There are so many reasons why smart retirees love living at Westminster-Canterbury of the Blue Ridge. Five-star restaurant dining. Upscale retirement homes. Living among extraordinarily accomplished residents. The charm of Charlottesville.

But there are plain, practical reasons as well.

There is the fact, for instance, that WCBR is a continuing-care retirement community, a CCRC – also known as a Life Plan Community. That means our residents have chosen to live in their own, stress-free homes, while having immediate access to whatever assistance or healthcare they will ever need, without having to go anywhere else.

As the marketing representatives at WCBR, John Coppi and Wendy Sager regularly help people make the right choice for them. And one of the biggest factors is the continuum of care.

“Everything is right here,” says Wendy. You live in a place that is designed for your health and safety – no bedrooms upstairs and laundry room downstairs – and where every need is covered. No home or yard maintenance, no worrying about how you’re going to get to the grocery store or the doctor, no lack of social life – because so many of your friends live right there with you.

And perhaps best of all, spouses stay together, even if their needs are different. If one remains independent and the other needs additional care, they remain together in the same community, without one of them having to live someplace else across town.

“Having guaranteed access to the full continuum of care as the need may arise,” says John Coppi, “should provide peace of mind for any resident.” And it does.

CCRC residents live in their own, private homes within a safe and secure community, knowing that whatever help they need is always at hand. They enjoy:

• Maintenance-free living. No mowing lawns, shoveling snow or leaf-raking. And no household repairs. It’s all taken care of.
• Continuous care. As healthcare requirements increase, it will all be provided, without having to leave the community that has become home.
• Wellness/fitness programs. So they can stay healthy and independent longer.
• One of the greatest challenges for those who choose to stay in their former homes is finding a way to get to the grocery store, to a doctor, or for other essential errands. At WCBR, you can get where you need and want to go.
• Peace of mind for loved ones. They will know you are cared for, and so will you.
• Sense of community. No isolation, but a lasting community of friends, and no trouble getting together with them.
• Dining options. Yet another thing you no longer have to think about three times a day. The best of cuisine food is always provided.

The statistics back up what John and Wendy and other authorities say about the advantages of CCRC living. For instance, consider the Mather Institute Age Well Study, the only national longitudinal study evaluating the impact of living in a Life Plan Community – or CCRC – on residents’ cognitive, physical, and psychosocial health and well-being.

The study measured residents’ self-reported health and wellness metrics through a survey taken annually for five years. In Year 1, participants were compared to a demographically similar sample drawn from a study conducted by the University of Michigan. Year 2 looked at health and wellness, and Year 3 examined happiness and life satisfaction.

The study found that Life Plan Community residents tend to have greater emotional, social, physical, intellectual, and vocational wellness. They form strong bonds within the community, and overwhelmingly report that moving to a CCRC “somewhat or greatly improved” their social wellness. Bottom line, they are happier.

Wendy says that a lot of times, people choose the “age in place” option because they tell themselves, “I have enough money to pay someone to come in.” Money is only part of the equation. Managing the schedule of having someone come in can be enormously complicated and time-consuming, particularly when a caregiver can’t get there because of car trouble, sickness, or bad weather.

At WCBR, “We make provisions for weather, and all of those things.” If a caregiver is not able to make it in, WCBR has a team of people who are still able to take care of you. “It’s the times when you need somebody there, no matter what” that the advantages of a CCRC are starkly clear.