vandee
1/13/2014 17:34 EST
Reality has just set in and aging does not seem to stop at 65. If I retire to Ecuador are there nursing homes available? If I have such a need in the future family may not want to come 2,000 plus miles to feed me. What is the cost for such a service?
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shawnnn
1/13/2014 21:01 EST
Not trying to be funny but I was thinking the same thing. I am 65 and need a nursing home at 95 years so keep a look out for me please. Good to plan ahead.
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OceanHideaway
1/13/2014 21:35 EST
Nursing homes are not to the standard of what is available in the USA and the concept of the ALF (assisted living facility) has not arrived.
Even the very best of the lot are far below par.
Most Ecuadoreans will kep their family members close and hire in a nurse for their elderly parents' needs.
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tnvol1999
1/13/2014 22:09 EST
I've read on some website that there are homes for the elderly with nurses n doctors that at the time cost on the average of $500 a month,,,
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mildoc
1/14/2014 07:11 EST
I have limited experience in this, having visited only 1 in my time here; but I was impressed with how nice it was compared to the hell that most in USSA are……not aware of the costs but like most things in EC, it should be relatively affordable…….
The bigger question is, if you become unable to make decisions for yourself, then who decides for you? Who controls your assets/money?
That is the question I would ask.
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vandee
1/14/2014 10:48 EST
mildoc: Thank you. You raise a good point. Maybe someone can help answer as I think that possibly many expats living in Ecuador would be without family to help make decisions.
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OceanHideaway
1/14/2014 15:19 EST
Mildoc --
Where was this nursing home, do you have a name?
As for pre-planning -- that is something everyone needs regardless of age -- a Will and a Health Care Directive in Ecuador, in Spanish (with the addition of a document stating that the previous has been translated for you and you understand it) properly notarized and easily available in a time of crisis!
This is in addition to any documents of this sort you have in the USA.
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mildoc
1/14/2014 17:35 EST
Yup, a nursing home in Milagro…..my step son had a contract to provide services to it and I visited it with him……it was so different from anything in the USSA I saw (and I saw alot as a medical student/resident/doctor.
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crowdpub
1/17/2014 12:18 EST
Ocean Hideaway is correct in her assessment of nursing homes in Ecuador. I have had personal experience with a well known and highly advertised nursing home in Ecuador which contributed to my relatives death. It caused a big stir in my family because they saw the money going to a nursing home and they wanted the money. Just because family members take care of their own it does not mean they are of the quality necessary to take care of someone.
This nursing home knew they did something wrong because they returned a months payment which was $1000 dollars.
This is not a destination to go long term if you are thinking of using nursing care. It can be done but it is very very difficult and not at all to the standards that most people would expect.
I write about this topic and experience in my latest book at:
http://www.amazon.com/Points-Consider-Before-Retiring-Ecuador-ebook/dp/B00DZTZ4HC/ref=zg_bs_17163_9
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mildoc
1/17/2014 15:32 EST
Grasshoppers, look at this from another view point……why do the nursing home thing……you could just as well pay for somebody to take care of somebody in a house or place…….you or somebody would have control of the situation……cameras and recording devices to monitor the situation 24/7, even remotely by loved ones, is low cost and easy……
The issue of course is having a trusted person to oversee the care…….
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mildoc
1/17/2014 17:23 EST
Alternatively, you could simply pay for 24/7 care in your house or apartment…..put up cameras to monitor remotely if desired, record……
The big issue is having somebody trusted to supervise care….
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Peregrino
1/17/2014 21:02 EST
mildoc said: "The big issue is having somebody trusted to supervise care…."
Sounds like a business opportunity there.
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mildoc
1/18/2014 07:07 EST
I agree that there may well be a business opportunity here.
The issue is how to provide security for those who may opt to place their lives and finances into your care……or, why should I trust you?
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Peregrino
1/18/2014 09:43 EST
Disclaimer: I will make my first trip to Ecuador shortly after Carnival so obviously I know almost nothing about Ecuador.
