Consider These Resources To Help You Decide On An Assisted Living Community.

How To Pick The Right Assisted Living Facility

As people age, some find themselves living alone, single-handedly trying to manage the expense and upkeep of nearly-empty homes. This time of life also brings with it an increased risk of falling, poor nutrition and difficulty managing their medications. May struggling seniors improve visibly once they move into an assisted living facility. They can live independently with less effort, eat nutritious meals regularly, engage in exercise programs and enjoy social activities with people their age. Help is available, if needed, for bathing, dressing and managing medications. If more extensive assistance is needed, the facility may arrange for home health care services to be delivered in a resident’s apartment. Assisted Living facilities can also arrange to have physical therapy performed at the facility. The time to start exploring the different assisted living facilities is sooner rather than later. Good assisted living facilities may have a long waiting list – if you find the place you like, you may want to inquire about making a reservation, even if you’re not yet ready to move.

Evaluating An Assisted Living Facility

“Assisted living” varies from state to state. Even in the same state, each facility offers its own options of care, services and financial arrangements. With so many options, how do you choose the assisted living home that is right for you or your loved one?

• First, decide exactly what you are looking for. Do you need medical services, assistance with daily personal care? Are you wheelchair-bound? Is there memory loss? Consult with your doctor about long-term outcomes to make sure that you anticipate your future health care needs as well.
• Decide what you can spend for the monthly fee and any additional fees charged by outside agencies such as home care or transportation.

Once you have assessed your situation, look for information in the following areas:

Staff And Management Experience

Who owns the facility? This information may be available in the introductory information packet. If not, ask when you contact each place. If the company or individuals that own it specializes in health care services, for example, or has a long-established history as a provider of assisted living services, it is likely to be more qualified to understand and provide for your needs than a company with no such experience. Furthermore, it will be easier to check the reputation of a residence that has been long established in your locale.

A place that has recently opened may not have worked out all of its policies or be prepared to provide all of its planned services. Also, the longer the staff has worked together, the more time they have had to become an effective team in dealing with older people with challenging health issues.

Tips:

• When visiting, find out as much as you can about the experience of key staff such as the administrator, the kitchen supervisor, the nursing staff and the activities director. Are they trained and experienced in working with the elderly? What training does the staff receive in dealing with situations such as fires or medical emergencies?
• State regulations require periodic, on-site inspections of assisted living services during which the medical records of a number of residents are reviewed. In Nevada, these inspections take place at least once a year. The results of these inspections should be available through the State Division of Health Services, Bureau of Licensure.
• Ask if you can contact former resident’s family members to inquire about their level of satisfaction. Better yet, stay for a meal and the impressions of the current residents and their families. This is also an excellent way to observe how the staff treats residents.
• If you are helping an aging family member, find out about the facility’s procedure for keeping you informed of how your loved one is doing and whether he or she needs additional support of any kind. Establish who your contact person will be.

Services And Amenities

The monthly rate may typically include all or most of the following services:

• A studio or one or two-bedroom apartment, furnished or unfurnished, either shared or private; • Up to three meals a day, taken in a common dining area;
• Light weekly housekeeping and weekly linen service,
• Bathing, grooming dressing, etc.
• Social events and activities, and
• Scheduled transportation for errands such as shopping banking, medical appointments.

Tips:

• When you visit notice if the place is clean, attractive and in good condition. Ask for a schedule of activities to see what interests you.
• Look for features such as fire extinguishers, handrails along the walls, overhead sprinklers and covered walkways for safe access during bad weather. Visit during the evening to see what kind of security measures are used at night such as locked doors, exterior lighting or security guards.
• Ask about regularly scheduled transportation provided by the facility. If you use a wheelchair or walker make sure the grounds and access to the buildings is adapted for these assisted devices.

Medical Services

Assisted living facilities are not required to provide medical services but many of them do. These could be short-term rehabilitation, podiatry, periodic on-site visits from physicians or dental hygiene. Most facilities have registered nurses and/or certified nurse’s aides on staff.

Facility staff evaluate each resident’s needs and develop a plan of care that may include help with functions such as bathing, grooming, dressing or medication management. This may mean a simple reminder to take a medication or opening the resident’s medication container and verifying that it is the right medication. Most assisted living facilities also offer residents a personal emergency response system, such as an intercom so that they can alert the staff if they are injured or need help.

Tips:

• Since health care services vary at each facility, ask about specific services that would benefit you personally such as prescription delivery, syringes for insulin injection or incontinence supplies. Ask if the facility is affiliated with any particular physician or hospital in case you need those services.
• Some assisted living homes specialize in caring for individuals in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. For a list of facilities in your state and area, call your local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. These facilities are not nursing homes and a transfer to a nursing home may be required if the level of care exceeds what the place can offer.

Related Costs

There are several types of occupancy in the various assisted living facilities. In some cases you pay for the apartment and ancillary services are offered at an additional price. Other facilities have an all inclusive price that includes the apartment and all other services. You will want to inquire about the costs at the facility you are interested in. Most facilities will also require a refundable security deposit. Ask what the average yearly increase in costs might be.

Tips:

• Don’t let higher monthly fees discourage you. Lower fees can be deceiving as there are often several added on costs.
• Some states have low income group homes or subsidized assisted living beds.
• Unlike nursing homes, assisted living facilities do not accept Medicare to pay for personal care services that people perform for themselves, such as bathing or dressing, although services that are medically necessary may be covered by Medicare. Contact your Medicare office toll-free at 1-800-633-4227 or visit the Medicare web site, www.medicare.gov, for a better understanding of services that qualify for coverage.
• Check on the facility’s policies about hold your apartment in case of a temporary absence – for instance, hospitalization or a stay in a rehab facility. Are fees or deposits refunded in case changes in health require a permanent move to a nursing home?

Veterans' Administration Special Pension With Aid And Attendance

The Veterans' Administration offers a Special Pension with Aid and Attendance (A&A) benefit that is largely unknown. Most find it hard to believe it exists, but it does! This Special Pension allows for Veterans and surviving spouses who require the regular attendance of another person to assist in eating, bathing, dressing, undressing or taking care of the needs of nature to receive additional monetary benefits. It also includes individuals who are blind or a patient in a nursing home because of mental or physical incapacity. It is not a benefit for a person needing housekeeping or respite or part time care. Assisted care in an assisted living facility also qualifies. This most important benefit is overlooked by many families with Veterans or surviving spouses who need additional monies to help care for ailing parents or loved ones. This is a "pension benefit" and is not dependent upon service-related injuries for compensation. Most Veterans who are in need of assistance qualify for this pension. Aid and Attendance can help pay for care in the home, nursing home or assisted living facility.

• A Veteran is eligible for up to $1644.00 per month.
• A surviving spouse is eligible for up to $1056.00 per month.
• A couple is eligible for up to $1949.00 per month.

Qualifications Are:

• Veterans must have served one day during an active war and had no less than a 90 day service.
• Surviving spouses must still have been married to the veteran when they passed.
• You must have a doctor’s order insisting you need the aid and attendance of another every day.
• You must have less then$ 80,000 in checking and savings even less if you are applying as a single (not including your home or vehicles). If you have IRAs and CDs, they are included as income.
• You must have received an honorable discharge or general discharge.
• You can choose where you want to live as long as it is a credible facility or community/ home care company.

Contact Park Place Assisted Living in Reno for more information on how to receive this benefit.