Intro
At Long Term What? we visit a variety of long-term care housing facilities to help you learn about your options.
In April 2024, I visited Wind Crest in Colorado, a non-profit Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) in Colorado by Erickson Senior Living. In a separate post, we explain how CCRCs offer multiple housing options like independent living and assisted living under one roof.
We got a wonderful behind-the-scenes tour from our friends Rose and Don, two independent living residents of Wind Crest.
Post jargon
CCRC: continuing care retirement community; housing with many LTC services
EMT: emergency medical technician
LTC: long-term care
LTCi: long-term care insurance
CCRC Type C: pay only for care as you go
➡️ Explore all the LTC jargon
Campus
First off, the place is huge. Indoor skyways connect multiple "neighborhoods" and buildings, so you never have to go outside.
Some buildings are newer than others, but all have good upkeep, and landscaping makes it feel like a well-kept campus.
Activities
Next, I grabbed a weekly activities calendar. Beyond the movie theater, pools, pickleball courts, woodshop, and gyms, the amount of scheduled activities is nuts. Everyone we spoke to raved about the options.
Housing
Most residents live in "apartment homes" of varying sizes (memory care residents live in suites). Rose lived in a 2-bedroom that felt really spacious when I visited.
Dining
After checking out the activities and rooms, we ate at one of their 10+ dining halls with tasty vegetarian options. As part of your monthly fee, you get one meal a day. Each meal is three courses with a drink, apps, entree, and dessert), so many residents box up extras for lunch the next day.
I also learned that dining invites are the hack to making friends at Wind Crest.
Easy, peasy.
Health
Each room is equipped with an emergency pull cord, ensuring an EMT arrives within minutes. Wind Crest has a medical center and pharmacy on campus. I saw the independent living area but not the assisted living or other health services buildings.
Cost
Like many CCRCs, there’s a large entrance deposit (90% is refunded to loved ones later) plus a monthly fee. Wind Crest offers à la carte pricing (type C), so residents only pay for health services like assisted living when needed.
Wind Crest considers your long-term care insurance (LTCi) benefits as one factor in determining whether you qualify to join. If you need to move into assisted living, your LTCi can pay for it.
If you run out of money
Some long-term care can extend for 10-20 years (e.g., Alzheimer's) and be prohibitively expensive. This extended long-term care is difficult to insure.
If you require long-term care at Wind Crest and exhaust your funds, they will first use your entrance deposit. But if that gets used up, you won’t be asked to leave, thanks to their 'Home for Life Commitment.' 👍🏻
Wind Crest maintains a Resident Care Fund designed specifically to assist eligible residents who outlive their resources. No one has ever been asked to leave the community because of a genuine inability to pay.
Wrap up
I loved Wind Crest. A CCRC isn't for everyone, but I liked the shared community that I had in my college dorm years ago. Since Wind Crest is huge, residents have a greater chance of finding their tribe when participating in their numerous activities. I also appreciate the peace of mind that the staff specializes in elder care, and I wouldn't get kicked to the curb if I needed memory care for 20 years.
While I only visited the independent living section, I learned enough to know that Wind Crest offers incredible social options with the peace of mind that most LTC options are under one roof.
