Advocating for Your Loved One Pays Off Big When Selecting a Caregiving Facility

You’ve finally decided to take your elder parent with severe dementia to live in an assisted caregiving facility. You’re doing your research, checking reputation, asking friends for recommendations, and confirming the facilities’ licenses. Satisfied that one is as good as another, you’re ready to visit them.
Not so fast. First, you need to make sure the residence is a good fit for your parent. Oh, you think, that’s not a problem; I’ve read, heard, and been told that the best ones are all expensive, and that means high quality. Now all I have to do is visit them.

I hate to break the bad news, but those aren’t the criteria; to ensure that the caregiving facility you finally select meets your standards, your real work is just beginning.

A marketing professional is often involved in promoting a particular facility or facilities. They are often the ones who fill out the proposal when discussing base cost and amenity options with you. Some are a la carte, such as administering medicines to your loved one, perhaps laundry, and meals for visiting family and friends.

As you line up tour appointments, here are a number of things you should look for and look out for:

1. Make certain that when you finally settle on a managed care facility, you carefully compare the proposal with the contract you’ll sign. A friend of mine noted the addition of a “$4,000 community fee” in the proposal. This was due the first month of residency covering set-up costs, personnel, and materials that go into cleaning, and restoring parts of a loved one’s room prior to move-in. The final contract read “$8,250 community fee,” the cost of the base monthly room and board. And, this after I was told the first month was free due to the time needed for move-in. After pointing the disparity out to the facility’s accountant, she said “That fee is usually equivalent to the first month’s rent.” After some negotiation, the fee was bumped back to $4,000.
2. I would caution not agreeing to direct bank pay to cover monthly room and board. A check is always better.
3. Ask a lot of questions of the management staff; have a list when you arrive and before you sign the contract. Be sure to ask about the ratio of care staff-to-residents. If there are not enough staff, it could mean less attentiveness to residents’ needs.
4. When you enter the front door of the facility for the first time, look at the public spaces where residents often spend time during the day. Are they clean and spacious? That, of course, depends on how many residents the facility accommodates, but you’ll need to make sure there’s adequate room in hallways and corridors for wheelchairs to move around.
5. Take your parent to lunch or dinner at the facility while you consider it. Again, is everything clean? Is the food good? Before signing the contract, management should have provided you with a form on which you list your loved one’s food restrictions and/or allergies in addition to medications and their required time of administration.
6. Ask to speak to the activities manager concerning a daily activity program. Brain stimulation is important as are simple chair exercises. Find out if group walks are scheduled for those who are ambulatory. Unless your parent is seriously impaired or sick, staff shouldn’t let her sleep all day.
7. On the first visit, note whether residents look well-cared for. Do some of the staff show impatience with residents, particularly when they are demanding or slow to react? Ask staff if they are happy working there.
8. Look at how responsive staff and management are to residents’ needs.

These are some of the important things to look for in a facility. But, quality of life is as important. Remember two things: first, this is where your loved one will be living away from her own home and everything that’s familiar, possibly until the end of her life. That means that the facility has to have a warm and friendly environment, with competent staff and management; second, the reputed top-quality managed care facilities are very expensive, running up to $10,000+/month. With those prices, you should feel comfortable that your loved one is well taken care of.

We want to hear from you, so feel free to share tips, ideas, and resources for seniors with Grannybooster. Email me, Maris Somerville, at info@grannybooster.com