As our population ages, there is a growing concern about senior care. There are excellent assisted living facilities in our backyard like Brookdale in Parkland and Cascade Park in Tacoma as well as others. Many of these places have management and staff and most dispense excellent care, but there is an alternative: Adult Family Homes. Adult Family Homes are just a little bit more “homey,” perhaps. It all depends on the needs and personalities of the senior resident and personality. Large or small these places all become a community.
“Adult family homes provide living for six or fewer residents and are licensed by the state. They are regular neighborhood homes where staff people assume responsibility for the safety and well-being of the residents. A room, meals, laundry, supervision and varying levels of assistance with care are provided.” – co.pierce.wa.us/388/Adult-Family-Homes
I just found out about Adult Family Homes when a relative began searching for senior care. Adult Family Homes offer a home-like approach to senior living. I was shocked to find out that there are over 200 Adult Family Homes in Pierce County. This will probably keep growing. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Population Projections, “The number of Americans ages 65 and older is projected to nearly double from 52 million in 2018 to 95 million by 2060, and the 65-and-older age group’s share of the total population will rise from 16 percent to 23 percent.”
Each Adult Family Home is certified and licensed. One of the latest homes in the county is Abinding Grace AFH in Puyallup run by Milka Wagura, R.N. – abindinggraceafh.com. Although larger facilities have larger staffs, the staff to resident ratio in an AFH facility is frequently only 1 to 6 or less. This is a definite plus. Seniors not only like to be social, but the like consistency in care and treatment.
Most Adult Family Homes don’t seem to have websites, but I love the message from the Gravelly Lake Adult Family Home, “Your Bed and Breakfast Alternative to Assisted Living and Nursing Homes.” – gravellylakeafh.com
In Tacoma there is Nurse Lavinia. My mother’s name was Lavinia, so I am partial, but I like what she has to say, “Smaller care environments often translate to better care, as caregivers are allowed more time to focus on individual needs, pay attention to detail and tend not only to the physical needs of a client, but his emotional and spiritual needs as well.” – nurselaviniacarehome.com/
Life styles of seniors vary. Many prefer a walk in a park, while others like to read, and still others prefer socializing. Some Adult Family Homes provide occasional nursing care, while others offer specialized care for people with mental health issues, developmental disabilities or dementia. My family has enjoyed visits to senior care communities.
To explore an adult family home as an option, find out what kinds of services and supports are available at each home you are interested in. Visit their websites, go for a tour, or just give then a call. If you need further assistance, please call the Pierce County Aging and Disability Resource Center at (253) 798-4600 or (800) 562-0332. They will gladly help you.
When my late husband was in his end stages, I was able to place him in an AFH in Steilacoom. They gave him wonderful care, worked with me to make sure he was doing well, and allowed me to spend his final days with him in his room when he passed. Prior to the AFH, he had been placed in a residential care facility in Yelm. They did a good job of caring for all their patients, but the AFH level of care and personal attention far exceeded the RCF. I also helped my Aunt and Uncle relocate to an AFH, which provided the best solution to their living situation (he was independent; she required daily assistance and care) until my Aunt’s condition required nursing home care.
Because the care is so individual in an AFH, patients are subjected to more personal interaction throughout the day, both with other patients and with the staff. Patients are not left to sit in wheelchairs all day, lie in a bed with soiled clothing and bedding. With the patients generally together in a living room environment, with staff constantly moving around the house, the patients get much more attention, generally even more than homecare with family members.
AFH’s need to be researched and matched carefully to the patient and family needs, but when they are well matched, they are an excellent solution to long-term care without the need for the full nursing care of a RCF.
Perhaps the hardest decision, emotionally, for a family is the acceptance of the time for placement in a more professional care environment for someone. AFH’s are not for everyone, but they can be that transitional placement which keeps the family feeling but also has more clinically trained care.
