As the marketing director at Plantation Village, dispelling the myths about continuing care retirement communities is something I do on a daily basis. The concept of continuing care is simply about providing a complete, all-inclusive package of amenities, benefits and services that are designed to fit each phase of our residents’ lives.
 
It’s a principle that has guided us for more than 26 years and it’s been a big part of our success as Wilmington’s first and only not-for-profit continuing care retirement community.
 
Ensuring that our residents have priority access to health care throughout their lives is a key component of this. With an emphasis on matching our services to the changing needs of our residents, we offer 30 days of temporary care every year at no additional cost, starting from day one.
 
To deliver exceptional value and added peace of mind, we provide our residents with the opportunity to use the Davis Health Center and the Champions Assisted Living facility should they ever need it. Both are known as premier health care providers in Wilmington.
 
Of course, providing a complete package of amenities and services isn’t just about delivering the highest standard of health care available in the Wilmington area. It’s about providing our residents with a worry-free lifestyle that includes weekly housekeeping and linen services, building maintenance, a 24-hour security staff and emergency response system, and a host of dining options.
 
Making sure our residents get the most out of retirement is paramount to what we do. After all, continuing care is about taking care of the individual as a whole. Keeping that in mind, we make every effort possible to support the physical, social, emotional and spiritual well-being of our residents. We feel that doing so is an essential element of any continuing care program.
 
To that end, we provide the residents of our 56-acre community with access to a fitness center with an indoor pool, salon services, a library, woodworking shop, garden area and artists’ studio. The expansion of our community is particularly exciting. Our beautiful new apartment homes, Plantation Place, opened in January of this year; a new auditorium and a wellness center with a saltwater pool will be open soon. We are also excited about the new bar and bistro that will be completed in the summer of 2015.

If this were a conversation with a potential resident, this is when the issue of costs and entrance fees would come up. The entrance fee has earned a negative reputation that is grounded in a misconception. The actual fact is that 50 percent to 90 percent of all the entrance fees are returned. Residents at Plantation Village can rest easy in the knowledge that they will always have a place to live in our community – even if their income runs out.
 
Many of our potential residents don’t know that a portion of the entrance fee and the monthly costs they pay are usually tax-deductible. Add to that the fact that we provide our residents with a 25 percent discount at The Davis Community, and the result is the peace of mind that comes from having priority access to the best health care in Wilmington.
 
To learn more about what the concept of continuing care can do for you, call (910) 319-1416, or visit www.PlantationVillageRC.com.

Lisa Polanski is the director of marketing at Plantation Village. Plantation Village is a nonprofit continuing care retirement community that offers independent living on a 56-acre campus in Porters Neck, just minutes from downtown Wilmington and area beaches. Residents enjoy first-class services in a wide variety of home styles, from one- and two-bedroom apartments to cottage homes and two-bedroom villas. Plantation Village is managed by Life Care Services™, the nation’s third-largest elder care management company. For more information, visit PlantationVillageRC.com.