Home Care in Natural Retirement Communities Has Great Benefits

A recent article in the New York Times covers the benefits of "NORCs" - Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities. NORCs are places that weren't specifically built for seniors, and don't contain solely seniors, but contain a significant number of seniors. These places could be a place where groups of people moved in while younger and grew older there, or it could be an area which appeals to seniors. Regardless of how it was formed, these communities provide seniors with a variety of important benefits.

Advantages of NORCs

One benefit of these communities is that they give seniors a community in which they can retain their independence and freedom. Maintaining their freedom is important to the psychological well being and general outlook of seniors. This is why many seniors prefer to live in a NORC and receive occasional home care instead of a nursing home.

Additionally, it enables seniors to pool their resources to take care of wants and needs of the community. For example, in the community mentioned in the New York Times article every day a certain number of daily papers are bought, and then passed around the apartment throughout the day. Another example of this is when seniors in these communities share transportation. Not all of them can drives, and all the ones who can don't all need cars. Living in a NORC allows seniors to share rides and carpool to popular locations.

Convenient Home Care Available in Some NORCs

Since NORCs gather seniors into a collective community, they also are capable of achieving other things because of their community. For example, they can get school bands and choirs to come perform for them. Additionally, since there are many seniors in one area, some places have R.N.s which make weekly visits and make rounds through the community. Usually it is tougher to get this type of in home care for seniors, but since the R.N. can visit a number of seniors in one trip, it is much more practical.

See if there are Any NORCs In Your Area

So if you or someone you know is considering moving into a nursing home, see if there are any NORCs in the area. They may be tougher to find, but the benefits of moving into a NORC are many.