When exploring the benefits of retirement communities, many people overlook an important distinction among communities that offer senior living benefits: whether they’re for-profit or nonprofit.
Both types often offer a range of amenities, services and levels of care, and the quality-of-life residents experience may be similar. Yet, there’s a compelling argument to be made for choosing a nonprofit community such as La Posada at Pusch Ridge.
A Primer on For-Profit vs. Not-for-Profit Retirement Communities
Like any for-profit business, retirement communities with a for-profit structure have investors they need to satisfy. Their goal is to generate a return on investment for their owners or shareholders. As a result, their financial decisions may be based more on profit than on residents’ welfare.
In contrast, nonprofit retirement communities operate according to their stated mission. Our mission at La Posada is to maximize the well-being of seniors. Our executive team and board of trustees work in partnership with residents to ensure they have input about decisions that affect their community.
How Nonprofit Communities Use Their ‘Profits’
Nonprofit senior care residential communities don’t have to generate profits for shareholders. Instead of withdrawing surplus revenue for other purposes, they reinvest it back into the community. This can include:
- Making physical improvements
- Expanding amenities, activities and enrichment programs
- Hiring more staff to meet residents’ needs
- Providing financial assistance to residents facing challenges
Charity Care
Many nonprofit senior care organizations, including many nonprofit assisted living facilities and nonprofit nursing homes, provide some type of charitable aid. Some are affiliated with a social cause or faith tradition. Others may operate as a benefit to the public.
The La Posada Foundation is a free-standing nonprofit organization that operates separately from, but provides support to, La Posada at Pusch Ridge and La Posada at Green Valley.
Through the La Posada Foundation, we are able to offer a Life Lease to residents, which means they can remain a resident of our communities as long as they live, even if they eventually deplete their financial assets through no fault of their own.
La Posada’s Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Chris Simon, says, “If you come to our community, you will always have a home.”
We are not aware of any for-profit retirement communities offering this type of agreement.
Ownership Changes
It’s not uncommon to read about for-profit senior communities being sold. This can happen for any number of reasons—the owners may want out of the business, for instance, or the community might not be generating sufficient profit (or may be operating at a loss).
A multitude of changes can ensue when new owners take over a for-profit community.
Changes in ownership are less common among nonprofit senior living communities, though mergers to enhance financial viability do occur from time to time.
Community Involvement
Many nonprofit retirement communities prioritize community-building activities and programs among their initiatives.
That’s certainly true at La Posada at Pusch Ridge. We encourage residents to collaborate in shaping the culture and personality that will define our brand-new community going forward. We actively seek resident input and participation in choosing new programs.
The more residents interact with one another and with staff, the greater the true sense of community grows. At La Posada, we’re aware of the crucial role socializing plays in healthful aging and longevity—and how detrimental isolation can be to older adults. For example, research has shown that social isolation is associated with a variety of negative health outcomes, including a 30% increased mortality risk, according to an article published by Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health.
For La Posada, community engagement doesn’t stop at the property line, either. Like many nonprofit retirement communities, we have strong ties with the larger Oro Valley community and surrounding area.
Nonprofit Communities Have Tax Advantages
As 501(c)(3) organizations, nonprofit senior living communities are exempt from paying income tax and, in some states, including Arizona, property tax. For-profit communities must pay taxes on the income they generate and, in most cases, the properties they own.
Our Focus on Health Sets La Posada Apart, Even Among Nonprofit Communities
One of the primary benefits of senior living communities, particularly Life Plan Communities (also known as continuing care retirement communities, or CCRCs) like La Posada, is the availability of advanced care options such as assisted living and memory care, which will be the main focus of our second phase of development at La Posada at Pusch Ridge.
But even in most nonprofit retirement communities, offering healthcare to residents in independent living is atypical.
We take a different stance on this at La Posada through our Posada Life program, led by our RN Navigators, who provide certain basic health services in residents’ homes. In doing so, we’re supporting residents in their goal of remaining independent as long as they possibly can.
La Posada at Pusch Ridge: A Rare Nonprofit Senior Living Community in Southern Arizona
The Tucson area and southern Arizona offer only a few nonprofit senior living communities. La Posada at Pusch Ridge is proud to be among them.
To learn more about our brand-new community, La Posada at Pusch Ridge, call 520-314-6790 to arrange a visit. Or complete a short online form and we’ll be in touch promptly.
Featured Image: Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock
