Photograph by George Sakkestad
Future of assisted living is now
By Oakley Brooks
Our Lady of Fatima Villa's $6.5 million construction project, adding 34 assisted-living units, puts the retirement facility right in the thick of the local drive to give seniors both a measure of independence and medical support in the new style of living.
A consultant's study--commissioned by Fatima Villa administrators--recently found that as healthy seniors continue to live longer, those with at least $50,000 in annual income will demand 390 assisted-living beds by 2005.
And local retirement administrators say the increased demand for rooms between intensive nursing facilities and independent apartments has arrived in full force.
The Saratoga Retirement Community completed 110 units of assisted-living space in late summer 2001, and the new rooms at the Fruitvale Avenue facility have already filled up to 62 percent capacity. Administrator Ron Anderson says he expects another 14 people to move into assisted-living units this month.
In San Jose's Lincoln Glen Manor complex, 31 assisted-living rooms opened in October 2001, and Executive Director Loren Kroeker says he had his rooms filled by Jan. 15 of this year.
"There's a tremendous calling," Kroeker says. "People are looking for community, but they want supervision so they're not afraid."
Fatima Villa CEO Preston Wisner says that although he doesn't have a waiting list for his future rooms, he's learned about the local demand just walking down the street.
"Everywhere I go, people are asking about it," says Wisner.
By August, he hopes to break ground on the new facility, and Wisner says he expects at least 14 months of construction.
Of the 34 assisted-living units, staff will provide increased vigilance for residents with dementia and Alzheimer's in 14 of the units.
Fatima will also remodel its skilled-nursing facility, which has 85 beds for 24-hour care.
To complement the Saratoga senior council's Adult Day Care program for seniors still living in area homes, Fatima will build its own day care center. Wisner says his day care programs will be geared toward seniors needing more medical attention than those currently at the senior center.
Residents of Fatima's new assisted-living facility will pay a $2,000 entrance fee.
Monthly room and board will run from $3,600 for a studio space to $4,400 for a one-bedroom apartment. Additional individual care will require monthly fees between $500 and $1,000.
To help keep individual costs down, the nonprofit Fatima organization is seeking to establish a foundation that will help seniors pay living costs. During the construction project, the organization hopes to raise $1.5 million. For more information about donating to the foundation, contact Scott Johnson at 408.741.2987.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
