Part II: Selecting a Facility
By Elaine C Pereira, MA OTR/L, CDP, CDC - Author of the multi-award winning memoir: I Will Never Forget-A Daughter’s Story of Her Mother’s Arduous And Humorous Journey Through Dementia
Caring for Someone with Alzheimer’s From a Long Distance, is a 3-part series written by Author and former caregiver; Elaine Pereira. We will post each new article in her series over a 3 week period. The following outlines her extremely helpful articles.
Part I - Helps you to make the decision: To Move Or Not To Move.
Part II – Elaine identifies what to look for in Selecting a Facility:
- Which questions to ask
- How to gauge the answers
- Does it appear the person at the assisted living community is being truthful? Or, are they simply telling you what they think you want to hear?
- The single most important feature defining a quality facility
Part III – The final article, Preparing Yourself for the Fallout, is intended to be proactively supportive by revealing pitfalls you may encounter after the move.
Please read all 3 articles as they are best used in conjunction with one another. Click the links at the end of the article to read all parts of this dynamic series.
-Carlos Barrios, Founder Endear For Alzheimer’s
Part II: Selecting a Facility
The Elegant Lobby is for Your Benefit
The elegant and welcoming lobby was designed for you, not for the person to be residing there. You can expect that it should be inviting and clean; the absence of either would speaks volumes. But otherwise a beautiful lobby just means they hired a good decorator.
The first steps of facility shopping are fairly obvious:
1. Do your homework and check out several facilities within an acceptable geographic bubble for you.
2. Make an appointment with the facility’s marketing director for the grand tour. If there is anything that makes you feel the salesperson is not completely transparent ask outright or move on.
3. Bring a friend (spouse, relative) with you so they can serve as a second set of eyes and ears.
4. Take notes and ask questions. Go back for repeated “tours” at different times of day.
Seems simple enough until you delve further.
1. Waiting Lists. You can rule places in or possibly out with some strategic phone homework. If you are on the cusp of relocating your parent within a relatively short time frame, than any facility with a waiting list is out. I would only reconsider that decision if the center meets all of the other criteria, as waiting lists are an unknown variable.
2. Cost. The financial investment is certainly a significant factor when selecting a facility. What are the monthly costs? What is covered and equally important, what is not? Are there additional costs for managing medications, laundry, bathing, transportation or other?
Is there a buy-in cost? If so, is there any refund of that cost if the center doesn’t work out or your parent expires? What happens if your loved one runs out of money? If your parent is hospitalized for an extended period, is there any financial adjustment?
Get everything in writing and make sure you understand it or consult with someone who does, like a contract lawyer.
3. Listen and Learn. When you select a facility you are about to relinquish the care of someone you love to strangers. I listened to each director’s information throughout my various facility tours, but my attention was elsewhere. I observed every employee’s actions, every overheard word, every interaction between and among the staff and residents.
Did staff roll their eyes at each other to express subtle disgust when they thought they weren’t being observed? Was a caregiver offering a resident a helping hand or a vice grip? Were someone’s repeated calls for help being ignored? Did staff seem to actually know the residents?
I meandered down hallways, into the kitchen, stuck my head around corners, peered into resident’s rooms and opened a few shut doors just to see what was going on behind them. I was listening, watching and learning from the important peripheral activity.
There are many selfless, quality people dedicated to the care of others. Tragically there are pathetic employees who are despicably careless and lazy. Despite my best efforts to select a top shelf assisted living facility, two indifferent staff created a situation that nearly lead to my mother’s death (negligent homicide!) that said, of the 150 people at Mom’s otherwise stellar center, 148 did their respective jobs very well.
In summary any relocation will be challenging at best. From personal experience I do not regret the exhaustive toll moving my mother entailed and in the end, I was grateful to be close. This may not be the best choice for everyone so take a deep breath and objectively weigh all of the options.
** Special Promotion! For a limited time, Elaine is offering the softcover version of: I Will Never Forget for only $14.47 on Amazon! Click the image below to join over 100,000 readers of her multi-award winning book. **
Elaine is one of the many acclaimed authors and professionals in our Affiliate Writers program. The program offers Professionals and Authors an opportunity to help others by showcasing their work on our site. If you would like to be a part of our program please submit a request by contacting us through this link.
About the Author: Elaine Pereira is an Occupational Therapist, Author, Speaker and Certified Dementia Caregiver/Practitioner. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy and Master’s Degree from Wayne State University. Elaine lives with her husband Joseph in southeastern Michigan. Together they have five adult children and six grandchildren. Her hobbies include golf, baking and crafting.
Click on the articles below to read the rest of this series.
Part I - Helps you to make the decision: To Move Or Not To Move. Part I
Click the links below to read more articles by Elaine Pereira
How to Communicate With Someone With Alzheimer’s – Part 1: Touch
How to Communicate With Someone With Alzheimer’s – Part 2: Sound & Hearing
How to Communicate With Someone With Alzheimer’s – Part 3: Aroma & Smell
How to Communicate With Someone With Alzheimer’s – Part 4: Taste
How to Communicate With Someone With Alzheimer’s – Part 5: Vision
