Editorial: An idea whose time has come

Monday, May 20, 2002 | 9:12 a.m.

Last year Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, proposed that the state allocate $6 million to help build an 80-unit assisted living facility for low-income seniors with physical or mental impairments. But budget constraints meant that this worthy endeavor, which also was backed by U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., wouldn't receive state funding.

Fortunately Buckley and Reid haven't been deterred by the lack of money at the state level and have offered a public-private partnership to help an assisted living facility get off the ground. On Wednesday the Las Vegas City Council approved the use of $1 million in federal money to help fund an assisted living center, an earmarking that comes on top of $800,000 contributed by Harrah's Entertainment and some funding from the state Housing Division. In addition, Reid is working on legislation in Congress that would turn over two Bureau of Land Management parcels located within city limits to the city of Las Vegas, one of which could be used for an assisted living center. When all these and other donations are added in, Buckley expects to have $2.4 million in commitments to partially fund the project.

There is a need for affordable housing for seniors. Sharon Segerblom, the city's neighborhood services director, notes that at least 13 percent of Clark County residents are at least 62 years old. A good portion of the seniors have low incomes, making it difficult if not impossible for them to have enough money to live in an assisted living center, which are more costly than apartments since they offer preventive care and on-site visits from health care providers. If the assisted living center one day becomes a reality, Buckley hopes that residents whose incomes are less than $1,000 a month would be eligible, and that the rent would be based on a sliding scale, roughly 30 percent of an individual's monthly income.

Buckley also notes that opening such a center would save the state money in the long run, since the costs to provide for someone to live in an assisted living facility are significantly less than what the state pays for nursing home care. In addition, it is more compassionate in many instances to help someone get into a residential setting instead of placing them in institutional care. Each way you look at it, this is the kind of government program that benefits everyone -- the senior who needs assistance and the government which doesn't have to pay as much to provide care. We just hope that the Legislature and Gov. Kenny Guinn next year can find enough money to make this idea a reality.