Do you need to locate a senior living community for your loved one?
I recently interviewed an “in the trenches” Senior Placement Agent that has been providing his services for more than two decades, and wanted to share this information with you if you are now or soon will be looking for a senior living facility for a loved one. This interview contains information that some senior living communities do NOT want you to know!
The following article will provide details of;
* When To Consider Moving To A Senior Care Community
* What To Determine Before Searching For A Senior Care Community
* How To Choose The Right Senior Care Community
* Why You NEVER Should Use A National Referral Service
When To Consider Moving To A Senior Care Community
Although its likely that no one necessarily wants to move to a senior care facility, there are some signs it may be time to move to one. Some subtle. Some maybe not so subtle.
Maybe a decline in hygiene or not being as well kept as your loved one has always been. Maybe not as well dressed.
Other subtle signs may be a decline in their physical environment. Not keeping up with the housekeeping. Not staying on top of home repairs or the lawn.
Other signs such as a withdrawal from social engagements, meeting with friends, going out to eat, or maybe not going to church.
Signs that are a bigger concern could be forgetting how to drive to a familiar place. Not remembering how to make a favorite dish or how to bake their favorite cookies. Forgetting the names of family members, etc.
At some point, some of these things should trigger a conversation with family members.
The primary item is if there is a safety issue involved. If its just not safe to live in their house anymore. Leaving the stove top burners on is a real common example. Wandering away from home and not finding their way back. Or maybe driving away from home and not finding their way back.
Malnutrition, dehydration, and just not eating property are other issues.
Unsanitary living conditions due to neglect, falling and becoming injured at home, frequent hospitalizations, not taking medications properly, and falling victim to elder abuse are other examples of safety issues that need to be watched.
A secondary item is when the caregiver's health and wellbeing are in decline. Here, we're talking about the person's mental health, emotional health, spiritual health, and physical health.
A caregiver will place their own needs on the back burner, skip doctor's appointments, dentist appointments, and social events.
A caregiver puts everything to the side to be able to care for a person that they love so much. And unfortunately, its very stressful to the caregiver, they stop taking care of themselves, and makes the situation even worse.
A situation like this needs to trigger a conversation. When this happens, a move to a senior care facility needs to be considered.
A third item is when the cost of in-home care becomes too expensive. If the need for in home care services elevates to 24 hour care, it just may not be affordable for very long.
Lastly, if you just can't provide enough care, why not consider changing your role from being the hands on caregiver to being the care manager. Then you can transition your role into a more traditional role of the loving spouse, son, daughter, or grandchild like you were, and just manage the care. You can make sure that your loved one gets everything they need.
Sometimes a person can do more for a person they're caring for by being the care manager versus trying to do everything themselves and being completely overwhelmed.
The Transition To A Senior Care Community
One you have made a choice for a senior community for your loved one (discussed later in this article), you need to be accepted into the community.
The community representative will need to conduct an assessment to ensure that you are the right fit for their community.
They will want information from a recent doctor's visit. They will want to know your health history, physical information, as well as nursing notes and therapy notes if applicable.
If they have a financial application, they may need copies of the applicable financial documents.
And, you will want to have your legal house in order. They will want copies of a power of attorney as well as a living will.
You will want a power of attorney for health care, finance, a living will (which will express your wishes in advance of the time to make those decisions).
You will also want to determine how much space you will have so that you can plan on the furnishings you can move with you. You will want to decorate your space to make it your own, and feel like home.
Finding the right senior community can provide a much better life!
What To Determine BEFORE Searching For A Senior Care Facility
There are some things to determine before even starting a search for a senior care facility, which can be an overwhelming task if a person has no experience with this subject.
Its usually a situation that demands your immediate attention to get Mom, Dad, or other loved one into more care than what you're able to provide.
First, what level of care does your loved one need?
Long term care is the highest level of care. A lot of people may think of this as a nursing home. Its the medical model that can help with pretty much anything you will need.
Assisted living. This is a social model that can help you minimally or fully with those activities of daily living like bathing, dressing, grooming, preparation of meals, snacks, and hydration. They can help with medications. And, there's a full slate of activities for social engagement.
What type of care is needed?
Does your loved one need general care, or just everyday care and support?
Do they need memory care, which is a specialized type of care for someone with cognitive issues such as Alzheimer's or dementia? This could be stroke related or Parkinson's related. In general, there is some sort of cognitive issue that requires this special type of care.
Is skilled nursing or rehab needed? Is hospice care needed?
How do we pay for senior living?
Once the level and type of care is determined, we then have to determine how this care is going to be paid for.
Different types of payment are private pay, long term care insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and possibly VA benefits.
Location.
We all want to be as close as we possibly can be to our loved one, but sometimes its necessary to be flexible with the location in order to get the best care for them.
Once you are able to determine these items, you can then focus your visits to determine which senior community is the best for your loved one and not waste your time.
For more information about when to consider a move to a senior living community, get your FREE copy of Secrets Of Finding The Right Senior Living Community by contacting us. Or, call us at (855)-291-5005.
How To Choose The Right Senior Care Community
Choosing the right senior care community for your loved one is critical!
Let's discuss some questions that you should ask when touring a senior care community.
One of the first questions to ask is... how did this place do on their most recent surprise health inspection? Any state you're in will have representatives do a surprise health inspection.
They want to make sure that the community is following its own stated policies and procedures, and that they're meeting local, state, and federal regulations.
If they're not, they're written what's called a deficiency. Fewer deficiencies would be better than a large number of them.
I would then want to know how many administrators or executive directors and directors of nursing there have been in the last five years. Fewer is better with these.
Next, what are the staffing ratios? Some places may not even know their staffing ratios, but you want to find this information out if possible.
What kind of training do they offer and provide for their staff?
This may not be important to everyone, but you may want to know if everyone has to do a criminal background check, licensure registry check, etc.
Do they drug test new hires or do ongoing drug testing of staff? Believe it or not, many states do not have this as a requirement.
How many resident falls does a community average a month? They will or should know these numbers.
Ask about the medical director. Who are they, what's their specialty, how often are they or a representative from their group in the building seeing residents.
Are there other medical specialists that come into the building to help out and check on the residents?
Your Next Move
Moving a loved one to a senior living community is a major life event. But, with the right "team" of professionals to assist with the various aspects of the transition, it doesn't have to be as stressful or filled with hassles.
The right move manager and/or moving company can make the physical move to a senior living community as easy and "hands off" as you want the move to be.
The right local senior placement agent can be a great asset to find the best senior living community for you or a loved one, depending on the type of care needed and services provided by the community or facility.
The right real estate professional can make selling your house and the transition to a senior living community stress and hassle free.
Don't let the thought of "where do I start" or the fear of "overwhelm" stop you from taking the first step. We can help!
If you have questions about how and where to find the best local services to assist you with your specific needs, just call us at (855)-291-5005 or fill out the Contact Us form.
