What Is The Difference Between Retirement Communities & Long Term Care?

Retirement Communities

Retirement communities, like Luther Village on the Park, offer a range of services and amenities geared toward older adults who are looking for independent lifestyle opportunities and supportive living options. They are the perfect environments for singles or couples who would benefit from living with others similar in age and lifestyle. Typically, retirement communities offer three levels of care commonly known as:

• Independent Living
• Assisted Living
• Specialized Dementia Care or Memory Care

Quality retirement communities care for individuals holistically. Our community is designed to meet the needs of everyone’s physical, social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, nutritional, and vocational health. Each domain of health plays an integral part of our aging process.

We offer:

• Well balanced, nutritious meals.
• Individualized fitness programs (working with Nancy our Registered Kinesiologist) to help with balance and strength.
• Opportunities to socialize with other individuals through organized activities, like outdoor concerts, movie nights, card games, lectures, coffee socials and more.
• Access to onsite health and wellness services such as primary health care, Social Worker, Doctor, Registered Massage Therapist, dental care, foot care, lab and pharmacy services.
• Access to amenities like our private family dining room, lounge area(s), libraries, games/craft room, green house, woodworking shop, beauty salon, village shop (grocery/ lunch café), fitness centre, swirl pool, green space/gardens and parking.

Retirement communities encourage older adults to remain as independent as possible. They also provide support if or when needed with activities of daily living and some medical assistance as required (for example, helping people with their medications). On our campus this help is offered in our Sunshine Centre accommodations. Anyone can choose to live in a retirement community as long as it meets their personal needs and their health needs are not beyond what we are able to support.

Unlike Long Term Care, the provincial government does not subsidize the cost of living in a retirement community. Residents pay for the care and service they receive themselves. To ensure homes are operated in a safe and supportive manner that respects the rights and dignity of residents, there are legislation and regulations. In Ontario, the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority (RHRA) is the governing body that enforces standards of care outlined in the Retirement Homes Act (2010).

Long Term Care

Long term care (LTC) homes in Ontario are regulated under the Long-Term Care Homes Act and are fully funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to provide health care (nursing and personal support workers - PSWs). They are often referred to as Nursing Homes. Unlike Retirement communities, residents living in LTC homes pay only for their accommodation and food and subsidies may be available to those who can demonstrate need. Long term care homes provide care for people who require a level of support beyond what is possible in their home or in a retirement community.

To move into a LTC home, residents must meet a set of requirements established by the government. Admission for LTC in general, requires a resident to have high or very high physical and/or cognitive challenges, and/or progression of chronic health conditions that have seriously compromised their health.

LTC waitlists are lengthy and are managed by the Local Health Integrated Network (LHIN). Given the concerns that arose during the pandemic, wait lists have grown due to the reduced number of beds available in each home. Pre-pandemic, LTC homes could accommodate up to 4 residents per room. Now, homes have reduced their beds by up to 50% which has resulted in longer wait times.

It is important to us that individual’s move to the right accommodation to best suit their needs. We are always happy to help guide individuals and their families as they explore all options. Our team has extensive knowledge and experience supporting individuals and their families navigating all living options.

Please call us for more information or if you have any questions. We are always happy to help!
Stay tuned for our next post as we continue to address commonly asked questions and topics.