November 7, 2004

Nursing home residents in lower Fairfield County pay more for their care than anywhere else in the 48 contiguous states, according to a recent survey.

Private-paying residents in single rooms at area nursing homes spend an average of $331 per day for room, board, and services — compared with a national average rate of $192, according to the “The MetLife Market Survey of Nursing Home & Home Care Costs,” released last month.

Local prices are second only to the state of Alaska, where single nursing home beds average $561 per day.

Assisted-living facilities in the area are also the highest-priced in the United States, an accompanying study said, with average monthly rates in lower Fairfield County costing an average of $4,327, compared with a national average of $2,524.

The cost of living in the New York metropolitan area, high labor costs and the county’s high standard of living drive up nursing home rates in Fairfield County, said Sandy Timmer-mann, gerontologist and director at MetLife’s Mature Market Institute, a Westport-based resource center that produced the reports.

“We’re in a rather sophisticated area, where we expect a lot in terms of amenities,” Timmer-mann said. “For example, in a dining room we would want nice dishes and tablecloths, and table service rather than buffet-style dining. We may expect a lot because of the nature of this community, which already has a certain standard of living.”

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