Georgetown Edition | January 2022

2 0 2 2 A N N U A L C O M M U N I T Y G U I D E

WITH AGE

THE WEIGHT The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development denes housing as a cost burden if it comprises more than 30% of a household’s income. In Georgetown, that means 2,000 senior homeowners and 1,000 senior renters bear that burden monthly. OF HOUSING Senior homeowners

GROWING

GEORGETOWN

While the overall percentage of the population in Williamson County over age of 65 is in line with Texas as a whole—12.4% to 12.9%— Georgetown’s share far outweighs the other three major cities in the county.

29.1%

LEANDER

Dened as when 30% or more of a household’s income goes toward housing Cost burden:

7.9%

183A TOLL

State of Texas

Williamson County

183

Cost burdened Not cost burdened

ROUNDROCK CEDAR PARK

= 100 homes

12.9% 12.4%

8.6%

Senior renters

8.1%

45 TOLL

Total 1,500

Total 8,500

SOURCE: U.S. CENSUS BUREAUCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

SOURCE: US DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENTCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

enough to allow socially distanced engagement. Visiting Angels is also trying to build bridges of social connection for its seniors, Scarborough said. The organization helps with seven nonmed- ical issues related to independent living. Addi- tionally, it sends its caregivers to play games with its seniors and take them to church. Its caregivers also help with transportation to the grocery store, doctor visits and physical therapy. Another contributor to a senior’s social isola- tion is the lack of family in the area, Scarborough said. “It’s very common for our clients to not have a local family,” Scarborough said. “Many family members are moving all over the country, and many seniors are moving to Sun City without a local family. Some seniors also don’t want to bur- den their children with taking care of them with everything.” Moving forward Despite the many challenges and issues that need continuous work and attention, Conway said learning about the needs of Georgetown’s seniors is crucial. “This is our calling and our purpose, to serve our community and the elderly,” Conway said. “My team and I really feel like this is our way of giving love and personal care to those who have served us before as doctors, lawyers or whatever their jobs were. It’s our way of giving back.” Aging in place has a lot of factors to keep in mind that everyone involved must plan ahead for, Scarborough said. “There is a great amount of forward planning in order to execute aging in place well,” Scarbor- ough said. “Know the local resources and sort out a budget and consort with important family members.”

“MY TEAMAND I REALLY FEEL LIKE THIS IS OURWAYOF GIVING LOVE ANDPERSONAL CARE TOTHOSEWHOHAVE SERVEDUS BEFORE AS DOCTORS, LAWYERS ORWHATEVER THEIR JOBSWERE. IT’S OURWAYOF GIVING BACK.” SHANNAN CONWAY, DIRECTOR AND COOWNER OF PLATINUM RESORT ASSISTED LIVING & MEMORY CARE

these facilities run by nonprots is because it’s hard to make a successful business out of adult day health centers,” Levack said. “The Medicaid reimbursement rate is less than $35 a day, and it costs much more to provide that service. Unfor- tunately, St. David’s Foundation and Georgetown Health Foundation end up needing to subsidize that care in order to make the business model work.” Visiting Angels in Georgetown, a senior care service that provides in-home care, is seeing a steady return to its pre-pandemic labor levels, Director of Operations Stacey Scarborough said. However, the organization is struggling to nd ll-ins when sta have to step out due to con- tracting COVID-19 or for other personal reasons, Scarborough said. “We are also seeing more and more caregiv- ers live further away from Georgetown and commute,” Scarborough said. “A lot of caregiv- ers can’t aord the increasing housing prices in Georgetown, and the commute is putting more nancial stress on them. This is causing us to not see as many applicants as usual.” Area senior care facilities are experiencing a shortage of experienced applicants as well, said Shannan Conway, director and co-owner of Plati- num Resort Assisted Living & Memory Care. “As we are hiring, I am trying to focus more on an applicant’s heart and personality than

experience,” Conway said. “I am having to take time away from other duties to train [less experi- enced but better tting] caregivers for three days on the oor. The experienced caregivers we are seeing in our applicant pool have been through many homes, which is a red ag.” Social isolation Finding social connection and purpose is already challenging to aging in place when there is not a pandemic happening, Levack said. Seniors are more likely to suer from loneliness and social isolation, which is just as harmful to an older adult’s health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to a 2010 study done by the World Health Organization. Social isolation can cause premature death, a 50% increase in the chance of developing dementia, and higher rates of depres- sion and anxiety, Levack said. Tomake it moremanageable, and to help reduce the possibility of social isolation within the home, Platinum Resort caps the number of residents at 16, Conway said. The senior care facility opened Nov. 2, 2020, and ocials have plans to add four more locations throughout Georgetown. Since the senior facility opened during the pan- demic, Conway said her teamhad time to research the best way to make it safe, healthy and sociable. Large windows allow seniors to visit with family separated by glass, and the living spaces are large

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GEORGETOWN EDITION • JANUARY 2022