When recovering from dental surgery and in an altered state, I was interviewed by colleague and dedicated senior care friend Steve Moran. For more than 10 years Steve has published an on-line magazine reaching thousands of U.S. senior housing executives and their teams – Senior Living Foresight.
Below is a link to our overview chat about Senior Living in Mexico which may be located on Steve’s web site, LinkedIn, and You Tube. (Please scroll to bottom of copy to find link if you are interested).
Part of the 36 minute video is out of sync; it also skips and flip-flops in places.
Toward the end Steve talks about a phone number. If you stay through that one minute, there is a brief mention of Medicare. One of the most asked questions by Americans looking to Mexico is: ” will Medicare be accepted”?
The video is not required viewing. 😉 The intention is to offer helpful information.
I am accustomed to researching, interviewing, listening, and participating in private one-on-ones. I am unaccustomed to being the center of attention. I have much to learn about being on camera.
Thank you Steve for including me in the discussion!!!!
Wendy Jane Carrel will address a group of American retirees about senior care and senior living options in Mexico at Focus on Mexico, Thursday, February 27 in Ajijic, Mexico. (Ajijic is a village with a population of around 10,000 at Lake Chapala, one hour south of Guadalajara, the country’s second largest city).
Her talk will cover Mexican senior care models (including those owned by Americans, Canadians, and other foreigners), and senior care options in expat retirement havens around a country often better known for its tequila, tamales, and mariachi.
Carrel recently wrote an article about corporate senior living developments in Mexico that was posted on SeniorLiving Foresight, a popular senior housing news site in the U.S. The link to the article is below.
Wendy Jane Carrel, MA, is a Spanish-speaking senior care specialist and consultant from California. She has travelled Mexico for several years researching health systems, senior care, and end-of-life care in order to connect Americans, Canadians, and Europeans with options for loved ones. She has investigated hundreds of senior housing choices in 16 Mexican states. Her web site is http://www.WellnessShepherd.com.
I always look forward to addressing folks from Canada, Europe and the U.S. at Focus on Mexico one-week seminars, currently held every two to three months at the Real de Chapala Hotel, Lake Chapala, Mexico.
Most attendees are considering a move to Mexico for a variety of reasons – adventure, climate, housing costs, more affordable healthcare, retirement, and more!
Placard in front of modest assisted living home, Jocotopec, Lake Chapala
The newbies will see my Power Point presentation Thursday morning, August 8, outlining various models of senior living and senior care in Mexico – government, non-profit, and for profit independent living, assisted living, memory care, and Life Plan Communities/CCRC’s. My photos of senior living options are from various states in Mexico from Baja California to Merida in the Yucatan, all ex-pat havens.
To date, Lake Chapala attracts the fastest growing and largest community of ex-pats in Mexico.
I am grateful to Focus on Mexico, where I address the ever-changing topics in Mexico (and elsewhere) of independent living, assisted living, nursing care, Life Plan Communities (CCRC’s – there is only one so far with others being developed).
The next talk to the Focus on Mexico attendees is March 21 at 11:15 a.m. at a hotel in Ajijic, Mexico. See https://www.focusonmexico.com/focus-6-day-program/ Focus on Mexico offers seminars to folks interested in how to move to and/or live in Mexico. All presenters at Focus on Mexico are volunteers.
On Friday, March 29, I will be speaking at a FREE community event (open to the public) at the Lake Chapala Society Sala in Ajijic at Lake Chapala, Mexico at 2:00 p.m. on Why End-of-Life Planning is a Good Idea for Ex-Pats in Mexico.
Veladoras for Guadalupe and those we’ve lost, Mexico City Cathedral
Here below are links to articles I have written on the above-referenced subjects:
Wendy Jane Carrel, M.A., a Spanish-speaking senior care specialist, has spent over seven years traveling province to province in Chile, Ecuador, and Mexico researching senior living options. She acts as an advisor or liaison for those who wish assistance negotiating health systems, senior care options, end-of-life care, and disposition of remains.
