to permanent care

·      Couples on Income Support / Pension Credit must claim as single people when one or both is admitted to permanent care

·      As from May 2003 benefits for people admitted to hospital will not normally be reduced unless the stay exceeds 52 weeks.

·      There is no extra income / benefit available to people admitted to Residential Care

·      Self-Funding residents can continue to receive AA/DLA care after the first 4 weeks in care.

What happens if Inheritance Tax applies?

What happens when a property is sold to finance nursing or residential home costs?

If the capital is simply held in a bank account then it can be included in their estate for inheritance tax purposes on death. If the capital is used to purchase a long term care plan, then it may be ‘lifted’ out of his estate. If inheritance tax is a major concern for the family, speak to an accountant who specialises in estate planning.

Finding the Perfect Residential Home

Oakridge Care Group Ltd gives its advice on the key points families and residents should consider

After 25 years in the business, the Oakridge Care Group Ltd http://oakridgecaregroup.com  prides itself on giving families and individuals the very best advice in selecting residential care homes. The Oakridge Care Group is  unique in that is the the only home to have an information booklet endorsed by the local authority that gives potential residents and loved ones the very latest advice about funding care and how to get funding, should that be necessary.

However, it’s not all about money; there are many things to consider when choosing residential care for a loved one, so Oakridge Care Group has produced a “Top 10 Tips” list  to bear in mind and ensure that one of the biggest decisions in someone’s life is perfectly planned. Oakridge Care Group pride themselves on providing a ‘home from home’ and that’s exactly what any care or nursing residence should feel like – home.

1.     Drop in and see for yourself

Just like anyone who is considering a move, it’s important to see where one will live and visit a few homes to help to make a decision. Most homes shouldn’t have a problem if people simply drop in, as this is a good way to get a real view of how the home operates and so, what it might be like to live there. Prospective residents mustn’t be shy and should do their research thoroughly.

2.     Location, Location, Location

This is as true of finding a residential home as it is of any other type of dwelling. Families and residents needs to know exactly where they want to live. For example, do they want to be nearer to their family? Do they want to live in a rural location or perhaps nearer the shops and bus routes? Residents and families need to carefully consider what they want and what they need and how they want their life to be after they live in the residential home. If being a member of the local WI, church or samba dance class group is important to them, they will need to make sure these places can all be easily reached from their new home.

3.     Needs Must

Choosing a home is as much about the level and type of care required as it is about the first two points above. Choosing a lovely nursing home in a great location won’t work if funding is required, as the local authority will only pay for nursing care for those that have a medical need for it. If there is no medical need you will need to find a residential home without nursing specialities and then the local authority will fund you if you fit the means testing criteria. Likewise is true of the opposite scenario and some homes do not accept people with dementia, or like Oakridge Care Group, will have specialised homes for those with memory problems.

4.     Get Help and Advice

A doctor is a good place to start for needs assessment advice, as is the local social services, and families, friends and individuals shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help, this does not mean that they are giving up the right to choose in anyway whatsoever - the resident and  family members/friends will always have the final say! There are organisations  such as the Quality Care Commission, Age Concern and Help The Aged that can help with advising people  on how to find retirement accommodation, your doctor, social services and even local assisted residential living centres and day centres will all help people to find out as much information as they need before making that all important decision. Be warned, the star rating they previously awarded is no longer operational and so it can be tricky to use this as a guide in the present day if ownership or management has changed since then. Oakridge was previously awarded the very high accolade of three stars and as the management and ownership is still the same, individuals and families can expect the same level of care even if the rating no longer applies.

5.     Talk Between Yourselves

Unfortunately, not everyone has a family that can help them, but that’s when friends can step in and lend a hand! It’s important to have another set of eyes and ears to help people when they visit homes, or speak to people who offer advice on finding homes.  Friends will often think of things that family members and residents might not, and see things that could be easily missed. Working together as a team will make the whole process easier and less stressful. After all, what are friends and family for if not to help with life’s big decisions?

6.     Try before you buy

Most good homes have a respite or guest service where potential residents can try out a home for a weekend or even longer. Visitors can treat it as a little break, but really use it as a chance to test every facility, from the comfort of the beds, to how the staff treat the residents most in need. It is a chance to try all meals and drinks and have a good chat with as many people as possible about how happy they are, as they will give a good insight into what to expect as a long term resident. Many of the residents found Oakridge that way and the staff are only too happy to accommodate prospects in any way they can before they decide to move in permanently.

7.     Bust those myths!

There are many myths around residential care, such as the need to sell one’s own home, that couples can’t live together or that a resident’s independence will take a back seat. Oakridge Care homes have spaces for couples, and its  exclusive financial advice booklet will explain how to fund care and all the  residents can get out an about make full use of their bus passes so are free to come and go as they like. It is worth checking out all these things with the homes before making a decision either way about one particular place.

8.     Don’t be bored

Many of Oakridge’s residents find a new lease of life after being widowed and/or isolated and lonely in their own homes. Activities range from quizzes to clay pigeon shooting, baking cakes to choir groups, gardening to regular pub lunches – any good residential facility should offer such diverse things for their residents to join in with, so it is worth asking about these kinds of activities or to see a calendar of events. Also, many good homes now have dedicated activity staff team - ask to be introduced to them!

9.     Technology helps

It is definitely worthwhile using technology to get another insight into residential homes. If internet access or use of a smart phone is not readily available, it’s worth asking friends or other family members if their computers or other types of technology can be used. The internet is a fast way to see what the home looks like, what goes on there, and to get an idea of what it might be like to live there. It is in no way a substitute for a real hands-on visit but will help families and residents to decide which ones they want to know more about. It is also a great way of checking out the history of a home via old press stories and forums.

