You’ve reviewed senior housing options, narrowed down the choices, toured your short list, then toured with your parents, enjoyed meals, taken notes and pictures, asked questions of staff and residents, and you’ve made your decision. 

Now what?

First, Lisa wants families to know that if there’s resistance or hesitation on the part of your parents, some communities offer a respite option. This “trial stay” is a wonderful way to experience living in the community, participate in activities, meet other residents, get to know staff, and experience the full menu.

Here are the Next Steps to plan for once a community has been selected:

The paperwork. This typically includes your parent meeting with the community’s nurse for an assessment. This is where the community will make sure that they are able to provide the care needed and understanding what the care needs. An assessment also helps with the creation of a care plan and to determine what support they will need when they move in. And your parent will also need to schedule a visit with their primary care provider as part of completing the paperwork.

• Consult with an Aging Life Care Professional® (aka Care Manager) like our team at Aging Wisdom if you need assistance narrowing down the field of choices. We can help you cut through the clutter, guide you in making informed decisions based on our knowledge of the different models of care, and understand the specific providers in the area, as well nuances you might not have considered. You can find an Aging Life Care™ Expert in your area by visiting the Aging Life Care Association. https://www.aginglifecare.org

Getting ready for the move:

Some important things to consider to make the move go as smoothly as possible:

• Plan the move earlier in the week, not on the weekend.
• Avoid moving in over or around a holiday.
• Medications -- make sure you have all the information about your parent’s medication and insurance information.

Move-in date and moving plan. This will help with coordination on many levels, including a Moving Plan to determine what to pack and move, then the actual packing, moving of furniture and other belongings, and unpacking. This helps to make the transition as smooth and comfortable as possible.  

• There are Senior Move Managers you can hire to assist with all these details. We have a list of trusted professionals with whom we’ve worked to assist clients in a move. You can also check the National Association of Senior & Specialty Move Managers (NASMM) website to find professionals near you. https://www.nasmm.org/find-a-move-manager/

Also, who will bring your parent/s to the community and when?

Be prepared for a rocky transition at first, but know that the staff are experts with these transitions. They will make sure your parents are comfortable, welcomed, and gradually acclimated to their new home. 

Here are links to the printable resources we mentioned earlier.

Resources

• Top Ten Tips for a Successful Tour
• Questions to Ask Worksheet
• Financial Worksheet
• When Is It Time to Move? (Aging Wisdom blog article)

For quick reference, here are links to the Touring Tips we’ve shared over the past weeks:

• Tips 1) Tour without your parents, and 2) Tour at mealtime
• Tips 3) Take notes and pictures, 4) Observe staff, & 5) Start conversations
• Tips 6) Get the full tour; 7) Staff Longevity, & 8) Clarity on Costs
• Tips 9) Inquire if residents are ever asked to move out, & 10) Trust Your Gut

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The last two of our Touring Tips in this series are:

• Tip 9: Inquire if residents are ever asked to move out.
• Tip 10: Trust Your Gut

Tip 9: Inquire if residents are ever asked to move out. If so, under what circumstances? Be wary of the community that promises they can do it all! This can be a red flag.

Some examples of when a community may determine that they are no longer able to provide the best care might include situations involving a resident experiencing frequent falling, mental health issues, behavioral challenges, insulin dependent diabetes or even sliding scale diabetes, or needing the assistance of a two-person transfer, or if a resident is resisting care.

Knowing this is important. Many communities will say that they can provide care until your parent passes away. This might be true for some residents but there may come a time when care needs increase beyond the capacities of that community. You want to know ahead of time what those trigger points might be.

We admire communities that are honest about what they can and can’t do. Some of our favorite communities are ones that are very clear about their boundaries and capacities. Just because your parent might need to move one day, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t consider that community if it is the best fit for them right now.

Tip 10: Trust Your Gut. Intuition is more important than you realize. When you tour, pay attention to how you feel as you:

• Approach and enter the building
• Register your first impressions – are you welcomed warmly, is the space inviting?
• Observe staff interacting with one another and with residents
• Interact with staff and with residents
• Tour the community: is it a little too quiet or lacking activity, engagement?

After your tour and once in the car, quickly jot down your initial impressions for reference. Trust your gut. How does the community make you feel?

We like communities that feel warm, inviting, and have lots of energy. Our favorite communities have a vibrant main area. Are there visitors around? You should feel welcome and at home because you will want your parent /s in a community that you also enjoy spending time in.

Looking for unbiased recommendations based on all your options?
Click here to Schedule a Get-Acquainted Call to determine if our services fit your needs.

