By Hector Flores
Residents were laughing and smiling, lost in conversation with family members at comfortable tables as piano music played in the background.
On the walls were framed reproductions of famous paintings, set against gold wallpaper with vine-leaf designs. The brass wall lamps illuminated the expansive room with a warm glow. White linen cloths covered the tables. And a rich chocolate cake with raspberry sauce on the side was served on paper plates.
It was Family Night, a time when residents of the facility are visited by their loved ones.
Steve O'Briskie, 85, welcomed his daughters, Linda Linehan and Patty LaPerla, and Linehan's husband, James. O'Briskie's wife, Anne, died a little more than a year ago, and he was so distraught after her death that he was bedridden for months. Not long afterward, he fell and broke his hip and leg. He was having a hard time making it on his own.
That was when his daughters began speaking with him about moving from his Queens home to an assisted-living facility.
Assisted-living facilities are communal homes for older adults, but they are different from nursing homes in that residents of assisted-living homes are, in many ways, independent. They are generally ambulatory; that is, they can walk and move about. They can go shopping at the mall, take in a baseball game. They might even hold jobs. But as they age, they need help with life's daily tasks, like preparing meals and housekeeping. The best assisted-living facilities are much like posh hotels.
Nursing homes, in contrast, are for those who need 24-hour nursing care. They often cannot walk and may not even be able to feed themselves.
Assisted living is considered a growth industry. According to U.S. Census figures, about 6.5 million seniors need assistance with daily living activities. That number is expected to double by 2020. There are now more than 30,000 assisted-living homes nationwide, with $15 billion in annual revenue - a figure that is only expected to climb as aging baby boomers retire and need communal homes.
Linda Linehan, an East Meadow resident, said that she and her sister considered a number of options to care for their father in his later years before deciding on assisted living. "We were thinking of keeping a nurse's aide at the house, but it was just too expensive," she said. "In order to have a health aide live in the house, it was going to cost between $4,000 and 5,000 a month, and that did not include the upkeep and maintenance of the house. We felt that the best place to keep him was at an assisted-living facility."
Rent at such a home is generally $2,500 to $3,000 per month, including meals. James Linehan said his father-in-law has made many new friends at the Sunrise. "There is a sense of community here, and a new neighborhood," he said.
Linehan said that seniors in their 80s too often spend their days trapped at home. Their old neighbors have either died or moved out of the state.
Assisted living, Linehan said, is "a life choice, and there are times that life makes the decision for you. At one time you had multifamily homes where there were at least three generations living under one roof, but that is no longer the case. Now a lot of these homes are empty, and assisted living facilities fill that niche."
Kathy Darmstadt of Williston Park agreed, and said that it took some coaxing by her family to finally convince her uncle Phil Quinn, 83, a widower and a retired court reporter, to consider living at the Sunrise. "My uncle grew up in Queens and lived in North Merrick for 40 years," Darmstadt said. "We introduced the idea to him, and one day he said yes."
Darmstadt said that her uncle could not maintain his home, and had limited driving ability when he lived on his own. "The house was falling apart, and contractors were taking advantage of him," she said. "He was also driving, but wasn't the best. He could only drive locally, and if he needed to drive long distance, we would pick him up."
Quinn has lived at the Sunrise since June, and Darmstadt visits him at least twice a week. She has noticed improvements since he moved in. "He is eating better, exercising and gets checkups from doctors," she said. "He has friends. He is singing. And he is happy. He doesn't need a high level of care, but it's the social environment. Before he would go to church every day, but now he is doing many more interesting things."
Darmstadt added that her uncle is the first member of her family to live in an assisted-living facility, and the experience has been positive. "It has been such a great experience that my husband is considering telling his mother about it, but he hasn't yet," she said.
Life in an assisted-living home
O'Briskie said he likes his life at the Sunrise. "I am a member of the Alliance of Residents at Sunrise," he said. "The club handles complaints, and we bring them to the board."
O'Briskie said he has myriad activities to choose from at the Sunrise. "We wake up, read the newspaper, have breakfast, and then the day is yours," he said. Activities range from painting to gardening to bus trips to local shops. "I enjoy myself," O'Briskie said. "This is so much better than Queens, but it's expensive."
Erica Prince, director of community relations at SeniorCare at Lynbrook, said residents of assisted-living facilities "are free to go as they please. They can be members of a club, health club and even have a job. We have people of all abilities here."
According to Prince, the population at assisted-living facilities ranges in age from the late 60s to as old as 100. The average stay is 10 years. "We have over 150 activities, and provide a much more stimulating environment than if the seniors stayed at home," Prince said. "People get to a point where it's hard to cook for themselves, but we take care of that."
Prince added that when older adults live alone, they often forget to take their medications, but staff at assisted-living facilities make sure they do.
"People today are in the sandwich generation," Prince said. "They are trying to take care of their parents and children, and it's hard to juggle both. Many of our parents need to be taken care of, and assisted living is one viable option. We give relatives peace of mind that their loved ones are being taken care of."
Prince said that families should consider assisted living if their parents or grandparents exhibit certain signs. "Usually it's people in their late 60s or early 70s," she said. "They may begin feeling lonely, not taking care of themselves, and there is a noticeable decline in their health."
To help keep residents healthy, SeniorCare makes a variety of health-care workers available to residents, including internists, a podiatrist, a psychologist, a psychiatrist and a physical therapist. The facility also provides on-call medical services, including eye, ear, X-ray and laboratory services.
"This industry is very small, and all assisted-living facilities have different feels and prices," Prince said.
For information on Assisted Living Facilities in Nassau County, call the Senior Help Line at (516) 227-8900.
Comments about this story? HFlores@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 283.
