Riverview Retirement Community has earned accreditation for its RiverCare home health division, expanding services to meet a surge in seniors who are choosing to age in place rather than move to a facility.

As more older adults are looking to age in their homes for longer, Riverview Retirement Community is helping meet that need through its growing RiverCare programs. RiverCare is the home care, home health, and hospice arm of Riverview Retirement Community, which received its Accreditation Commission for Health Care accreditation for its home health services in July. 

“Accreditation is a big deal,” says RiverCare Administrator Chandra Dunker. “Not everybody does it; it’s a choice. It says we went above and beyond what Medicare even requires. We’re not only providing services, but we’re doing it at a high quality.”

RiverCare provides services to people aging in place, while simultaneously building a relationship with clients to help them better transition to a retirement community in the future, says Riverview CEO Danie Monaghan.

Riverview's 35-acre property, at 1801 E. Upriver Drive in Spokane, is home to an estimated 365 residents. Its assisted living, independent living, and memory care quarters are 100% occupied, Monaghan says. With demand continuing to force prospective residents onto waiting lists, RiverCare provides home-based assistance while they wait for a unit to open.

“I didn’t feel ethical knowing that there were people out there who needed help, that we were going to have to say, ‘Not right now,’” Monaghan says, who explains that RiverCare was conceived as a bridge program to support both seniors aging in place and broader community members who aren't ready for campus living.

An accelerated rise in retiring seniors outpacing the number of vacancies at retirement communities, coupled with a large swath of the demographic indicating they prefer to age in the comfort of their homes, prompted Riverview leaders to offer a service that extends to all people living in Spokane County, not just residents of the community, Monaghan says.

According to a report from AARP, 75% of people 50 years of age and older prefer to stay in their homes instead of moving to a retirement community. At the same time, 44% of adults 50-plus expect to have to move at some point.

RiverCare was established in October 2024 with the launch of its home care program, says Dunker. RiverCare has 13 employees, including two nurses, a care coordinator, medical records staff, occupational and physical therapists, geriatric clinical specialists, and others who spend most of their time visiting clients in their homes. 

The home care program currently works with 40 clients, where staff is focused on companionship and assisting with needs of daily living, including light housework, cooking, grocery shopping, transportation, and assistance with personal care activities such as bathing, dressing, and grooming.

Some Medicaid or long-term care insurance covers partial costs, but the service is largely private pay, Dunker adds.

Separate from home care is RiverCare's home health program, which offers “skilled services” at home rather than at a skilled nursing facility or rehabilitation center. Services are provided by speech, physical, and occupational therapists who can assist adults in improving their mobility and speech. Nursing services offered include advanced wound care, Alzheimer’s care, cancer care, hip fracture care, stroke rehabilitation, and other specialized services typically found in skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities.

Currently, the home health program has 25 clients but is expected to ramp up growth once it receives its Medicare identification number, Dunker says. Private pay and other insurance coverage outside of Medicare are also accepted. 

“A lot of people don’t want to go to skilled nursing facilities anymore,” Dunker explains. “They might have to for a short time, then they want to go home. Our services help them in their home.”

Launching the home health program took two years to complete. Washington is a certificate-of-need state, which required RiverCare to first receive state approval based on the needs for home health services, in addition to licensing requirements. It provided home healthcare to seniors for free as part of the accreditation process, Dunker says.

The hospice arm of RiverCare, named A Home for Hospice, is the only program that isn't offered at home, but instead functions similarly to a short-term rental at the Riverview campus. A Home for Hospice is not limited to seniors, but to people of all ages. The division serves people whose homes may not be able to accommodate a hospital-grade bed and equipment, those who reside outside of hospice service areas, or those who simply wish not to die in their homes. RiverCare offers individuals a place to rest while outside hospice medical staff provides palliative care, Monaghan says.

Currently, RiverCare has one home for hospice care unit at the Riverview campus, where plans to add four more in the next year are under consideration.

“That was born out of people coming to us saying, ‘My only other option is to die in a hotel room.’ And that was heartbreaking to us,” she says.

The RiverCare program is expected to quickly grow in the months to come and is taking shape alongside Riverview’s larger expansion to its campus that aims to bring an additional 113 residential units to its grounds by early 2028.