Resources

• Top Ten Tips for a Successful Tour
• Questions to Ask Worksheet
• Financial Worksheet
• When Is It Time to Move? (Aging Wisdom blog article)

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In this episode of Senior Housing Touring Tips, we review the following:

Tip 6: Get the full tour

As we discussed earlier, a tour usually highlights the best parts of the community. And if you are looking at independent or assisted living, it’s also important to tour other levels of care in the community if they are offered in that building or on that campus. 

Even if that level of care, such as memory care or skilled nursing or rehab, aren’t needed now, they may be in the future. We encourage you to tour those parts of the community as well.

And as mentioned in earlier episodes, it’s always important to observe how staff interact with residents and with one another in all parts of the community. Ask questions. Check for activities, events, and outings. Gain a sense of the day-to-day culture and what it would feel like emotionally and socially to live there long-term.

Tip 7: Staff Longevity

Ask to meet the General Manager (GM) as well as the Director of Nursing (DON) or Head Nurse. These are two key positions at any community. It’s important to know how long they’ve been at the community or with the organization or company who owns and operates it.  The GM is who you bring concerns and questions to. The DON is responsible for managing clinical operations, leading the nursing staff, and ensuring quality resident care. 

It’s also helpful to know about other staff as well, as they are key to supporting a culture of care. 

Tip 8: Clarity on Costs

As Lisa shares in this episode, it’s important to understand what you will be paying now as well as what you may be paying down the road. You can use this Financial Worksheet as you tour to gain clarity on costs. 

We addressed this topic as well in earlier episodes of the Wisdom Wednesday podcast – you can listen to them here:

The Cost of Senior and Long-Term Care Housing:

• Will It Break the Bank?
• What Will It Cost?
• Unexpected Costs

We have also included a Questions to Ask worksheet which you can download here to help with specific questions about each community to assist with differentiating one from the other, as well as making sure you have covered all your bases.

Questions about touring senior housing communities and how to narrow the options? We have the knowledge and expertise to help guide the journey. Click here to schedule a free, get-acquainted call with one of our Certified Care Managers.

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You’ve done your homework, perhaps even received some brochures in the mail. And now you’ve narrowed down the field of possibilities to 3 to 5 communities. 

This next series of tips will help as you tour communities in person. These Tips will also help you recognize the "Chandelier Effect." 

Tip 3: Take pictures and take notes. It’s easy to get the features of one confused with another, especially since so much of this is new. That’s why we encourage families to take pictures and bring a notebook in which to capture the highlights to help differentiate one from the other.

Tip 4: Observe staff as they are interacting with residents and one another. Look around. Pay attention. Do they seem happy and enjoy their work? Are residents receptive? Do staff seem genuinely engaged?

Tip 5: Ask questions, as you feel comfortable, of residents as well as staff. Introduce yourself, share with a resident that you’re touring on behalf of your parent/s, and ask how they like living there. Inquire what they like best about the community. And if there’s time, ask if there’s something they would change, that’s important to know too. 

We have also included a Questions to Ask worksheet which you can download here to help with specific questions about each community to assist with differentiating one from the other, as well as making sure you have covered all your bases. 

Time to begin planning for a move? We have the knowledge and expertise to help guide the journey. Click here to schedule a free, get-acquainted call with one of our Certified Care Managers.

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If you're on a mission to find the right senior living community for your parents, you've come to the right place. Our Aging Wisdom logo is a ginkgo biloba leaf, an ancient symbol of wisdom and resilience in aging. The ginkgo is also a symbol of strength, hope, and peace. We understand how important it is to come to a place of strength, hope, and peace.

This journey is often one filled with mixed emotions and occasional self-doubt, and it's not unusual to feel guilty and stressed in the process. There are so many choices, and it can quickly become overwhelming. We meet families eager to sign the dotted line on a community before understanding how to find the best fit. We want to help you cut through the clutter and build confidence as you grow in your understanding of the many housing options in the marketplace and how best to support your parents in these important decisions. 

In this series, we'll provide tips for your tours and explain the process of identifying a senior care community that is the right fit for your loved one at this time. We're here to save you time and money and provide you with the tools to not get hooked in by the “chandelier effect.” And there’s the emotional aspect of moving a parent; there's guilt, there's overwhelm, there's stress, and anxiety about making the right decision.

Our goal is to provide you with information that will help bring you hope, peace, and strength.

Over this series of podcast episodes, we will be sharing our Top 10 Touring Tips.

Touring Tip 1: Tour without your parents.
Community tours can be long, up to two hours. And you'll be flooded with lots of information. By the time you leave, you'll be exhausted.

And if you have a list of three to five communities to explore, that's a lot of time and energy. So we strongly encourage you to take those initial tours on your own. That way you can have a thorough tour, checking off the ideas that we're sharing with you today, and asking a lot of questions.

