SmartLife VIA Willow Valley is a membership-based Life Plan at Home program. Different from long-term care options, SmartLife offers you independence and lifelong security, delivering personal care coordination and a range of home care, personal care, and nursing care services.

As a member of SmartLife, you enjoy the freedom and independence that retiring at home affords. In addition, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that enhanced care is easily accessible should the need arise. SmartLife provides you with the assurance that a range of long-term care services will be available when needed, at a lower cost than if you paid for these services separately.

Yes, SmartLife is owned by Willow Valley Communities, a premier 55+ community located in Lancaster, PA and a nationally-recognized leader in senior living. With SmartLife, Willow Valley Communities remains committed to offering 55+ seniors amenities, opportunities, and options to Live Life Forward and create the retirement you want in your own home. Willow Valley Communities is the only senior living community in Lancaster County, PA to offer you true Type A Lifecare. That’s why Willow Valley Communities is delighted to offer SmartLife VIA Willow Valley—an innovative choice for seniors looking for the security of trusted and reliable care while maintaining a vibrant life in retirement.

Lifecare is a comprehensive promise that provides long-term care, if you need it, without increasing your monthly fee.

SmartLife VIA Willow Valley is a comprehensive membership program. As a SmartLife Member, you pay a one-time Membership fee and an ongoing monthly fee to receive all the long-term care services you may need if your health care needs change, for life. The SmartLife plan you purchase today will cover your future long-term care needs, providing you with a lifetime of care, financial protection, and peace of mind. There are no claim forms to process or waiting for care. A simple call to your Lifecare Coordinator will initiate care when you need it.

A SmartLife VIA Willow Valley Lifecare Coordinator is a personal advocate who will arrange for services when you need them. He or she will assist you and your family in navigating the time-consuming challenges of arranging for long-term care. Our Lifecare coordinators take a vested interest in each member’s situation and are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. By working closely with members and their loved ones, Lifecare Coordinators work diligently to ensure our members maintain their independent lifestyles at home or, when necessary, in personal care or skilled nursing care (at Willow Valley Communities or other plan-participating providers).

Today, skilled nursing care can cost an average of $490 a day, with costs increasing annually. It is nearly impossible to predict how expensive care will be when you actually need it. SmartLife VIA Willow Valley lets you pay for a lifetime of care now, with today’s dollars. You will never have to make a last-minute decision in a crisis and diminish your nest egg.

In addition, SmartLife gives you the peace of mind to know future care plans are taken care of so you can enjoy today. Still wondering what the differences between SmartLife and long-term care insurance are? Below, we’ve outlined several real situations to help you understand SmartLife’s benefits:  

• With SmartLife, you have a Lifecare Coordinator who arranges for care when you need it instead of handling the phone calls and paperwork involved with coordinating care services yourself.
• While many long-term care insurance plans have an average of a 100 day elimination period, there is no elimination period with SmartLife VIA Willow Valley.
• With SmartLife, only a decline in one activity of daily living (ADL) is needed to issue services unlike long-term care insurance, which requires the beneficiary to need help with at least two ADLs before filing a claim.
• We guarantee you care for life. Most long-term care insurance care policies have a time or monetary limit on the amount of care you can receive.

SmartLife guarantees the compassionate, high-standard of care that Willow Valley Communities is known for. 

For those making the decision to stay in their own home and age in place, it’s wise to prepare for life’s uncertainties and to make plans for the future. The best time to join SmartLife VIA Willow Valley is now while you are well and living independently. The minimum age to join SmartLife is 60; there is no maximum age.

While both promote independence in retirement, aging in place refers to retiring in your home versus moving to a senior living community.

Because membership and monthly fees are based on your age and the plan option you choose, there’s no “one price fits all”- the cost is specific to you. For a pricing example and cost comparison, visit our Cost Analysis page.

 Your membership fee and monthly fees are fully tax-deductible.

To apply for SmartLife VIA Willow Valley Membership, you must complete a Membership application, a financial application, and have a one-on-one meeting with the Lifecare Coordinator. We also require three years of medical history from your family physician.

The minimum age to join SmartLife is 60. There is no maximum age.

After beginning membership with SmartLife, your coverage starts immediately, for both services in your home and services in a care setting. From arranging homecare aids to helping with ADLs to coordinating supportive services that may be needed outside the home, your Lifecare Coordinator will work with you as soon as you need them. Feel free to contact your Lifecare Coordinator at any time if you feel that an increased level of care is needed.

Beyond the peace of mind our future care plans afford you, SmartLife VIA Willow Valley members enjoy:

• Lifetime Coverage—All SmartLife plans provide true lifetime coverage.
• No Waiting for Coverage—There is zero elimination period. Care services at home begin as soon as you need them.
• Asset Protection—SmartLife plans protect you and your assets from the increasing costs of care, safeguarding your future instead of you having to pay out of pocket if or when issues arise.
• Tax Deductions—SmartLife Members may fully deduct the one-time Membership fee and monthly fees as prepaid medical expenses on their income taxes to the extent permitted by law.
• Support and Experience—Members feel secure knowing that SmartLife is backed by Willow Valley Communities, the area’s trusted name in senior living for more than 35 years.
• Scheduled Events—Exclusive SmartLife Member events, as well as select events at Willow Valley Communities’ Cultural Center and Clubhouse, are open to you as a member.