Just past Highway 65 on East Sunshine Street in Springfield is Turners Rock. As you pull into the parking lot, you wouldn't know this was a senior living facility. That's because it looks and feels more like a luxury apartment complex, complete with an outdoor swimming pool, an indoor movie theater, and a rooftop lounge. Brad Eldredge serves as the general manager.
"A lot of people can still live in their home. That's what we hope. We hope that everybody can live out their lives in a home environment," he said. "Unfortunately, that doesn't happen. That's why we exist."
Turners Rock offers multiple levels of care, including independent living, assisted living for those needing limited nursing care, and memory care for those patients living with dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Eldridge said 100% of his current residents pay using private funds.
"The people that are fortunate have either saved up money or they've had property that they've been able to sell — selling a house, putting it into savings, a pension from maybe a work situation," he said. "Several of our residents get money from the VA, and they use that to pay their bill, basically. We still consider that private pay because they're getting it individually."
When asked about actual costs, he said each care option ranges in the thousands.
"We have independent living apartments here in our building. They range from $3,000 to $5,000 a month," he said. We provide this environment, we provide the food, we provide the utilities, all of those extra services. That's why they're — that's why they cost a little bit more. Assisted living can run really anywhere from $4,000 to $7,000 a month. Memory care can be 5$,000 to $7,000 a month. Skilled nursing home living is usually $7,000 to $10,000 a month."
Dealing with the cost of care is something Eldridge said has impacted him personally. He and his brother have had to split the cost of taking care of their mother, who lives out of state.
"She needed a small nursing home situation. She's on unlimited funds as well. You know, she's not at a Taj Mahal type place, but she's getting by, you know, it fit within her budget. And my brother and I are actually helping a little bit what we can," he said.
Eldridge said, while some rely on Medicaid or Medicare to help with costs, many senior living providers are moving away from or limiting their reliance on these government funded programs, mainly due to the low reimbursement rates.
"Here in the Springfield market, there used to be about 10 to 12 buildings that accepted Medicaid money, okay? I ran one," he said. "And now right now in Springfield, I think there's only two buildings that take Medicaid because you get less. Okay? You might only end up getting, be getting 75% of what your regular price is."
And while the aging population across the nation continues to increase, the annual number of new care facilities has seen a decline, making access to care a national crisis. This, according to a 2024 report from the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living for families navigating the maze of health care options. Eldridge said there is one local agency that will guide them in the right direction.
"They used to be the Area Agency on Aging here in town. They're now called SeniorAge (Area Agency on Aging)," he said. "They have different resources for seniors. They have, when someone needs help at home or handicap accessibility, help with doing their taxes, help with transportation, they're a great, great agency financially. They also then can say, here are two or three names of places you can go talk to."
Eldridge said the conversation around care can be difficult, and that most people only want to do what they feel is best for their loved ones.
"If they do need to go into a community, if living at home is not safe, if living with family is not feasible, we tell family members this: ‘Don't feel guilty,’ " he said.
Eldridge encourages families, no matter the living arrangement, to consider the autonomy of their loved one, allowing them to maintain as much dignity and freedom of choice as possible.