Most importantly, narrowing the choices down to your top one or two will help when you take your parent/s on tour, making it far less overwhelming for them. You can also make those tours with your parents more succinct tours -- we suggest 45 minutes to an hour, maybe an hour and a half if you're having a meal at the community.

Touring Tip 2:  Tour at mealtime.
When touring with your parent, it's a great chance to incorporate a meal during your tour and the communities love to show off their food and have you experience their dining room.

A meal offers a number of advantages. Primarily, it’s an opportunity to see many of the residents together in one place. If you tour during non-mealtime hours, residents will likely be in their apartments or spread out across other parts of the community.

Look around and ask yourself, are these your parents' people? Can you picture them eating with these residents, becoming friends with these residents?  The dining room is important for social engagement as well as for the enjoyment of the food and the dining experience itself.

Join us for future episodes of Wisdom Wednesday where we’ll share more Touring Tips.

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In the series of episodes, we’ve explored what it will cost, the unexpected costs to prepare for, as well as who pays? Who can help you make sense of all the senior and long-term care housing options?  Making a decision can be overwhelming but you don't have to make these difficult decisions alone.

Some of the people and organizations that you might consider engaging for support include:    

• Your local senior center, as they often have a social worker on staff that you can utilize as a resource.
• We also encourage you to check the Eldercare Locator which is available through the HHS Administration for Community Living. Aging and can help you find resources through a street, city, county, state, or zip code search on their website.
• Check in with the Alzheimer's Association or the Dementia Society of America.

These resources are available in a downloadable resource sheet — CLICK HERE.

How do Aging Life Care Professionals (aka geriatric Care Managers) like our Care Managers at Aging Wisdom help families navigate these options?  

We can help:

• You find the right option for your parent based on their preferences, care needs, and finances. 
• When your siblings don't agree, we can also help families get on the same page about what your parent might need or what's best for them. 
• If your parents are refusing help or a move, we can also help you navigate resistance and help guide you toward a successful outcome. You're not alone! Knowledge is power, and we're glad you found us. 
• Serve as your local navigator if you are guiding care from a geographic distance.

You now have the information you need to assist your parents to make more thoughtful, individually directed choices.  

Please join us next week as we kick off Touring Tips to help guide you and streamline the process when you start to visit communities. 

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So far we’ve covered the breakdown of costs and unexpected costs. Now it’s time to explore who pays for retirement communities.

Most senior and long-term care housing is paid for through personal finances such as savings, investments, pensions, assets, and Social Security income. 

It’s not uncommon for people to assume that Medicare will pay for these services, but it does not. As Lisa explains, Medicare is health insurance, which covers medical expenses.  

There are a few exceptions: 

• Medicare may cover a short-term stay in a rehab or skilled nursing facility following a qualified hospitalization
• It may also pay for in-home health services such as occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy or nursing. These are intermittent visits two or three times a week for several weeks, usually also following a hospitalization
• Medicare also covers hospice or end-of-life care, but that doesn’t include caregivers

If there are limited financial resources, Medicaid, not Medicare, may be an option. Qualifications and eligibility for Medicaid varies state to state. Here in Washington State the criteria for eligibility for Medicaid includes:

• Residency requirement
• Care needs
• Income limits

Other option to explore include:

Long term care insurance – do your parents have a policy? And if so, what does it cover? 

• If your parent served in wartime, there are some VA benefits available, a monthly benefit amount for wartime veterans or their surviving spouse under Aid and Attendance. It is a tax-free benefit that helps reimburse the cost of long-term care, whether at home or in a care facility. https://choose.va.gov/pensions/
• If you are considering assisting a parent who has limited resources, do your homework to make sure that your support doesn’t accidently make them ineligible for government programs, and that you are able to sustain the support. 

If you’re not sure where to start, and you live in the greater Seattle-Bellevue area, CLICK HERE to schedule a FREE get-acquainted call today!

If you live outside the area, you can find an Aging Life Care Expert near you by visiting the Aging Life Care Association.

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In the previous episodes of this series on The Cost of Senior and Long-Term Care Housing we reviewed the typical breakdown of costs for retirement communities: 

1. the one-time deposit or entry fee
2. monthly rent
3. the monthly cost of care

In this episode, we’ve going to talk about Unexpected Costs to help you better understand and prepare for future needs. 

The costs of care include assistance with medications, dressing, showering, and reminders to go to meals or activities, and those costs will be in addition to the monthly rent. 

When formulating a budget, you must take into consideration that the costs will increase over time as care needs change.  

Overwhelmed by the options and costs, and now sure where to start? We can help! CLICK HERE to schedule a FREE get-acquainted call today!

