CLEVELAND — A study conducted by Seniorly.com found that Ohio is the 14th most expensive state for assisted living.

The article suggested that Ohio residents need to save for nearly 12.5 years to afford one year of assisted living costs on the state's median income. 

Carrie Leutenegger said she understands this struggle firsthand.

She said that she's been trying to find the perfect home for her mom for a while.

“I’ve been doing this for like five years,” Leutenegger said while she searched on the computer.

Leutenegger and her sister are moving their 86-year-old mother, Mary Lemek, from Maine back to Ohio after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease this summer.

“I’ve been searching and searching and searching, and trying to find help in any way I can to (find) which place (would be good) for her to be and it’s been a very challenging task to do,” Leutenegger said. 

Leutenegger said she made the difficult decision to move her mom after a doctor said it would be safer to have her mom live close by.

"The guilt I feel is intense because I know that the only place that she wants to be is up there, and I’ve tried very hard not to take that away from her, but it’s just a matter of safety now, and when you try to explain that to her it’s even more difficult because of the Alzheimer’s,” Leutenegger added.

Leutenegger stored some of her mom’s belongings in her garage while they waited for the rest of her moving boxes to be transported to Cleveland.

She said the entire process has taken a toll on her emotions. 

“Part of it is just so awesome,” Leutenegger said. “My sister and I were looking through things when she dropped things off last night and it was just funny to have those great memories. On the other hand, it’s very, very sad because a lot of these things, you know, she will not remember.”

On the way to visit her mom’s new apartment, Leutenegger said she spent time in Maine this summer cleaning her mom’s house when she received news of another devastating diagnosis from her husband. 

“I was just going to start going through things, and shred things and organize things so that the move would be easier when that day came, and while I was up there, I got the phone call from my husband that he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer,” Leutenegger said.

“So, that exact day, I just looked at my mom and was like I have to go. I dropped everything, and got on a plane, and dropped everything, and so that was instrumental also in a decision of my mom coming back here because there’s no way I can be, you know, 14 hours away from her and if something, God forbid, happens to her, I can’t leave because I’m taking care of my husband right now, 24/7.”

On top of the emotions were the finances.

Leutenegger said she didn’t know what resources were available. She said she struggled to figure out how she was going to pay for it all until she met Jenny Kenderes on Facebook. 

Kenderes is the founder of Premier Senior Solutions.

As a specialist in senior living, Kenderes helped Leutenegger navigate housing options she could afford.

Leutenegger added that Kenderes’s services were free.

“This was another huge area where Jenny came in because I had no idea about this waiver. I had never even heard of it,” Leutenegger said. “So, every time I was calling over the last five years, all these different places, and they’re telling me $8,000, $10,000 a month. I’m like, ‘there’s no way, how am I going to even do this,’” she said.

Leutenegger said Kenderes helped her learn about Ohio’s Assisted Living Waiver Program.

According to the website, it’s a program offered through Medicaid that pays the cost of assisted living care for eligible individuals.

“The thing that I’m most thankful for is that I didn’t even understand what the waiver was, and she not only explained it to me but also was able to find me this place that is wonderful,” Leutenegger said while in the mailroom of her mom’s new apartment.

Leutenegger said that she wants people to know that you don’t have to go through this difficult process alone.

She added that resources are available that can help make the transition more affordable. 

If you’re interested in learning more about Kenderes’s placement services, click here to visit her website.