Maintaining strength in order to take care of one’s self is extremely important. Once you see a loved ones strength declining, it’s time to discuss your loved ones options. Your first three concerns will be: how to honor your loved ones preferences while keeping your loved one safe and what makes the most financial sense when considering senior services.
You have OPTIONS for managing living costs depending on your loved ones physical strength.We hope that the following information proves to be helpful.
1. If your loved one prefers to stay in their home unattended, it may require regaining or maintaining functional leg strength to ensure their safety and mobility. Tandem Strength & Balance® is able to accomplish this and families witness functional leg-strength improvement quite quickly and major improvement within 12+ weeks. We have had such committed and happy clients over the last 20+ years, that we do not require a contract. (Life Stories)
In contrast, Assisted Living Facilities start with a non-refundable move-in fee, a base monthly charge and a required contract. If a loved one requires help with such activities as bathing, toileting, dressing, meal preparation, laundry and even walking, the assisted living fees will escalate quickly.
If your loved one prefers to stay in their home…what is the financial cost difference?
Working with Tandem Strength & Balance® will cost 16% of what the Minneapolis/St. Paul, 7-County, Assisted Living Facilities’ average annual cost will be. Most of our clients tell us that this is a shocking realization and once they realize this means being able to stay together in their lifelong home, they add, “incredible.”
2. If your loved one prefers to stay in their home but currently requires homecare services, it will typically require a commitment of 12-16+ weeks with Tandem Strength & Balance® to reduce the number of hours of homecare currently contracted. However, once strength is regained, homecare services’ costs come down quickly and safe mobility and independence increases.
Homecare services are billed per hour and typically have a three-hour minimum. Imagine the expense of a full 24-hour day of care given a Minneapolis/St. Paul, 7-county average rate of $35/hr. The amount of care required by a person is determined by one’s function and mobility.
If your loved one prefers to stay in their home and is currently receiving homecare services…what is the financial cost difference?
This financial difference is more difficult to ascertain as everyone’s situation is different; the homecare services required can vary greatly. But given our two decades of experience, when individuals commit to building functional leg strength, we’ve been successful at greatly diminishing the hours needed for homecare services. Along with less homecare expense, we’ve achieved a much greater quality of life; translating to safe mobility, independence and the highly desired in-home privacy.
Our client needed 24-hour care because of his level of function and mobility. After 12 weeks with Tandem Strength & Balance®, care was reduced to 12-hours per day. After another 12 weeks of functional leg-strength building, he required only 3 hours of care per day.
If you find yourself in this situation or fear it’s lurking on the horizon, talk with us. There’s no obligation.
3. If your loved one is wanting to move to an assisted living facility or it simply seems to be the best choice for your loved one, keep in mind that Tandem Strength & Balance® is able to come to the facility and workout with your loved one. By regaining and maintaining functional leg strength, it will curtail additional monthly fees and ensure less time waiting on staff to help with toileting, walking, getting to and from activities and meals. Strength also improves cognitive abilities, community engagement and counters depression.
Our client was paying $450 per day in a facility. After 8 weeks with Tandem Strength & Balance® he was down to $350 per day. After another 16 weeks of building functional leg-strength, he was down to $275 per day. Improving leg strength was key; he was able to do things for himself that had previously required assistance.
Once entering into middle-age, we realize how important maintaining strength is but when older, it’s the difference in having an independent lifestyle, safe mobility and managing living costs. If you have questions, please contact us. We are happy to provide a free in-home consultation where we evaluate your loved ones strength and discuss your family’s options.
Note: People living with dementia often times can’t reduce their cost of living due to needing 24-hour care, but their quality of life and dignity is impacted greatly with functional leg-strength exercise.