By clicking
Talk to a Specialist, you agree to our
Privacy Policy. You also consent to receive calls and texts, which may be autodialed, from us and our customer communities. Your consent is not a condition to using our service. Please visit our
Terms of Use. for information about our privacy practices.
Tour each facility. How far is from your home. Visit on off-hours,too. How does it smell? Ask the ratio of nurses and aides to patients. Check to see if they have fun activities , PT. Are the rooms large enough? Keep all the info in one notebook along with phone numbers , people you talked to, etc. Good luck. Hugs, Corinne
Start looking by finding out the buzz in your area about the different communities. Learn their reputation. Then start calling. Talk to the marketing director at each one and describe your parent's situation; their medical conditions, behaviors, the amount of help they need now, etc. Ask how they handle dementia care.
Also, don't be afraid to ask them their opinion of other communities you're considering. Obviously they'll be in favor of their own, but they hear the scoop on all the communities. If you're in an area where there's lots of competition, don't hesitate to ask if there are any incentives or special offers in place. In some parts of the country, they're over-building and are pressed to keep their occupancy up.
The bottom line is, it's all about the care. Make sure they'll accommodate your parent's unique needs. If you are concerned about a particular need of your parent, ask to chat with someone on the nursing staff to ask exactly how they handle it. Don't be put off by so-so decor or minimal amenities if a place has an excellent reputation for care. If money's no object, then by all means go somewhere fancy, but make sure it's a fancy place with a good reputation for care.
I believe (via hearsay) that the facility that's got the best reputation and has the best "variety" in services (independent, assisted, AND memory care) runs pretty close to $4,000/month but I'm not sure yet which level of care that applies to.
I'll be calling that facility this week and arranging for a meeting and tour, since my mom will be coming out of rehab soon and I need to know where I'll put her when having her home (one last time) doesn't work out. But, having been in the hospital and now rehab for a total of 3 weeks now, she's too good, too lucid, too compliant (although I'm starting to see her become less compliant now) for me to have her discharged to a facility - I need to try her at home one more time.