Additional Resources

• Financial worksheet (from Aging Wisdom)
• Cost of Long-Term Care Survey for cost comparison
• ADLs and IADLs: What are they? (from Aging Wisdom blog)
• Ten Tips You Should Know to Manage Caregiver Stress (from Aging Wisdom blog)

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Costs vary greatly from region to region and as you might expect, prices in larger cities are much higher than outside urban areas. Costs also vary considerably by type of care needed – home health, assisted living, memory care, adult family home or nursing home. 

The Genworth/CareScout Cost of Care Survey shows average costs and serve as a helpful starting point. Other factors that influence cost include gender, location, and health status, among other factors.

Costs can come as a bit of a shock initially, but as Lisa cautions, “Do not to panic, keep listening, there can be a plan for everyone, no matter how much or how little money your parents might have.” 

We talked about the various housing and long-term care (LTC) options in the previous episode – The Cost of Senior & Long-Term Care Housing: Will It Break the Bank? -- reviewing the options of retirement and LTC communities. Independent living in our area (greater Seattle) is in the range of $5,000 to $7,000 a month. If you start to need assistance, such as assisted living, the care costs in our area can average $8,000 to $10,000 a month. For memory care, it’s more like $10,000 to $12,000. (And we’ll talk about Touring Tips in upcoming episodes).

Knowledge is power. Being prepared matters, especially since seven in ten people will need some form of long-term services and supports during their lifetime. It’s also important to plan for our own future needs.

A common scenario we see with our clients’ families and friends, as well as our own friends, is how hard they work to bend over backwards to honor their parents' wishes to keep them in their home, and the costs continue to mount, as does the stress, because the adult children are the ones that are responsible for managing all that. It can become tremendously chaotic and more difficult and challenging.

A long-term care community, by contrast, can help bring peace of mind by providing a safe, supportive residential environment, along with delicious meals, enriching social engagement activities and events, medication management, caregiver support as needed. 

As a family care partner, you are important too. It’s essential for you to find balance, stay healthy, and engage a guide as you are navigating the many facets of caring for your parents. As Lisa encourages “I think most importantly, you want to continue to be your parent's kid, and you want that relationship.”

Our expertise in this area provides you with in-depth knowledge to avoid pitfalls when choosing a senior housing community and tailor guidance to your family’s unique situation. As Aging Life Care Managers, we follow a code of ethics that ensures we are recommending housing options that are most suited for you, and without accepting commission or referral fees.

Our Aging Life Care Professionals (aka geriatric Care Managers) have the experience and knowledge to guide you on planning for today as well as the future.

Not quite sure what steps to take next? You can schedule a get-acquainted call with us to determine together whether our services are a good fit for your needs.

Additional Resources

• Financial worksheet (from Aging Wisdom)
• Cost of Long-Term Care Survey for cost comparison
• Cost of Long-Term Care (Aging Wisdom podcast episode)
• Self-Care is Not Selfish: It’s Selfish for Family Caregiver Well-Being (Aging Wisdom blog article)
• How Do You Pay for Long-Term Care? (Aging Wisdom podcast episode)
• When is It Time to Move? (Aging Wisdom blog article)

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An educated consumer is a wise consumer. And senior and long-term care housing can be filled with added costs and fees that may catch you off-guard if you aren’t aware of them ahead of a move.

Understanding what you will pay is essential. That is why we cover the breakdown of costs in this episode and get more specific in subsequent episodes.

We have included a financial worksheet--which you can download from here --to help keep track of information as you are making inquiries of different communities. 

As we covered in earlier episodes of our podcast, there is a wide variety of senior housing options including independent retirement communities, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing/rehab, adult family homes, and Life Plan or Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs). They all have different costs, fees, and services. 

Before selecting a community and for a successful move, it is essential to understand:

• the level of care required (and any limitations)
• associated costs
• how costs will change or accelerate over time
• how that community will align with the social needs and preferences of the person in your care

Our expertise in this area provides you with in-depth knowledge to avoid pitfalls when choosing a senior housing community. And as Aging Life Care Managers, we follow a code of ethics that ensures we are recommending housing options that are most suited for you, and without accepting commission or referral fees.

Our Aging Life Care Professionals (aka geriatric Care Managers) have the experience and knowledge to guide you on planning for today as well as the future.

Not quite sure what steps to take next? You can schedule a get-acquainted call with us to determine together whether our services are a good fit for your needs.

Additional Resources 

• Financial worksheet (from Aging Wisdom)
• Cost of Long-Term Care Survey for cost comparison 
• Cost of Long-Term Care (Aging Wisdom podcast episode)
• How Do You Pay for Long-Term Care? (Aging Wisdom podcast episode)
• When is It Time to Move? (Aging Wisdom blog article)

Thanks for listening! Follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.