Gardens at Casa de las Lunas in Puerto Vallarta with independent living, assisted living and respite care, private pay
According to realtors at Lake Chapala, Mexico, and the information desk at the Lake Chapala Society in Ajijic, the popular ex-pat retirement destination has received more than double the no. of potential renters, buyers, and information hungry folks from Canada and the U.S. than in years before. (Other popular retirement destinations are also seeing an increase in activity – see no. 3 below).
Among visitors intent on moving are travel aficionados looking for a unique cultural experience, the prospect of meeting stimulating people from all parts of the world, but more importantly, an opportunity to stretch their dollars.
And then there is senior living and healthcare, a subject of interest for most. For “sandwich-generation” boomers who lost savings and/or homes during the American recession of 2007-8, or spent savings for the education of millennial children or grandchildren, many are finding there may be little left for themselves or parents if assisted living or nursing care are ever required.
An added concern is that funding for Medicare and Medicaid in the U.S. are currently being challenged.
Alma, a non-profit home for 40 residents in San Miguel Allende
If the cost of assisted and continuing care in Canada (Canada takes care of its disabled, ill, and older adults through universal care programs but there is also private pay care) or the U.S. is not an option, there are more affordable options in other countries. The closest place to look is Mexico.
Here are guidelines for looking at assisted living and continuing care in Mexico, costing between $600 USD to $3500 USD/month, depending on the value of the American dollar and the Canadian dollar vs. the peso, the location, and the residence you choose:
Take note – in Mexico the terms assisted living and “nursing home”are often one and the same, with exceptions. Care facilities are not known as they are north of the border – assisted living, rehabilitation, nursing home, and hospice. It is often an all-in-one approach. Also, with some exceptions, homes mix physically disabled residents with memory care residents.
Select cities or areas you wish to be in for climate – coastal, desert, mountains. (Coastal tropical places cost a little more because A/C is expensive).
If the future resident does not speak Spanish, seek places with ex-pat communities and English-speaking locals who are often a source of volunteers – Baja California Norte (Ensenada, Rosarito Beach, Tijuana), Cancun, Lake Chapala, Mazatlan, Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta. Or, choose smaller places such as Merida, and San Miguel Allende. Some care homes have all foreigners as residents, others locals and foreigners together. Usually one person on staff speaks English, sometimes more than one.
Do the due diligence. Research places and determine costs. Most assisted living and “nursing homes” catering to foreigners have web sites in English easily found on Google Search.
Consider private pay homes and non-profits, as well as residences run by nuns whether you are Catholic or not. Nuns often (but not always) provide quality care as most are nurses with a mission to serve, plus costs tend to be what Mexicans would pay if price is a consideration. Another level of care is found in government homes, some pleasant others not; some accept foreigners with residency cards. There are differences in every region of the country, and there are no rules.
Note: no two places will be alike – financially, environmentally, socially, and in terms of care. Homes are not regulated with the strict standards one is accustomed to in Canada and the U.S. However, there are places with quality care and high standards.
Conduct site visits. Assess for yourself what might be an acceptable match in terms of environment and people. Would you or your loved one feel comfortable and safe? Do you like the space, the staff? How are you welcomed? Do residents seem cared for or are they alone in “God’s waiting room” without attention and activities? Ask residents what they like best and what they don’t like. How clean is the home? Standards differ from place to place. Arrive at meal time… is there enough assistance for each resident? Is food fresh, nutritious, and nicely presented? Is it food you would or could eat? Does the home prepare meals compatible with health challenges? What about care plans and medication management? What about emergencies? How are these matters handled?
Patio at a private pay “nursing” home, Casa Nostra, at Lake Chapala
Casa de los Abuelos DIF (government) home for seniors, Morelia – these homes are intended for Mexican nationals but on occasion persons with residency visas who pay are accepted, depends on the place and availability
There are no simple answers for selection.
Ideally, we would all have perfect health to our last days and an abundance of funds which would allow us to receive the best possible care wherever we choose to live.
Note: CCRC’s (Continuing Care Retirement Communities, from independent living to demise), now referred to as Life Plan Communities, have not arrived in Mexico, with one exception. There are plans in the works for Life Plan Communities in Baja California, Cancun, and at Lake Chapala from American, Canadian, Mexican, and Spanish developers.
Wellness Shepherd 