Orchard Cove, a retirement community in Canton,
Massachusetts, outside Boston, where they could be
closer to their sons.
“Ididn’tthinkIwouldsurvivethechange,”Felixsaid.
He’dobservedinhispatientshowdifficultthetransitions
ofagewere.Examininghislastpatient,packinguphis
home,hefeltthathewasabouttodie.“Iwastakingapart
my life as well as the house,” he recalled. “It was
terrible.”
Wewere sitting in a library offOrchard Cove’s main
lobby. There was light streaming through a picture
window, tasteful art on the walls, white upholstered
Federal-stylearmchairs.Itwaslikeanicehotel,onlywith
no one under seventy-five walking around. Felix and
Bellahadatwo-bedroomapartmentwithforestviewsand
plentyof space.Intheliving room,Felixhad a grand
pianoand,athisdesk,pilesofmedicaljournalsthathe
stillsubscribedto—“formysoul,”hesaid.Theirswasan
independent-livingunit.Itcamewithhousekeeping,linen
changes,anddinnereachevening.Whentheyneededto,
they could upgrade to assisted living, which provides
three prepared meals and up to an hour with a
personal-care assistant each day.
Thiswasnottheaverageretirementcommunity,buteven
inanaverageonerentruns$32,000ayear.Entryfeesare
typically$60,000to$120,000ontopofthat.Meanwhile,
themedian income of peopleeighty and olderis only
about$15,000. Morethanhalf oftheelderly living in
long-term-carefacilitiesrunthroughtheirentiresavings
and haveto goongovernment assistance—welfare—in
order to afford it. Ultimately, the average American