Stateline 1301 Master Script

BOOTH

AMERICAN SERVICEMEN BEGAN RETURNING FROM WORLD WAR TWO IN 1945.  ABOUT NINE MONTHS LATER, CHILDREN WERE BEING BORN IN RECORD NUMBERS.  76-MILLION AMERICANS WERE BORN BETWEEN 1945 AND 1964.  THEY ARE, ON AVERAGE, THE HEALTHIEST, WELTHIEST, AND MOST OPTIMISTIC GENERATION IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD.

AND EVERY MILESTONE IN THEIR LIVES HAS BEEN CHRONICLED IN THE PRESS AND ANALYZED BY SOCIOLOGISTS:  THE BABY BOOMERS ENTERED SCHOOL, THE BABY BOOMERS WENT TO COLLEGE, THE BABY BOOMERS ENTERED THE WORKFORCE; GOT MARRIED; HAD THEIR OWN CHILDREN.

IT’S NOW 60 YEARS AFTER THE BABY BOOM AND IN OKLAHOMA AND ELSEWHERE THE BOOMERS ARE JUST ABOUT TO RETIRE.

THEY WILL DO IT, AS THEY HAVE DONE MOST THINGS IN THEIR LIVES, ON A SCALE--AND WITH A STYLE--NEVER BEFORE SEEN.  AND OKLAHOMA ENTREPRENUERS ARE TRYING TO DETERMINE WHAT THE BOOMERS WILL NEED AND WANT—AND WHAT THEY CAN AFFORD.

ON THIS EDITION OF STATELINE, THE BUSINESS OF THE COMING RETIREMENT BOOM.

(Choir Singing)

Booth

Retirement is a part of the American dream, get a good job, work hard, save your pennies and someday take it easy. It’s a sweet tune for those who have made it.

Danny Eischen

9:26:54      S-106

Well you just look at the sheer numbers of people who are going to be in the demographic that we serve. There is a huge wave of those people coming.

In the 2000 census, nearly 60 million people in the U-S are 55 years of age or older, and the number of people 60 and over is expected to quadruple by the year 2050.

Sherman Huff

11:04:59         S-207

Other people have different ideas about it they tell you it is going to be a real boom for the retirement industry that were going to see just an explosion of it. You're going to see people building retirement communities based on this. I am just not sure.

Diane Hambric

10:00:37     S-705

Truly what we are seeing in retirement right now is an evolution. It is for folks that still want to enjoy life still have that desire to engage their brain, engage their body, and that is what we are doing here with our modifications that we put into place in the last couple of years. We are really working on attracting and helping those residents remain engaged in life.

Danny Eischen

9:11:34      S-106

Unfortunately, one area that has not changed as much as we'd like to see is the perception of who we are and what we do.

Diane Hambric

10:00:37     S-705

I think there is a misconception sometimes about retirement living. That folks think that it is more of a nursing home type setting or something for those that can't do for themselves.

For those who can afford it, the retirement communities of today are a world away from the nursing homes of the past.

They are communities that look a lot like an elegant hotel, a spa or resort. Minister Charles Thomas and his wife moved into the Broadmoor in Tulsa shortly after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. They didn’t know what to expect.

Charles Thomas

11:01:37    S-705

My concept of rest home when I was preaching. Walking into a rest home was terrible odor you ever smelled in your life. That was my impression. Not so here.

Charles Thomas

10:55:48    S-705

They said “Dad we got it all planned out we are going to move you into the Broadmoor on Tuesday you go to Bartlesville and get out of our way.” So all three of the children a daughter and the older and younger son and a bunch of friends move me and while I was gone. When I got back about three o'clock I walked in and it was home. It is said come in Chuck. There was the abandonment easy chair and all the pictures on the wall everything. I just fell in love. I just stood there and cried and they said what's the matter. I said I'm so happy I can't stand it. That put me right across the parking lot and I can go over and feed my wife lunch and dinner every day.

Charles Thomas

10:59:02    S-705

They order special desserts for diabetics. Just little things that you wouldn't think about ordinarily that really make a big difference to everyone here. I really enjoyed that. They cleaned my apartment once a week. They vacuum, change the bedding and even do laundry on the bedding.

Charles Thomas

11:02:45      S-705

There is warmness here when you walk in the front door. It says welcome. My family every time they come they say dad feels like home here. I said it is. This is home. And I enjoy it.

Sherman Huff

10:54:48         S-207

When I first started 20 years ago we were serving the G.I. generation. That was the greatest generation that Tom Brokaw talked about. They were very easy to please, very easy. They took pretty well whatever was available and were glad to have that they were not demanding.

Sherman Huff

10:56:16         S-207

The silent generation they are a little more demanding. They are little more discriminating. They are better educated than their parents were more of them are college educated more of them have better jobs and probably more retirement. They are very thrifty in the sense that they are value-oriented and are willing to pay for a product if it is good.

Diane Hambric

10:03:35     S-705

So that is this group of people that are pre-baby boomers. Those are the people that we are now encouraging in our retirement communities. Those folks want wellness, they want education, they want to be volunteering, they want to still engage in life. Unlike the World War II folks that were more accepting of whatever was placed before them. These folks are wanting choice, they're wanting independence, they are wanting freedom.

The priorities of the silent generation have turned things upside down.

Sherman Huff  

10:55:19         S-207

Pyramid Graphic

When the G.I. generation was here the most important thing was the nursing care that was offered in the retirement community. That was the base. They were interested a little bit about how it looked…the real estate. Then at the very top was just hospitality what kind of amenities they offer. We have just seen that thing almost flip. The best thing is the real estate what is it look like. The next big thing is hospitality what amenities do you offer. Then at the top is nursing care now the nursing care better be good but they don't seem to talk about that. Initially they are looking for what the place looks like and what amenities that you can offer.

Diane Hambric

10:05:27     S-705

We provide everything from housekeeping services to meals whenever you want them. There is no set mealtime you want to come in 10 in the morning and have breakfast, great…if you want to come in at three in the afternoon and have lunch or dinner great.

Sybil Wanberg

11:26:09    S-705

I don't know if I was worried. I was kind of looking forward to getting my meals served to me. Which is nice and the food is excellent. I got to say is excellent. And you have fun your fun in the dining room. Everybody has fun. They are talking and laughing.

Charles Thomas

10:59:02    S-705

I like that I don't have to cook any meals anymore. I don't have to mow grass. I get three meals a day and eat well-balanced meals. I am also diabetic and the chef prepared meals that have the right balance of proteins and carbohydrates for diabetic.

Diane Hambric

10:25:01     S-705

Food and the mail are two things that will keep a retirement community buzzing. So send those letters and keep writing. The food is huge. / And having the variety that is just been phenomenal. The positive comments that we get, that we have a choice soups the salad bar is there every day, then just 30 different menu items selection that they make daily. They love it.

Staff members say they’ve seen residents turn back the clock just by getting involved in one or more of the many activities available.

Debbie Miller

13:39:39    S-207

Our goal here is not to help our residents live forever. But it is help them to stay active and independent for as long as they live. We know that the more that they move. More activities they participate in the more physically active they are. The longer they are.

Diane Hambric

10:23:12     S-705

Just simply by having interaction, interaction with other people not just sitting there in their living room praying that their son or daughter calls them once a week.

Sybil Wanberg

11:27:11    S-705

Everyday there is something when I get up. I look at the agenda they give us there is something going on. At home I was so bored.

Diane Hambric

10:21:06     S-705

One of my favorite stories was a lady that her son was actually a friend of my mom and dad. / He came to me and said Diane I don't know if it is going to work with my mom. Because she's been, I can hardly get her out of bed, she is isolated I just don't know but let's give it a shot. / A couple months went by she started feeling better. She started feeling better she started being very involved in activities she started going out on the trips with the other ladies and gentlemen. I will never forget this phone call he called me. I saw in the hallway I think it was. He said Diane I can't believe it, I had to buy her a recording device so that when I call I can at least leave a message because I can never get her in her apartment. She is always out doing something.

Sherman Huff  

11:20:26         S-207

We have a personal trainer here who does exercise classes. She will train you. She does yoga she does step and strength. She does line dancing, she does walking they just do all sorts of physical activities then we have a workout room where she shows you how to use the machines.