10.  Don’t be put off

Some older people can feel that they are a nuisance if they ask too many questions, but it is crucial they do just that. If they feel uncomfortable doing that, take someone along who isn’t uncomfortable. If they don’t have anyone who can do that for them, they could drop into some of the charities mentioned above and see if someone from the voluntary sector can help. The local church or community group are also worth approaching. Stick to it and ask, ask and ask again!  -this is one of the most important decisions a family or resident will ever have to make, so they need to get it right from the outset. If anyone in the home is irritated by questions from prospective residents or doesn’t want to answer them, well, maybe it’s not the right home and it’s best to look elsewhere.

Mums Are Great and that’s a FACT!

We couldn’t let Mother’s Day pass and not commemorate it in some way, after all Oakridge Care Groups homes are filled with truly wonderful mothers, grandmothers and even great grandmothers. So, we thought as it is a well known FACT that every mother is great that we would put together some other less well known facts about Mother’s Day.... And don’t worry Dad’s, we’ll do the same for you on Father’s Day.

1)     Mother’s Day, despite being a fairly commercial event these days, is not the invention of a card company - it actually dates back nearly 3,000 years to Ancient Greece!

2)     The earliest tributes to mothers date back to the annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated to Rhea, the mother of many deities, and to the offerings ancient Romans made to their Great Mother of Gods, Cybele.

3)     In the UK Christians celebrate the Mother’s Day festival on the fourth Sunday in Lent in honour of Mary, mother of Christ. The holiday was later expanded to include all mothers and is now called Mothering Sunday. 

4)     This year countries in the Balkans, North Eastern Europe and as far afield as Bangladesh and Nigeria will celebrate Mother’s Day in March, but most countries celebrate Mother’s Day in May, including the USA, Australia, Denmark and Singapore. Only Norway celebrates in February.

5)     In the United States, Mother's Day started nearly 150 years ago, when Anna Jarvis, an Appalachian Mountain homemaker, organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions in her community, a cause she believed would be best advocated by mothers. She called it "Mother's Work Day." 

6)     Fifteen years later, Julia Ward Howe, a Boston poet, pacifist, suffragist, and author of the lyrics to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," organized a day encouraging mothers to rally for peace, since she believed they bore the loss of human life more harshly than anyone else. 

7)     In 1905 when Anna Jarvis died, her daughter, also named Anna, began a campaign to memorialize the life work of her mother. Legend has it that young Anna remembered a Sunday school lesson that her mother gave in which she said, "I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mother's day. There are many days for men, but none for mothers." 

8)     At first, people observed Mother's Day by attending church, writing letters to their mothers, and eventually, by sending cards, presents, and flowers. With the increasing gift-giving activity associated with Mother's Day, Anna Jarvis became enraged. She believed that the day's sentiment was being sacrificed at the expense of greed and profit. In 1923 she filed a lawsuit to stop a Mother's Day festival, and was even arrested for disturbing the peace at a convention selling carnations for a war mother's group. Before her death in 1948, Jarvis is said to have confessed that she regretted ever starting the mother's day tradition. 

9)     Despite Jarvis's misgivings, Mother's Day has flourished in the United States. In fact, the second Sunday of May has become the most popular day of the year to dine out, and telephone lines record their highest traffic, as sons and daughters everywhere take advantage of this day to honour and to express appreciation of their mothers.

10)  Britons send on average around 23 million cards every year to the nation’s mothers, about 30%of those are homemade... and we know they’re the best ones!

Anyone For A Cuppa?

We all love a nice cup of tea and maybe even a biscuit to go with it on occasions, so it can only be good news to hear how healthy a cuppa can be. Recent research shows that the health giving properties of tea can be greatly beneficial to the more senior citizens among us. However, before you reach for the kettle or ask for cuppa you may have to change the nation’s favourite drink for something a little more exotic, because it’s GREEN TEA that has all the health giving properties.

A report from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and another by the University of Japan found that GREEN tea helps pensioners stay more physically active than their peers who don’t partake of the brew and that coffee and standard tea did not provide this particular health benefit at all.

Researchers tracked the health of almost 14,000 men and women aged 65-plus for three years, noting what they ate and drank and factoring in data on any care they needed. They found that the more green tea they consumed, the more mobile and self-sufficient they were. Those who got through at least five cups a day were 33 per cent less likely to develop a disability than those who drank less than one cup and three to four cups a day cut the risk by 25 per cent. Overall, green tea drinkers fared better as they grew older than the non-drinkers, even taking into account that they generally had healthier diets and lower smoking rates.

It is not clear why green tea gives such a boost to health, but it does contain high levels of polyphenols, plant chemicals thought to cut cholesterol and protect DNA from damage. These are found at much lower levels in normal tea or in coffee.

However, as with many of the so-called health fads, super-foods and wonder drinks there is a down side - the drink should be avoided by those taking the blood-thinning drug warfarin as the vitamin K in it can stop the drug from working properly. We ensure that all the residents taking medication in our homes are monitored closely and would advocate anyone on any medication to read the instructions on their medication very very carefully. All Oakridge staff are trained in the administering of drugs, as anyone working with medications and caring should be, so you can all can all rest assured that anyone taking warfarin will not be drinking green tea with us.

At Oakridge we generally approve of anything that’s going to help our residents live longer, healthier lives, although we have to say dunking a digestive into green tea just isn’t the same. YUK!