Do you know what CCRC stands for?
If you’re looking into senior housing options, the acronym should be part of your parlance, just so you know your options.
CCRCs — continuing care retirement communities — typically guarantee housing placement and a continuum of health care for seniors, including access to assisted living, memory care, rehab and skilled nursing on a single campus.
Sizeable one-time entrance fees guarantee residents a place to call home, regardless of their health-care needs.
One local example of this tiered approach to the aging process is Covenant Village of Golden Valley, a faith-based, not-for-profit CCRC.
Though it opened in 1980, this Golden Valley facility near Highway 100 and Duluth Street, has undergone many renovations over the years, including new building additions in 1987 and 2001.
Special features here include a LifeConnect wellness program to keep seniors engaged with each other, family and their own health, hobbies, lifelong learning and spirituality.
Covenant Village is also the only facility in Minnesota to offer drug-free SAIDO Learning memory-support methods that have proven to help improve symptoms for people suffering from Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia.
Covenant Village of Golden Valley
Where: 5800 St. Croix Ave. N., Golden Valley
Ages welcome: 62 and older
Number of units: 198 studio, one-, two-, and two-bedroom-den apartments, ranging from 490 to 1,570 square feet
Cost for single resident: Entrance fees for independent living range from $90,300 to $284,100, depending on the size of the apartment. Residents also pay additional monthly fees ranging from $1,847 to $3,707, which includes meals, utilities, insurance, maintenance, cable, a phone line, Internet, an emergency-call pendant, scheduled transportation, wellness programs and activities.
Residents pay for health-care services, such as assisted living, memory support, skilled nursing, and rehab, as needed, with monthly fees increasing to cover specific types of care. Residents benefit from a guaranteed continuum of care as well as varying rates for health care. Some residential agreements include refund and estate benefit options as well. Care services are available to residents and non-residents.
Ownership: Covenant Retirement Communities is the nation’s sixth largest not-for-profit senior services provider. Based in Skokie, Ill., it serves 5,000 residents at 15 senior living communities nationwide and is a ministry of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
Info: 877-804-7017 or covenantvillageofgoldenvalley.org
Covenant Village of Golden Valley recently dedicated its very own Little Free Library, built by two resident woodworkers in the community’s workshop.
Other amenities
- Great room with a grand piano and fireplace
- Billiards room
- Computer center and community-wide wifi
- Private dining for family gatherings and events; and a guest suite
- Venue for musical and theatrical performances
- Professional grade woodworking shop and a creative arts center
- Gift shop
- Fitness center and lap pool
- Yoga, aquatic and strength classes
- Fitness coordinator and dietician
- Wooded paths for walking or riding
- Personal gardening spaces
- Lifelong learning classes
- Salon/barber
- Worship opportunities and bible studies
Sarah Jackson is the editor of Minnesota Good Age.