Debbie Miller

13:37:30    S-207

Residents can participate in a number of physical things. / We worked on balance and we also stretch. Because stretching gets even more important as we get older. We also have yoga. We're doing right now Chi Gong.  Which is a form of tai chi.

Debbie Miller

13:38:31    S-207

We have a massage therapist that comes to the Cove and performs massage.

Diane Hambric

10:01:28     S-705

In our activities we do things such as mystery trips. We might do Wii bowling which is going on right now. The residents are active and engaged.

Sherman Huff

11:20:26         S-207

We have a billiards room I call it a pool hall but we have a billiards room. We have an artist's studio.

Danny Eischen

9:12:33      S-106

When someone's looking for a community they want to continue their lifestyle, or they want to start a different lifestyle. They don't just want to move in somewhere and do whatever is available. They want us to tailor their living experience to what they are used to, or what they want to do.

Diane Hambric

10:08:20     S-705

We have a concierge that actually her job is to just do the extra special things that are residents may need. She will for example, if we have a resident that is going to go to the hospital and no family in town she will go and actually help them get admitted to the hospital and stay with them during that time. She's actually even sat with folks when they are at the end of their life.

The ultimate amenity is the ability to make the property into a home. Mary Stewart moved into the Broadmoor nine months ago.

Mary Stewart

11:56:36    S-705

I wanted to do a little bit differently than they normally do. So I chose my wall color something that I find soothing. I have allergies so I wanted some wood floors. We compromised these are actually rubber so they can take a lot of water. So they've worked quite nicely for me. Since my spare bedroom for my grandson staying right now. And it's an exercise room. Every room has more than one purpose. And this is the living room.

Mary Stewart

11:57:57    S-705

This is the dining room and that is my small kitchen. I didn't use a whole lot except for coffee in the morning. Maybe breakfast. I don't always get dressed and go downstairs. I enjoy a nice quiet morning to myself.

Mary Stewart

12:00:42    S-705

This is my bedroom. I have my private bathroom. I have a walk-in closet. In fact every one of the four rooms has a walk-in closet in them. There is a pantry by the kitchen and he's this big closet to store all my art stuff in.

The big question is, how much does it cost to live in a retirement community? There are different models and prices, but no matter how old you are it would be wise to start saving now.

Danny Eischen

9:24:07      S-106

For a buy-in you're going to be paying anywhere between $100,000 and $200,000 to come into the community of which that is going to be for the most part up to 90% refundable when you leave the community, and then the monthly fees are going to range anywhere from $2000-$3500 per month.

Diane Hambric

10:14:57     S-705

We are continuing care retirement community, without the buy in. So each of our communities is a month-to-month rental situation. / And we've always felt comfortable with that model. I know that others do have buy-in scenario. There are several here in Tulsa that do that. But we just felt like we wanted to remain a month-to-month rental situation that allows the residence the freedom to come and go as they please. They want the residents to be here because they want to be here not because they have put a big chunk of money down the makes it important for them to be.

Sherman Huff

11:18:35 S-207

A general rule of thumb is that if you are in your 60s or 70s and coming in we would like for you to have income that is about two to 2 1/2 times the monthly service fee that you are going to be paying. We would like for you to have assets that are two to 2 1/2 times the interest fee after you've paid that interest. I you will see people that do not have as much income but they have a lot of assets so that can offset. You can see some people that have a lot of income in retirement but not much assets that can offset.

Before you get sticker shock there are some things to consider.

Danny Eischen

9:24:45      S-106

From a financial standpoint we are very competitive with what it's like to live at home. And especially when you factor in the future need of healthcare. 

Diane Hambric

10:19:21     S-705

And they start thinking about their insurance prices and what it would cost to have that new roof done and what it cost to have the plumber come out and work on the ancient plumbing lines. What it cost for your auto insurance and what it cost for your groceries and your utility bills. If you really take an honest appraisal of what it would cost to live at home versus what it cost to live in a retirement community. You'll find that they are just about the same.

Charles Thomas

11:09:08    S-705

I was worried about finances. My oldest son said, dad don't worry about it. He had already been found out what it was. I could live cheaper here than I could at the duplex we were living in. Besides counting the food, and utilities, insurance and all that jazz, it actually saves me money. My youngest son, he is mathematically minded, he set down and said that “Your wasting money here, why don't you get in there now?”

