Growing Too Old or Too Ill for the Retirement Village : Elderly: Residential-care facilities mushroom nearby for former ‘go-go’ seniors who’ve become ‘slow-gos.’

Edwin Duerbeck, 85, put on a jaunty beige cap, tucked a newspaper and the latest issue of National Geographic under an arm and left his apartment on one of the trips he makes daily across the parking lot at Freedom Village, a retirement community for the elderly.

That short trek takes him to the bedside of his 84-year-old wife, Louise, who suffered a stroke last October and now lives in the community’s health center, where she can get help with bathing and other personal needs.

The Duerbecks never expected to be where they are. When Edwin retired as a government administrator in 1970, the couple chose a home at Leisure World Laguna Hills. They figured that they would enjoy those pleasant surroundings for the rest of their days.

“I rather thought that would be our last move, the end of the line,” Edwin said. “But conditions change.”

Like many of their former neighbors, the Duerbecks have come to the painful realization that places like Leisure World--communities designed for the active retiree--can’t take care of them forever. They must plan for life after Leisure World.

To handle the swelling numbers of Leisure World alumni, a wide array of new residential-care complexes for the elderly have arisen outside the gates of the sprawling retirement community. Most offer a broad spectrum of care intended to provide the elderly additional services as they grow more frail or ill. They can also rest assured there will be no need to move again.

“Go-go” retirees live in communities like Leisure World “for maybe 20 years and then become the slow-go retirees,” said Barbara Kleger, president of Senior Living Associates, a consulting firm in Media, Pa. “Their minds are still young, but their bodies start to slow down and all of a sudden they want services that would make life easier.”

Residents who retain their mobility enjoy hotel-like accommodations, including restaurant-style dining rooms, maid service, luxuriously appointed lobbies and activities ranging from exercise classes to “happy hours” and trips to concerts and shopping malls.

On the same premises are smaller units where frailer residents are helped to dress, bathe and take medication. Often there is also a more clinical setting for those who require full-fledged nursing.

The growth of such facilities isn’t unique to Southern California. Residential homes for the elderly have sprouted across the nation, most visibly on the outskirts of a number of active retirement communities including Sun City in Phoenix and Leisure Village in Ocean City, N.J.

Such multifaceted complexes are a relatively new phenomenon--only one in the cluster near Leisure World Laguna Hills existed a decade ago.

In addition to Freedom Village in Lake Forest, four other full-service complexes geared to housing a second generation of elderly have sprung up at Leisure World’s gates. Similar facilities that market strongly to Leisure World residents also have appeared in Irvine, Mission Viejo and Fullerton.

These facilities offer important advantages: Couples like the Duerbecks can stay in touch even if one needs to be in the nursing center. And because the congregate homes are close to Leisure World, residents who transfer into them don’t have to change doctors or banks and can continue to visit their friends.

In addition, hundreds of tract houses scattered throughout Orange County are licensed to supervise a few seniors, generally at far lower cost than the alternatives of hiring in-home help or moving to one of the new full-service complexes.

The growth of facilities for the elderly has been remarkable. In Orange County, there are 430 state-licensed residential-care homes for the elderly with about 11,000 beds, compared to about 180 such facilities in 1984, the state Community Care Licensing Division reports.

Not everyone, of course, wants to make the move from the familiar surroundings of Leisure World. For some, it takes the death of a loved one to make them aware of their own vulnerability.

Marye Norris, 96, moved out of Leisure World in Seal Beach to a nearby retirement hotel after her 67-year-old daughter, who had been living with her, had a fatal heart attack. “The shock shattered me,” she said. “I got to a place where I couldn’t be alone.”

While the first residential-care facilities for the elderly were founded more than 30 years ago by religious groups, the more recent explosion was triggered with the entry of such major for-profit hotel and health care corporations as the Marriott Corp. and Beverly Enterprises, both of which have senior housing projects near Leisure World Laguna Hills.

Laguna Hills was a prime marketing target because of Leisure World’s large share of well-heeled elderly who can afford what John Tague, former general manger of Beverly Enterprises’ Palm Terrace senior home in Laguna Hills, described as “Mercedes”-caliber accommodations.

“These people pay a very tidy sum for a very comfortable lifestyle,” he observed.

But for many seniors living in Leisure World, the decision to move into a residential-care facility is gut-wrenching.

“They are faced all of a sudden with their mortality,” said Nancy Hudson, manager of Villa Valencia.

Several who have left Leisure World for a less physically demanding lifestyle say their friends there chide them for “going to live with old people.”

But go they do, drawn by a potent sales pitch and the unbending reality of the aging process.

On a recent afternoon about 50 seniors, most from Leisure World Laguna Hills, came to Freedom Village to lunch royally on poached salmon, asparagus and custard-filled chocolate cake and listen to officials of the community tell them about the advantages of living there.

A retired professor from Rutgers University and his wife, who didn’t want to be identified, said that although they love their Leisure World home, they had put their names on a waiting list at Freedom Village.

“To me it’s a dream,” said the man. “If you know an institution like this exists you don’t have to become morbid with fear. The freedom here is freedom from worry.”

