What Happens If I Need Care at Heron’s Key?
For many people considering a retirement community, one question matters just as much as where they want to live today:
What happens if I need more care later?
Heron’s Key is a Type A Life Care Community in Gig Harbor, Washington, offering Independent Living along with Assisted Living, Memory Care, Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation on one campus.
For residents who enter Heron’s Key under our Life Care contract, access to higher levels of care is built into the plan. If your health needs change, our team helps determine the appropriate level of support and coordinates the transition with you and your family or responsible party.
Even more importantly, your need for additional care does not mean suddenly facing market-rate assisted living, memory care or skilled nursing costs. Life Plan residents who transition to Penrose Harbor continue paying the applicable monthly fee under their Life Care contract, with only a small additional charge for meals.
That is one of the most important differences between simply choosing a place to live and choosing a plan for your future.
A Full Continuum of Care at Heron’s Key
Our goal is to help residents enjoy Independent Living for as long as possible while knowing additional support is available if it is ever needed.
Our on-campus continuum of care at Penrose Harbor includes:
- Assisted Living
- Memory Care at The Lighthouse
- Skilled Nursing
- Short-Term Rehabilitation
- Long-Term Nursing Care
- Physical, occupational and speech therapy
Instead of having to start searching for care during a health crisis, our Life Plan residents have priority access to care within the Heron’s Key community.
Frequently Asked Questions About Care at Heron’s Key
What happens if I need Assisted Living at Heron’s Key?
If your needs change, our team will work with you, your physician as appropriate, and your family or responsible party to evaluate the level of support you need.
If Assisted Living is the appropriate setting, you can transition from Independent Living to Penrose Harbor, our on-campus health care setting.
Heron’s Key offers 36 private one-bedroom Assisted Living apartments and support with activities of daily living such as medication management, bathing, dressing and other personal needs.
For Life Plan residents, the cost of care services is included under the terms of the Life Care contract. A small additional charge applies for meals.
Can I move from Independent Living to Assisted Living?
Yes. Heron’s Key residents receive priority access to Assisted Living at Heron’s Key.
Availability can vary. If you need Assisted Living and an apartment is not immediately available, our team will work with you to determine an appropriate temporary care setting until an Assisted Living apartment becomes available.
The important distinction is that you are already part of a community designed to provide a continuum of care as your needs change.
Does Heron’s Key have Memory Care?
Yes. The Lighthouse at Heron’s Key provides on-site Memory Care in an intimate, secure environment with 13 private suites.
The program is designed for individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia and includes specialized support, programming and 24-hour supervision.
For Life Plan residents, Memory Care services are included under the Life Care contract, with an additional charge for meals.
Does Heron’s Key have Skilled Nursing?
Yes. Penrose Harbor includes on-site Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation with 30 private suites.
Skilled Nursing provides around-the-clock care from licensed professionals for residents who need a higher level of medical support, whether temporarily following an illness, injury or surgery or as part of a long-term care plan.
Having Skilled Nursing on campus means residents can receive additional support while remaining part of the Heron’s Key community.
What happens if my spouse needs care but I don’t?
This is one of the significant advantages of a Life Care community for couples.
If one spouse needs Assisted Living, Memory Care or Skilled Nursing, that spouse can transition to the appropriate care setting while the other spouse continues living in the couple’s Independent Living residential home.
The couple remains part of the same Heron’s Key community and can continue spending time together, sharing meals and participating in appropriate activities whenever possible.
Under our Life Care contract, moving one spouse to a higher level of care does not mean paying a second market-rate care bill. There is only an additional charge for the meals provided to the spouse living in the care setting.
Can couples stay together if one person needs more care?
Our priority is making sure each person receives care in the setting that safely meets their individual needs.
If one spouse requires Assisted Living, Memory Care or Skilled Nursing while the other remains independent, they may live in different residential settings within Heron’s Key.
In some circumstances, an independent spouse may choose to move from Independent Living to live with a spouse who requires a higher level of care, when the care setting, licensing requirements and individual circumstances allow.
Our team works closely with couples and families to discuss their options and help determine the best arrangement.
Can I hire in-home care while living in Independent Living?
Heron’s Key’s Life Care contract provides higher levels of care in our licensed care settings rather than providing private in-home caregivers in Independent Living.
In some circumstances, residents may choose to hire private in-home care, including residents who want to use benefits available through a long-term care insurance policy.
Private caregivers are subject to Heron’s Key management approval and must meet applicable credentialing, background-check and other requirements. Our first priority is always the safety, dignity and well-being of our residents.
If a resident’s needs can no longer be safely or appropriately met in Independent Living, our team will work with the resident and family to determine the appropriate level of care within the community.
Is rehabilitation available at Heron’s Key?
Yes. Rehabilitation and therapy services are available at Penrose Harbor, including physical, occupational and speech therapy.
Medicare Part A may cover eligible short-term Skilled Nursing Facility care for up to 100 days per benefit period when Medicare’s requirements are met. Coverage and out-of-pocket costs depend on eligibility, length of stay, insurance and other factors.
Heron’s Key Life Plan residents also receive a lifetime benefit of 90 additional days of care during their residency, providing another layer of support when short-term care is needed.
This can be especially valuable following a hospitalization, illness, injury or surgery because residents can receive rehabilitation on the Heron’s Key campus rather than recovering at an unfamiliar community.
Can I age in place at Heron’s Key?
Yes, but at Heron’s Key we think about “aging in place” a little differently.
Aging in place doesn’t necessarily mean remaining in the exact same apartment regardless of how your health changes. It means remaining within the community you know, surrounded by familiar people and resources, while receiving the level of care that is appropriate for you.
Our continuum includes Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care, Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation. That means your address within the campus may change, but Heron’s Key can remain your community and your home.
Do I have to leave Heron’s Key if my health changes?
In most circumstances, our continuum of care allows us to support residents even as their health needs change. There are, however, certain medical, behavioral or safety needs that may fall outside our licensing or clinical capabilities. Heron’s Key does not operate a geropsychiatric or behavioral health facility.
In the rare circumstance that we cannot safely or legally provide the care a resident requires, our team will work with the resident, family or responsible party to help determine an appropriate care plan.
Does my monthly fee increase if I need more care?
For Life Plan residents, moving to a higher level of care does not result in paying the market rate for Assisted Living, Memory Care or Skilled Nursing.
Instead, the Life Care contract is designed to provide access to higher levels of care at a predictable cost. Residents who transition from Independent Living to Penrose Harbor continue under the financial terms of their Life Care agreement, with a small additional charge for meals.
Like most senior living communities, Heron’s Key evaluates its monthly service fees annually, and residents may experience normal annual adjustments to their monthly fees.
The key difference is that needing Assisted Living, Memory Care or Skilled Nursing does not trigger a new market-rate monthly care charge.
Life Care Means Planning Before You Need Care
It can be difficult to predict what kind of care you may need five, 10 or 20 years from now. That’s exactly why Life Care exists.
Rather than waiting for a health event and asking your family to find care, compare communities, determine availability and figure out how to pay for it, you can put a plan in place while you’re healthy and independent.
At Heron’s Key, you can enjoy Independent Living today knowing Assisted Living, Memory Care, Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing are available on the same Gig Harbor campus if your needs change.
You may not know what care you’ll need in the future. But you can know where you’ll receive it, who will help coordinate it, and how you’ve planned to pay for it.
That’s the peace of mind of Life Care at Heron’s Key.
