elder care
Nursing home care is a rather new venture in Baja. Here is why. Throughout the ages, Mexican culture has been extremely family oriented. Moreso in my opinion than in the states, family is the most important thing to everyone here. Families are therefore not scattered across the globe like American families are. People stay together here, through thick and thin, many families live together in small homes, and they are happy as clams. Grandchildren dwell in the same homes with their grandparents. This is very common. Mexican families are large and animated. Mothers and grandmothers are revered and placed on pedestals in Mexico. The thought of not caring for their own is beyond comprehension. They would not even think twice about caring for elders, it is just done, no questions, no matter how challenging.
For this reason the nursing home and senior care business is just coming to light. It has not been a much needed or sought after comodity. It has been said that Baja is becoming more and more like the US every year. Baja has the highest divorce rate of all states in Mexico because of its close proximty to the US.
Serena Senior Care and INCARE offer assisted living services to seniors, mostly American retirees who decided to relocate to the Baja cost. INCARE is focuses mostly on in home care, recovery and assistance, while Serena Senior Care also has medical care with doctor’s visits, nursing assistance and their medical network, property care housekeeping, repair and remodeling as well as property management. Serena Senior Care recently launched its membership card with which you can get discounts on their medical and property care services on top of preferential access and discounts with their affiliate network.
for more information on Serena please visit their website: http://www.serenaseniorcare.com
ASSISTED LIVING IN MEXICO by Laurence Harmon
An affordable alternative to the high costs of the US, millions of baby boomers are reaching retirement age and mexican health care managers expect more seniors to head south in the coming years. For $1300 a month, a quarter of what an average nursing home cost in the US, you can get a studio apartment, 3 meals a day, laundry and cleaning service, and 24 hour care from an attentive staff, many of whom speak English.
An estimated 40,000 to 80,000 Americna retirees already live in Mexico, however there is no reliable data as to how many are in nursing homes. Many expatriates retired here years ago and are now becoming more frail. Others are not quite ready for a nursing home but are exploring options such as in home health care services, which can provide you with Mexican nurses at a fraction of US prices. There is little governement regulation of the nursing home situation. Since many nursing homes are run out of private homes, regulation by state health departments is often spotty and officials may only inspect them once a year, unlike US inspectors.
For medical care, many retirees are relying on the Mexican Social Security Institute or the IMSS. This program runs clinics and hospitals nationwide and allows foreigners to enroll in its program, even if they never worked in Mexico or paid taxes to support the system. It is not uncommon to pay nothing for health care under this system, provided you meet certain requirements.
“With the right facilites in place, Mexico could give American retirees a better quality of life at a better price than they could find in the US.” says Flavio Olivieri, a member of Tijuanas Economic Develpment Council, which is seeking funding from Mexicos government to build more retirement homes, including senior apartments. “We think this could be a very good business as these boomers reach retirement age”.
Mexicos proximity to the US, low labor costs and warm climate make it attractive, although quality of care can vary between facilities, so do some due diligence.
In Rosarito, just south of the US border, INCARE provides nursing aides to retirees, starting at $8.83 an hour, less than 1/2 the cost of similar care in San Diego. Mexican enterpreneurs are doing their best to prepare for the tide of Americans, Canadians and Europeans. In Ensenada, the Residencia Lourdes opened in 2003, offering care for patients with Alzheimers and senile dementia.