But the cost of entry isn’t cheap. Unlike other elder residential facilities that are rentals, Freedom Village, which opened in 1987, requires residents to pay an “entry fee” ranging from $71,000 to $192,000, depending on the size of the apartment, and a monthly fee of $990 to $1,945.

In return, the residents are entitled to 360 “free” days of skilled-nursing care. And if they go broke, the company promises to take care of them the rest of their days.

Grace Ellerbock, 78, who moved from Los Angeles to Leisure World 17 years ago, acknowledged that many Leisure World residents “say feet-first is the only way they will leave.” Some of her friends plan to hire care givers in their homes but worry that they might not be reliable or, worse, may steal.

Others at the lunch discussed the drawbacks of moving from Leisure World, starting with selling their homes in today’s soft real estate market. There are a record 550 Leisure World Laguna Hills homes now for sale.

They also said they dread selling possessions in order to fit into efficiency apartments. They recalled going through a similar ordeal before, when they left even larger homes to move to Leisure World.

A widower, who asked just to be called Peter, said it is “heartbreaking” for him to leave his Leisure World home with its memories of his marriage and to sell half of his furniture, including his late wife’s “precious collection of cups and saucers.”

Lately, however, he has had great difficulty climbing the stairs to his second-floor home because of a bad hip.

“Leisure World is a fun place for an active senior citizen,” he said. “There is no more beautiful place in the world. But a lot of people who moved in 20 years ago are having a tough time getting around. They are just sitting around the apartment.”

A number of the elderly people at the luncheon insisted that they were not yet “ready” for the likes of Freedom Village.

“When I can’t drive anymore or think clearly anymore I will come here,” said an 82-year-old widow, who also asked not to be identified.

Administrators at Freedom Village and other residential homes urge the elderly not to wait until they are very frail before they apply, since prospective residents must pass physical examinations to qualify for independent living.

Al Hanson, a 20-year resident of Leisure World, said although he and his wife, Madelyne, are healthy, this summer they will begin shopping for a new home in one of the full-service complexes because several of their friends have been turned down by independent living facilities after suffering heart attacks and other maladies.

“We want to get in while we are still acceptable,” Hanson said.

Social workers say some Leisure World residents refuse to move because they want to cling to their savings.

Lola Weaver, former manager of social services at Leisure World Laguna Hills, said persuading residents who no longer can care for themselves to move where they can get more help, though at a higher price, can be challenging.

“Many say they are saving their money for a rainy day. It is hard to tell them the rainy day is here,” she said.

Their fears are not unfounded. Financial advisers and conservators who serve Leisure World residents tell of people outliving their financial resources, frequently because of unexpected medical bills.

For those who can afford it, however, there are many new alternative settings for growing old.

Within the last five years facilities that provide housing for still-independent seniors have begun to provide more personal care to residents as they grow more frail--help with hair, bathing and medication, for example. Assisted-care wings have been designed for seniors who might be handicapped, but don’t need or want the round-the-clock medical attention of a nursing home.

“Our research and other research in the industry says that 35% of the seniors in nursing homes don’t belong there,” said Richard Sneed, spokesperson for Marriott’s Senior Living Services division, which since 1989 has added four floors of assisted living at Villa Valencia.

Lisa Gallo Hayes, spokesperson for Classic Residence by Hyatt, the senior-housing affiliate of Hyatt Corp., agreed that assisted living is the trend for the future because while only 7% of seniors over 65 will ever need to live in nursing homes, 23% will require personal care.

Nursing homes are dreaded more than death by many seniors, social workers say. Moreover, nursing homes are by far the costliest kind of elder care, hovering at a base rate of about $130 a day.

Even so, many seniors want to know that there is a nursing home available, Marriott’s Sneed said, which is why Villa Valencia opened one last May.

But prospective tenants who tour Marriott’s full-care homes often prefer to bypass the skilled nursing facility.

“They want to know it is there. But they may not want to look at it,” Sneed said.

At Villa Valencia, residents in the independent-living section have barred walkers and wheelchairs from their lobby. Residents who rely on those aids must use a separate entrance.

Jane Fulkerson, resident council president for the independent-living section at Villa Valencia, said her neighbors realize that some day they also may be handicapped and “we don’t like to be reminded of it.”

In Leisure World Seal Beach, which opened in October, 1961, as an active retirement community for lower-income elderly, less ambulatory residents have more support services, including a medial center and special insurance plans, than their generally wealthier counterparts in Laguna Hills.

Unlike Leisure World Laguna Hills, no swank facilities have sprung up at the gates of its Seal Beach counterpart to care for the community’s aging populace.

One reason is that the Seal Beach retirement enclave is hemmed in by industrial development, a freeway and military installations. Another is that Seal Beach residents have a lower annual household income--$19,258 on the average compared to $40,000 for Leisure World Laguna Hills residents. Also, because their homes are more modest, they have accrued less equity to invest in a new lifestyle.

