Nonprofit offers half-price assisted living trial to help meet elder care needs

Neighborhood House in Keene Valley hopes to draw attention to aging population in the Adirondacks

By Tim Rowland

A special promotion on assisted living care doesn’t come around every day, but the nonprofit Neighborhood House in Keene Valley hopes a 30-day, half-priced trial offer will not only drum up business, but draw attention to the needs of an aging Adirondack population.

“We are excited to offer a trial run to people in hopes it will ease their minds about entering into a facility such as ours,” said Richard Rothstein, CEO and Administrator of the Neighborhood House. The promotion offers a month’s stay at half price, with no long-term contract or commitment of assets.

While it might sound gimmicky, the promotion has serious intentions: to get more people talking about senior care, which many are loath to think about until there is no other choice.

Unlike nursing homes, assisted living centers do not receive Medicaid reimbursement, making care less attainable for an Adirondack population that can’t meet the state-average average $5,000 monthly cost. “We’re the least expensive, but we’re still out of reach of low and even middle income people,” Rothstein said.

But being a rare nonprofit in the field gives Neighborhood House more room to negotiate price based on ability to pay, as well as maintaining a half-dozen beds for people without resources. No resident is sent away for running out of funds.

Adirondack demographics indicate that the need for affordable care will increase significantly over the next 15 years. While the Essex County population is projected to decline from 37,000 to 35,000 by 2040, according to Cornell University, the population of people aged 75 and up will rise sharply over the same time period.

Assisted living is a step between retirement and nursing home care. It offers general living help along with basic medical care, but not the acute medical care of nursing homes. For example, said Holly Aquino, community relations manager for Neighborhood House, a person who needs a wheelchair to get around, but can get out of it on their own is a candidate for assisted living; those who need a couple of orderlies to rise would need a greater level of care. But assisted living can still provide a level of basic medical care that can be achieved short of a higher-priced nursing home.

It’s needed, because with an emphasis on aging in place, the age of people entering assisted living has risen by about 10 years over the last couple of decades. While generally portrayed as a positive, aging in place isn’t always the best solution. A person alone in a large house can develop a low-grade anxiety that over time affects physical and mental health, Rothstein said. 

He sees in, particularly in men who are not inclined to talk about such things — after a month or so in a more communal setting they will confess to being worried or lonely when they were on their own. 

The aging in place model has also had an affect on the housing market, as multi-bedroom homes that typically would come open for growing families remain occupied longer by a single individual who, as they grow older, may not be able to tend to the care and maintenance of the house, which can fall into disrepair, making it more likely to be abandoned in time.

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Participants work on their range of motion in a senior fitness program class at the community center in Au Sable Forks. Photo by Eric Teed

Rothstein said assisted living is also important to the well-being of the “Sandwich Generation,” which refers to people who are raising children while caring for one or more parents in their retirement years.

If a Sandwich Generation caregiver has a medical issue, or simply needs a break, assisted living is available for the parent for a short-term stay.

Assisted living often presents as a luxury for the wealthy, with cruise-ship-like amenities, but people with lesser resources have a need for this care too, Rothstein said. Neighborhood House draws from mostly a 50-mile radius where local residents’ money is limited. 

“We’re not everybody’s cup of tea,” Rothstein said, noting that Neighborhood House is clean and tidy, but without frills, where the residents’ greatest desires  — good food and outings — are met. When situations arise, as they always do in elder care, Rothstein said Neighborhood House does its best to resolve them quickly and fairly.

It has 50 beds, with a residential population typically in the high 40s. Residents can gaze at the mountains from its front yard and fish in the Ausable from its back.

Aquino said it is also something of an oasis from assisted-living desserts in the North Country, and facilities that are too expensive or have lengthy waiting lists. It is also independent, bucking the trend of private-equity-owned chains.

Rothstein said a little help for small independents, such as state block grants or a large gift — Neighborhood House holds fundraisers to help make ends meet — would go a long way. But such help doesn’t appear to be immediately forthcoming, and the facility operates without government subsidies.

The 30-day trial stay program is available through Aug. 15. For more information about Keene Valley Neighborhood House, call 518-576-9210 or visit www.kvnh.org.

Photo at top: Richard Rothstein, CEO and administrator of the Keene Valley Neighborhood House. Photo by Tim Rowland