For many patients, continued home care is stressful due to the personal needs of the patient and the fact these needs are being met by intimate family members. Additionally, there are changes is the levels of family care provided due to the stress of ordinary problems. The patient becomes difficult because he/she feels both shame for the personal needs and sorrow for the upsets the care puts on the other family members. Placement in professional care such as an AFH can reduce these stresses and many families find the patient becomes calmer and less demanding in a secure, professional setting.
Long term care is a very real future for many of us. AFH’s can be a very good part of the solution.
A G,
Thank you for the heartfelt note of loving. Your story tells it all. Decisions for our loved ones that involve care are never reached over night . . . and they are never easy. Adult Family Homes should be the solution for many. Thank you, again for sharing.
Don
AFH can be a great alternative for elderly. The need will continue to increase. What I do not support is the judges of this state are authorizing sexually violent predators to be housed in these AFH as a lesser restrictive alternative which is being done in Pierce County, specifically Lakewood. The City of Lakewood sues the state on was over ruled saying AFHs are not businesses. SEN O’Ban introduced legislation last year not to allow SVP in AFHs, but it did not even get out of Committe.
Kent,
You are so on target with your comments.
Joseph Boyle
Kent,
I’m mostly happy with our political system and our representatives here in Washington. They’ not perfect, however.
Thanks for your comments . . . excuse me . . . as Joe Boyle would say . . . “so on target with your comments!”
Don
These homes are also available to violent offenders released from Western State Hospital and since Western State Hospital lost accreditation and therefore 54million a year in federal funding, these “homes” are flooding our neighborhoods. Just watch for garbage full of needles and interesting characters coming from and going to these homes for their work shifts. They are very disruptive to the community and the constant police calls and occasional handcuffed individuals is terrible for safe communities. But hey, the state gets to use landlards to do the work they should have taken care of without the liability, what a dream.
J,
Thanks for writing.
You are correct. There are problems. There’s going to be a lot more with the growing number of the baby boomers getting older and needing care. We need to constantly remind our representatives that changes need to be made. Violent offenders are growing old as well and solutions need to be reviewed and considered. Medical coverage and safety is a major concern. Please, share your thoughts.
Thanks for sharing.
Don
Don Doman,
I found your article and the comments of your dedicated reader, A.G. Toth, most informative. The one thing that stands out is the fact the two of you wrote about AFH from the positive viewpoint.
For years all I have ever seen, read, and heard about AFH has been negative. While I am not going to diminish the concerns of those on the negative side, I appreciate the opportunity you and A.G. Toth have given Suburban Times readers to consider the positive side. Your points triggered my thinking.
If you will so kindly allow me to shift from the serious to the not so serious let me ask you this. You reference the year 2060. I will turn 117 that year. I would imagine sometime between my 115th and 117th birthday, I too will be ready for an AFH.
That got me to thinking. Would you let me move in with you and Peg? There is plenty of entrepreneurship in your family at least dating back to your parents. You know you could run an AFH.
Your AFH could be an instant financial success if you dared to be different when compared to the run-of-the-mill AFH.
You could do things like including free Harley Davidson parking. How about cocktail hour starting at 4:00p each day with a 3 drink maximum?
You and I could write our columns together. We could wise-crack each others columns before they were even published.
Our publisher should be in his 80s by then. He could live at your AFH with us thereby providing us with a resident publisher.
Think about it. No rush. I will check back with you in 2043 when I am age 100.
Joseph Boyle – A guy who is always looking ahead.
Joe,
As you may have read from my comments to comments, I worked for a time at Western State Hospital on a violent ward . . . I was able to defend myself very well thank you . . . of course it was a geriatric female ward . . . but that’s another story or two . . . that will probably not grace the pages of The Suburban Times.
Cracking wise with you does sound like fun. I have thought of naming our manor Cracking Wise Acres so this is right up my alley . . . except for the fact that my alley is about twenty feet below grade . . . but then low grade humor from two old codgers sounds about right.
I have carefully budgeted our funds and investments, so I do have to warn you that I will run out well before 2043 . . . it could happen as early as . . . well . . . how much did figure to pay for moving in?????
Don