At Katella Manor, a senior facility in Los Alamitos that is about three miles from Seal Beach Leisure World, a private room rents for $1,525 a month and a room shared with another resident goes for $940. Unlike some other more expensive facilities, the residents don’t have private living rooms or kitchens and the common rooms, while clean and attractive, are not as lavish.

Gertrude Golfenbaum, 85, said that after living 21 years in Leisure World Seal Beach, she was forced to move by worsening arthritis. “I wasn’t feeling good and couldn’t walk well,” she said. “I tried Meals on Wheels and hiring help to clean. But it just wasn’t enough. I was very depressed.”

At Katella Manor, Golfenbaum, who brags about her 63-year career in ready-to-wear sales, looks forward each morning to meeting customers at the home’s small sundry store when she works as a volunteer seated behind a counter. Life is easier because she gets help from the home’s staff in things such as taking a bath and fastening her bra, she said. More important, she said, her daughter’s mind is more at ease. “She knows I am eating right and I am getting to the doctor.”

Dorothy Throop, owner of Retirement Home Placement Service in Fullerton, recommends the smallest board and care homes for people who need close supervision and full personal care from brushing teeth to combing hair and doing their nails.

One recent afternoon at a board-and-care home in Mission Viejo, Leo McCanna, 98, sat in the back-yard patio with a view of a green lawn and citrus trees. Next to him was his easel for landscape painting, a skill he sharpened years ago by taking classes at Leisure World. It was chilly, so a blanket was draped over his knees, and he was sipping a glass of apple juice.

Karen Essenberg, a registered nurse who operates the home, said that before McCanna arrived there four years ago from Leisure World, he suffered severe arthritis, lost 35 pounds because he wasn’t eating properly and had isolated himself.

At the boardinghouse, McCanna said, “I get good meals and can take good care of myself. I do what I please.”

Other Retirement Homes

A variety of full-service retirement homes have appeared in recent years near Leisure World in Laguna Hills. There are 430 state-licensed residential-care homes for the elderly in Orange County, with about 11,000 beds. There were about 180 such facilities in 1984. Leisure World has been a prime magnet.

Villa Valencia

24552 Paseo de Valencia, Laguna Hills

Founded 1975 as a retirement home and acquired by Marriott Corp. in 1988. Marriott added assisted living and skilled nursing.

Facilities: 245 apartments in independent living, 99 apartments in assisted care and 59 skilled-nursing beds.

Rates: Single-occupancy rates for independent living, $1,470 to $3,850 per month; for assisted living, $2,200 to $3,950; skilled nursing, $138 per day for semiprivate room.

Freedom Village

23442 El Toro Road, Lake Forest

A continuing care retirement community founded in 1987.

Facilities: 282 independent-living units, 66 assisted-care units and 52 skilled-nursing beds.

Rates: Entrance fees, at least 50% refundable, from $65,000 to $190,000. Single-occupancy service fees, $990 to $1,490 per month for independent living; assisted care, $2,300 to $2,500. Skilled nursing, $130 per day.

Rossmoor Regency

24441 Calle Sonora, Laguna Hills

Developed by Leisure World Laguna Hills founder Ross Cortese; opened in 1989.

Facilities: 192 independent-living apartments.

Rates: Single occupancy rates, $1,750 to $3,300 per month.

The Wellington

24903 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills

Opened in 1988.

Facilities: 184 apartments in independent living; 47 assisted-care units

Rates: Independent-living monthly single occupancy, $1,800 to $3,100 per month; assisted-care, $1,850 to $3,250 plus $300 to $400 per month for special services.

Palm Terrace

24962 Calle Aragon, Laguna Hills

Opened in 1986

Facilities: 186 independent-living apartments and 99 skilled-nursing beds.

Rates: Single-occupancy independent living, $1,775 to $3,000 per month; skilled nursing, $132 per day for semiprivate room.

Regents Point

19191 Harvard Ave., Irvine

Opened in 1982 (nonprofit).

Facilities: A continuing-care facility with 252 independent-living apartments, 59 assisted-care and 59 skilled-nursing beds.

Rates: Entry fees $40,900 to $320,000, refundable in part up to five years. Independent-living single-occupancy service fees, $945 to $1,975 per month; assisted-care, $2,225; skilled-nursing, $103 per day for residents, $131 for outsiders.

Heritage Point

27356 Bellogente, Mission Viejo

A nonprofit Jewish home for the elderly opened in 1990.

Facilities: 106 independent-living apartments, 72 assisted-living apartments.

Rates: Single-occupancy independent living, $1,600 to $2,400 per month; assisted living, $1,750 to $2,400 plus up to $800 for personal-care services.

Villa del Sol

23792 Marguerite Parkway, Mission Viejo

Opened in 1986.

Facilities: 91 independent-living rooms and personal-care services.

Rates: Single occupancy, $1,350 to $1,800 per month plus $300 to $500 for personal care.

Inn at the Park

10 Marquette Way, Irvine

Opened in 1988

Facilities: 139 independent-living and assisted-care apartments.

Rates: Single occupancy, $1,760 to $3,060 per month plus $40 to $1,000 per month for catered services.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, State Community Care Licensing Division and Times staff reports