There are different levels of care depending on the residents needs, independent, assisted living, nursing care, memory care and hospice. Many companies offer a plan called "Life-Care."

Sherman Huff

11:10:09 S-207

To pay us an up front entry fee is called "Life-Care." It can be refundable, but it'll cost you more money, if you want to be refunded on your death or you move out. Or you can buy into basic and there is no refund.

Sherman Huff  

11:12:12 S-207

If you want the “life care” concept is your rates do not go up as you move through the continuum of care.

Danny Eischen

9:18:57          S-106

As a faith-based community our goal is to do everything possible to secure the people who live your Concordia. So one of the areas in our agreement with our residents is that if they get into a financial hardship than we will do everything we can to make sure that they are taking care of. Communities like us, we established a benevolence fund and work to grow that so that in the future if people have a need that we have a way to help them out.

Clyde Buchanan

12:39:42     S-702

This transition we thought was good for us. Plus the fact that we didn't want our kids choosing a place for us. That is a big deal though. You laugh but we had friends that got to the point where they needed to do something and the kids chose a place for them and it's tough.

Clyde Buchanan

12:58:51     S-702

We will probably end our days here…which will be good, which will be good. Because this isn't a bad story, we chose this. Because of I can visit her. We were down in memory care you saw it down there. Did you smell anything? But it is a clean place and people care. Where did you end up better? That people know how to take care of you. If you moved in with the kids they don't know how to take care you, they really don't. The fact is that we have a history here, so people who work in these different areas are familiar with us, we are not strangers.

So who’s moving in? Nationally the average age is about 83, in Oklahoma it is 75 and getting younger. Many seniors are joining in their 60's and there are more couples moving into independent living.

Diane Hambric

09:59:10     S-705

When we first opened the Broadmoor we thought that truly we were going to be servicing a group of folks that wanted to basically come in and get their mail stay couple of weeks and bingo, travel to Europe or wherever. Real quickly we learned that was not the clientele we are going to be serving. The clientele that we would be serving would be those that did need services such as: meals, housekeeping, all of those daily needs that make life a little bit easier for an elderly person.

Sherman Huff

11:33:14 S-207

Chart Graphic

Over the years we've seen the newer communities are building lesser numbers of nursing home rooms and assisted living rooms because people are not staying in them as long. So this chart show draft going up they would live fast and die long. So you shoot up in age to maybe 65 then he started dying, in tapering off maybe and 80. People spent longer times in nursing homes because they weren't capable of living independently. Now we see people shoot up to 67 or so it is called live long and die fast. When they get to 67 or 68 it kind of plateaued. They stayed very healthy and maybe drop a little bit that they stay very healthy out to about 90. Then we see a precipitous drop. So they don't live that long once they going to decline. The decline is much quicker than it used to be.

About 23-percent of the retirement age population have enough money to move to a retirement community, but only seven-percent actually move in. Within the next five years thousands of baby boomers will be studying their options.

Danny Eischen

9:27:27      S-106

Are they going to have the money to afford it? We certainly hope so. Unfortunately healthcare is not getting any less expensive as time goes by and it certainly won't in the future.

Sherman Huff

10:57:16         S-207

The baby boomers that are coming I am one of those and I hope I will be retired before the baby boomers actually come in to the retirement communities.

Diane Hambric

10:13:50     S-705

When the baby boomers come on what they're saying is baby boomers seem to be much more self-centered. Not me but that's what I hear. They're more self-centered and more into demanding things the way that they want them to be. Because that is what they're used to in their lives.

Sherman Huff

10:57:16         S-207

When they do focus groups the baby boomers say they want more and more space 2500 ft.² or more. They want large kitchens where they can cook. / My question is I keep asking this at conventions and stuff can they afford it. Because my experience with my generation is we have champagne taste and beer money.

In Oklahoma City Jack and Mary McKaig wanted a home separate from the main building, a home with a garage.

