Tag: Medicare

3 Surefire Steps for Beating the Assisted Living Blues

Assisted Living

Seniors today are not the seniors of yesteryear-most live full, active, and balanced lives. So deciding to move into assisted living, senior community, or another type of senior housing can be a confusing process for seniors and their families alike. The process of choosing assisted living communities can be daunting, but fortunately, there are resources that can help you.

 

We’ve compiled questions to ask and things to think about when considering assisted living communities. Choosing the right community requires serious consideration, so take your time when evaluating the services, features, and policies offered by those communities.

 

Atmosphere

  • As you arrive at the residence, do you like its location and outward appearance?

  • As you enter the lobby and tour the residence, is the decor attractive and homelike?

  • Do you receive a warm greeting from staff welcoming you to the residence?

  • Does the administrator/staff call residents by name and interact warmly with them as you tour the residence?

  • Do residents socialize with each other and appear happy and comfortable?

  • Are you able to talk with residents about how they like the residence and staff?

  • Do the residents seem to be appropriate housemates for you or your loved one?

  • Are staff members appropriately dressed, personable, and outgoing?

  • Do the staff members treat each other in a professional manner?

  • Are the staff members that you pass during your tour friendly to you?

  • Are visits with the resident welcome at any time?

Physical Features

  • Is the community well-designed for your needs?

  • Is the floor plan easy to follow?

  • Are doorways, hallways, and rooms accommodating to wheelchairs and walkers?

  • Are elevators available for those unable to use stairways?

  • Does a physician or nurse visit residents regularly to provide medical checkups?

  • To what extent are medical services available and how are these services provided?

  • Are handrails available to aid in walking?

  • Are cupboards and shelves easy to reach?

  • Are floors made of a non-skid material and carpets firm to ease walking?

  • Does the residence have good natural and artificial lighting?

  • Is the residence clean, free of odors, and appropriately heated/cooled?

  • Does the residence have sprinklers and clearly marked exits?

  • Does the residence have a means of security if a resident wanders?

Needs Assessments, Contracts, Costs & Finances

  • Is a contractual agreement available that discloses healthcare and supportive services, all fees, as well as admission and discharge provisions? What are the policies for refunds and transfers?

  • Is there a written plan for the care of each resident?

  • Does the residence have a process for assessing a potential resident’s need for services and are those needs addressed periodically?

  • Does this process include the resident, and his or her family and facility staff, along with the potential resident’s physician?

  • Are there any government, private, or corporate programs available to help cover the cost of services to the resident?

Services

  • Is staff available to meet scheduled and unscheduled needs?

  • Can the residence provide a list of services available?

  • Is staff available to provide 24-hour assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) if needed? ADLs include dressing, eating, mobility, hygiene and grooming, bathing, toileting, using the telephone, shopping, and laundry.

  • Does the residence provide housekeeping services in residents’ units?

  • Can residents arrange for transportation on fairly short notice?

  • Are pharmacy, barber/beautician, and/or physical therapy services offered on-site?

It’s important to be prepared when calling and touring assisted living centers. Each community is unique, if you’ve seen one assisted living facility; you’ve seen one assisted living facility. Review the checklist below to stay organized, compare communities and ask the right questions to help you decide on the community that’s right for your loved one.

 

Questions to Ask When you Call or Visit

  1. What is your staff-to-resident ratio?

  2. What kind of experience and training does your staff possess?

  3. How many staffers are on duty overnight?

  4. Can staff administer medications?

  5. Do you have a nurse on staff 24/7?

  6. Do you have any experience with (issues or diagnosis of your care recipient)?

  7. Do you do an initial assessment prior to admission?

  8. What types of apartments are available?

  9. What is the monthly cost per apartment type?

  10. If there is a wait list, how many are on it and what is the policy?

  11. Tell me about some of the current residents.

  12. Do you have any outdoor space?

  13. What is your discharge policy?

  14. What additional services are available if the needs of a resident change?

  15. What are your billing and payment policies?

  16. Are all services included in the monthly fee? If not, what and how much are additional services?

Home Care For The Elderly

How to find good home care for the elderly?

 

Needs

 

First consider the actual care needs and write out a list of items that need to be provided.

 

Be able to give an example of a typical day for the care recipient, from the moment they wake up until they go to bed and include a timeline of when they prefer meals, naps and other activities.

 

 

Hands-on

 

How much hands-on care is needed vs. companion care?

If more companion care is needed, make a list of possible activities.

 

 

Transportation

 

Do you need a Caregiver who can escort the client to doctor’s appointments and social activities?

 

If so, what mode of transportation will they use?

Will the Caregiver drive the client in the client’s car?

 

Keep in mind that you may need to research your car insurance coverage if this is the case.

 

Will the Caregiver drive the client in the Caregiver’s car?

If so, be

aware that it will be difficult to be 100% sure that the Caregiver’s insurance policy is up-to-date even if you verify this in the beginning.

 

If they have a late or missed payment the policy could be cancelled without your knowledge.

 

Will they take public transportation (bus or taxi cab)?

 

This is probably the safest method of transportation to prevent the risks of insurance issues.

 

(Some cities provide special transportation privileges for seniors and you may want to contact your local Department on Aging for information).

 

 

Memory Loss

 

Is there memory loss?

 

If so, have you had the type of Memory Loss diagnosed (Alzheimer’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease, Pick’s Disease, Frontal Lobe Dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia, Lewy Body Disease, Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus, Vascular Dementia, Parkinson’s Disease)?

 

Blood clots and brain tumors may also cause dementia.

 

A diagnosis of dementia type will help the agency to better understand the care needs and assign a Caregiver with the right type of training and qualifications.

 

 

Language

 

Do you need a Caregiver who speaks a certain language?

 

Hours

 

How many hours of care per day will you require?

 

Review the list of services you will need performed during the care visit and decide on the minimum number of hours per day which would work as a starting point.

 

The agency will need to know the hours of service to assign a Caregiver and will allow you to adjust the hours after the first week to accurately meet the care needs.

 

Dietary

 

Are there any special cooking requirements?

 

Communicate any food allergies or specific cooking requests and consider how groceries will be purchased or delivered if the care recipient is unable to shop for groceries on their own.

 

 

Additional Skills

 

Are there any “skilled” care requirements, such as taking blood pressure, blood sugar testing, wound care or a feeding tube?

 

Communicate if these specialized services will need to be performed or monitored.

 

 

Medication Management

 

What is the care recipients method for managing medications?

 

Do you know for sure if the medications are currently being taken correctly?

 

Be able to provide a list of medications and the method of monitoring so the Agency will be aware of possible side effects and other requirements such as taking pills with or without food, etc.

 

 

Care Management

 

Will Care Management be required?

 

As Caregivers are responsible for providing the “hands-on” care, they do not have time to manage the overall care issues.

 

A trained Care Manager can supervise all of the care needs, from organizing medications in a pillbox and obtaining refills (due to insurance purposes, this service usually must be provided by a Supervisor or R.N. depending on the state laws), to arranging doctor’s appointments and other necessary services.

 

A Geriatric Care Manager will work with family members and take on responsibilities which they are unable to perform and provide professional expertise in guiding the long-term care decisions.