Bristol Press Best ’24, 23, 22, 21, & 20

5 Star Rating with 71 Google Reviews

CT Family Business of Year ‘24 (SBA)

Call the owner, Tyson, 860-583-1526

Welcoming Assisted Living Residents
Teri, Certified Nurse Aide, with 20+ years at Shady Oaks, welcomes a father and daughter.

Shady Oaks vs. Home Care

Most people value staying at home as long as possible. Home health care businesses supervise certified and non-certified nurse aides to assist seniors in their homes.

They are excellent for light help, for several hours daily, especially if you find a reliable business and good aides.

However, as care needs increase to 5+ hours a day or 35+ hours a week, Shady Oaks becomes more safe, social, and affordable than home care.  Our staff is a 24-hour team that serves all resident needs.  Community living also introduces new friends and activities.  Beyond valuing our strong nursing care and social engagement for your loved one, you should compare these hourly rates…

>Home Care Hourly Rate for One Aide = $29.25
You must also pay for meals, utilities, property taxes, housekeeping, repairs, and entertainment.
>Assisted Living Price Per Hour = $7.16
This includes meals, utilities, property taxes, housekeeping, repairs, entertainment, and registered nurses.

Genworth senior care 2021 study.  Data is CT median.

Shady Oaks vs. Assisted Livings

Most assisted living communities are owned by national corporations.  They are big, mainly offer single rooms, hold large group activities, and offer pay-per-use assistance.  They are great for a hotel-like feel and social engagement with light nursing care.

Like them, we host frequent group events, programs, and activities, plus we are more personalized and responsive, all with our unique warm cozy home feel.  We have just 35-40 residents, so everyone meets everyone, and staff members know residents extremely well.  

We also prefer our simple steady all-inclusive rates, so residents ask for help without fearing extra charges.  Because we have many shared rooms, our rates are often lower than at other homes, especially for residents who need our strong nursing.  This reduces drawdowns from resident savings.  In the past ten years, fewer than one in four residents ever needed Medicaid. Since July 2016, only three residents have left us because they could no longer afford our care.

Most importantly, many other assisted livings have harsh upper limits to care.  As fall risks increase, they may require you to hire expensive 24-hour one-on-one aides.  If you need a mechanical lift or if you need two person assistance, they may require you to leave their community.  In contrast, we have enough staffing, so that hiring 24-hour one-on-one aides is not necessary, and several of our current residents use lifts. Beyond this, we coordinate inside and outside services as needs evolve, so 95% of our residents stay home here even as their needs increase.

The owner, Tyson, grew up in Unionville and served three tours in Iraq as a Marine infantry officer.  Families call him by his cell phone, and he is always available to meet.  He feels loyalty to our residents and their families.  He lives next door and works on-site every day. We are loyalty to our residents and their families.

Connecticut Assisted Living Association
Shady Oaks was cover featured for the first ever Connecticut Association of Assisted Living newsletter in March, 1997.
Shady Oaks Senior Care for Veterans Plaque
Vitas, a hospice specialist, recognizes us for our high-quality care, especially for veterans.

Shady Oaks vs. Nursing Homes

Nursing homes excel at intensive rehabilitative services with short-term Medicare reimbursements.

However, when Medicare coverage ends, residents face high private pay rates (often over $13,247 monthly).  Some seniors pay this, “spend down” to qualify for Medicaid, change rooms, and live long-term at nursing homes.  Nursing homes need to charge high private pay rates to counterbalance lower reimbursements from Medicaid.

For seniors with most long-term health conditions, assisted living communities offer more comfort and at far lower rates For seniors with most long-term health conditions, assisted living communities offer more comfort and at far lower rates (often about $5,500 to $8,000 monthly).  We also work hard to connect residents with resources to make this affordable.  We provide bridge loans to cover care costs until homes sell. We assist applications for VA benefits that pay up to $2,229 monthly to veterans and $1,432 monthly to widowed spouses.  We also participate in a Connecticut program that pays up to $2,552 monthly for nursing care.  See our blog for detailed information on VA and CT Pilot Program assistance.

Financial assistance gives residents better living and for longer, until if residents cannot afford private pay care.  If this happens, we provide discounted rates for rooms or help residents safely transition into highly rated Medicaid accepting communities.  We uphold positive relationships with local nursing homes and residential care homes.  We have helped many smooth transitions.

More and more Americans prefer assisted living homes like ours over traditional nursing homes.  Today, about as many American seniors live in assisted living homes as those who reside in nursing homes.

Genworth senior care 2021 study.  Data is CT median.

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