I am 70 yrs old and two of my high school classmates (very small high school) are in skilled-nursing homes and neither expected it. I understand vandee's point of view that if I expect to live somewhere for the rest of my life, it might be wise to consider than some of that life might include old age and that unexpected things happen unexpectedly, and right were you happen to be at the time.
When I was in Antigua, Guatemala for a couple of weeks last summer, the local American Legion post found, freed, and exported a 90 yr old, blind expat from a makeshift jail in the back of a warehouse. He was being kept alive by his local 'maid/care giver' who was living large on his military retirement checks. I am sure this happens in the US also, but the difference is that it seem to be a much more attractive option in most Latin American countries for a single expat to live at home with a live-in care giver than in the (usually rare) assisted living/nursing homes. I think I would prefer it and certainly would like the option. There is also a compromise: Guadalajara, MX has a small but growing industry of small, home-like facilities — sort of like a B&B with nurses. I have never personally visited any.
mildoc said: "The issue is how to provide security for those who may opt to place their lives and finances into your care……or, why should I trust you?"
Agreed, there are problems. However, this would seem to me something of interest to the greater expat community and is an opportunity for private enterprise and/or community mutual-aid societies. Somebody might bring it up to get brainstormed at an expat get-together sometime. Sorry about being an outsider butting in, but I will get around to this discussion sooner or later anyway.
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emahon15
1/18/2014 19:58 EST
Sounds like a possible business opportunity for someone. I am a RN here in the states and plan on moving to Equador in a few years. Preplanning is always a good idea and got me thinking of somethings I need to put into place before the move.
It also got me to thinking of the possible business and work opportunies.
Thanks to all the contributors
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Rickr1
2/23/2014 10:19 EST
This is a great topic and one of great concern. Here is Salinas we are doing some thinking on this as to a partnered solution. We have nurses, a nurse practitioner, a pharamacist etc in our little group here.
Maybe down the road, we pool our resources together and live in a common area with paid help.
Lots to think about there. Right now its a great day on the beach.
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oslooskar
9/13/2015 17:55 EST
Hi Vandee, according to this article the cost of a nursing home in Ecuador is very affordable.
http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/on-retirement/2012/03/26/latin-americas-top-health-care-haven
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cccmedia
9/14/2015 04:59 EST
Osloos's article-reference is to a 2012 report by move-overseas booster Kathleen Peddicord, and mentions nursing care only in the last paragraph, and briefly.
She stated that at that time the cost of a good nursing home in Cuenca was $450 a month with various services included.
No nursing homes were named in that article.
-----
This is a fabulous topic for Expat Exchange Ecuador's readership.
Perhaps some can come along and recommend/describe nursing-home or assisted-care facilities in Ecuador, so that folks won't have to move to Guadalajara, Mexico.
cccmedia in Quito
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kensate
9/14/2015 08:12 EST
Kathleen Petticord was the editor for International Living until she & her husband Leif Simon branched out into their own mediums. Nothing against them whatsoever, I even met her in Mexico many years ago, but understand that their job is to promote areas and be paid for it. As with many in that business, they also have vested interest in some of the areas they promote. They also rely on subscriptions to their own publications.
Find your information from those who actually know from experience and not what they read or heard.
A few years ago there was supposed to be a retirement home in Cotacachi, a development that would have been the answer for so many of us. It was called Hacienda de la Flores. I almost invested but thought better of it because it hadn't really gotten off the ground yet. It was such a grand plan that even the VP of Ecuador attended the groundbreaking.
Beware and research personally with your own feet on the ground.
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OceanHideaway
9/14/2015 11:04 EST
Ironically enough --guess who has opened an...ALF in Salinas ...
I know absolutely nothing more than...it is a self proclaimed ALF...
RIck ...
I don't know however if he still uses that handle here. I know of one prospective "client" arriving sometime in the next 6 months for a probable 6 month visit.
I will let you know what they report back...
This would be ...Salinas.
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windshadow
9/14/2015 17:23 EST
cccmedia,
Fantastic!
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