FULLERTON : Elderly Plan Ahead With ‘Life Care’

Elwood Chapman considers himself in pretty good shape for 74 and hopes to “tack on another 10 years or so.” But after suffering two recent heart attacks, the author of “Comfort Zones,” a national bestseller on retirement, knew it was time to face up to the painful reality of growing old.

“I’ve had two such terribly close calls,” Chapman said recently. “When you get to be this age, you know something is going to happen.”

Now, Chapman and his wife, Martha, are making plans to rent out their waterfront condo in Seal Beach and move into Morningside of Fullerton, a retirement community scheduled to open in August.

Here, under an arrangement known as “Life Care,” seniors 60 and older pay a flat entrance fee ranging from $90,000 to $360,000, plus a monthly maintenance charge of $1,050 to $2,400 for a place to live the rest of their lives--with the security of knowing that specialized convalescent-style nursing care is available on site if they need it.

When a resident dies, at least 75% of the entrance fee reverts back to their estate.

“It’s a major decision for people, and there is a little finality to it,” Chapman said. “But my attitude is, we’re just going on a longer cruise.”

The sprawling $100-million complex that will eventually encompass 41 acres bordered by Bastanchury Road and Brea Boulevard is the largest single development project in city history. Once completed, it will resemble a miniature college campus with 330 apartments and villas, a library, fitness center, putting green, three dining rooms and a 120-seat auditorium. But what makes Morningside unique, its founders say, is the on-site nursing care available to residents at no extra charge.

“It allows you to plan for your life just like you do with a will,” said Maynard Kambak, executive director at Morningside. “You’ll know who’s providing care and you won’t have to put your family through the trauma.”

Life Care communities have been popular on the East Coast since the early 1960s. They have only recently begun to crop up in California where, according to current projections, 12.3% of the population will be 60 or older by the year 2000.

“Most people function well up to a certain age. But particularly in the last year of their life, they wind up spending a lot of money on medical care,” said Barbara Talento, an associate professor of nursing at Cal State Fullerton who specializes in gerontology. “The biggest fear that older people have is to be abandoned in long-term health care.”

At Morningside, residents who become too ill to care for themselves will move into a 99-bed skilled nursing facility. The medical buildings will also include an Alzheimer’s wing and 54 additional units for residents who need help with everyday chores such as dressing and bathing.

While the facility does not provide medical services for such life-threatening illnesses as cancer, it does go a long way in offering basic care for many of the afflictions associated with old age.

Flavia Troy, 83, who has lived in Leisure World in Laguna Hills for 17 years, reserved an apartment in Morningside two years ago. Over the years, she said, many of her neighbors have been incapacitated by strokes and heart attacks. She and her husband, also 83, decided it was time to plan ahead.

“At Leisure World, if you get real sick, you pretty much have to leave and go somewhere else,” Troy said. “We found out with our friends that when you get into your 80s, if you live that long, you have to be prepared.”

At Morningside, residents pay an entrance fee and a monthly fee based on the size of their housing unit. If a resident dies within the first year, 95% of the entrance fee is refunded to their estate, decreasing by 5% every year until the fifth year. Any time after the fifth year, 75% of the fee is refunded. About 50% of the units have already been reserved, Kambak said. The project is expected to be completed by 1992.