Jack & Mary McKaig

10:02:34   S-106

We expected that it would be a little more expensive than living in your own home, but not a whole lot. We ran the figures on it several times and decided this was the way to go. Of course there's an endowment, a buy in and we got in on a promotion which we thought was quite attractive. And if we live the rest of our lives our estate will be paid back 90% of what we paid, so we think we made a good deal.

Jack & Mary McKaig

9:57:58    S-106

We had approached the beautiful age of 80 something and we knew that the best thing to do was to get situated while we were both together.

Jack & Mary McKaig

9:59:31    S-106

We looked at the apartments, and they are very nice, this house has almost the same square footage as a two-bedroom apartment but we wanted the garage that wasn't quite as drastic of a change. We believe that someday we probably will move into an apartment, but right now we really did like this. We have a sunroom where we set up my office, it's nice, a big view, it's on the east and we like it.

Danny Eischen

9:12:16      S-106

The living spaces that we offer have become larger, certainly would offer more choice in what we have at the communities.

The challenge of packing up, selling the house and starting a new life can be overwhelming. Once retirees make the decision there are some things to check out.

Sherman Huff

11:12:56 S-207

If you're going to look at a retirement community whether it is us or whoever it is. You need to find out what their management structure is. Are they locally managed? 

Sherman Huff

11:16:02 S-207

If people won't show you their financials I would get the heck out of. If they won't tell you how much they owe I would get back out of there. / You need to know if they are financially solvent you know how they are managed, what input you have.

Debbie Miller

13:46:44 S-207

I would look at their healthcare. With her state license was as far as nursing home inspection deficiencies, how long is it that open, what I'm here to give. How strong is their nursing home?

Sherman Huff

11:17:07 S-207

Go look at it see how they take care of things. Go to the state health department pull the files, see what kind of deficiencies they have got. / If you're seeing where they have found B-M under the fingernails or you're seeing decubitus or bedsores. If you're seeing deficiencies where people are abused or things like that that is a problem.

Sherman Huff  

11:35:19 S-207

Things you should check out a retirement community. You do want to find the one that is a personality fit. But it's also good to go and stay in that community a community worth its salt will let you come stay a week or two in one other guest cottages for free and let you check them out.

Danny Eischen  

9:30:32      S-106

Because even though we are called retirement communities, and there are several of us, we all offer different things for different people

Even with thousands of Oklahomans approaching the age of retirement, the business of retirement is uncertain.

Diane Hambric

10:12:29     S-705

You will see more construction. You will see a lot more construction. You will see more development. The age wave is coming.

Danny Eischen

9:13:06      S-106

We've certainly seen an increase in communities providing specialized programming for people who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's or other dementias. We offer separate memory support programs for that, and I see that just the sheer numbers of people over the last few years who have been diagnosed and more, and that that is going to continue to be a need that we are going to have to understand and learn and adapt and grow to change that.

Sherman Huff

11:03:27         S-207

Like I said we've had to expand our operation and offer a lot more amenities as a result of that. And we will have to expand it a lot more as results of the baby boomers. Talk about the generation gap or the clash.

Diane Hambric

10:14:57     S-705

I think we will just be ready to accommodate a group of people that are very interested in making themselves very happy. We will be happy to do that.

TRT

BOOTH

ONE OF THE QUESTIONS LOOMING FOR RETIREMENT COMMUNITY ADMINISTRATORS AND THOSE CONTEMPLATING RETIREMENT IS HOW TO PAY.

AUTHOR AND FINANCIAL COUNSELOR DAVE RAMSEY FREQUENTLY RECOMMENDS LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE FOR EVERYONE OVER 60.

THAT INSURANCE TYPICALLY DOES NOT HELP WITH INDEPENDENT LIVING FEES, ONLY ASSISTED LIVING AND SKILLED NURSING EXPENSES.

THE GOVERNMENT, HOWEVER, MAY HELP MANY EARLY RETIREES THROUGH TAX DEDUCTIONS.  THOSE ENROLLED IN A CONTINUUM OF CARE CAN OFTEN DEDUCT SOME OF THEIR MONTHLY FEES AS PREPAID FUTURE MEDICAL EXPENSES.

OF COURSE THE ADVICE OF A COMPETENT TAX ADVISOR OUGHT TO BE SOUGHT WELL BEFORE THE COMING RETIREMENT BOOM.

TRT