What’s the scoop with the online senior advisor services— do they all only recommend assisted living or in home services because they are getting a commission?
I used a place for mom and found they didn’t give me the name’s of the places I knew. It was also lots of calls from them. They were the middleman. I ended up using seniorly.com to research and then I called the places that mom could afford and had the amenities she wanted. They were the only ones who had pricing and details online. Mom wanted an apartment and no roommate. She wanted privacy. Seniorly also looks for you but I didn’t want that. They have a search at the bottom of their web page where you can search by zip code. They give you the price, the size of the place and pictures. You have to call to see availability. I set mom up for 3 in one day and we selected the first one. It is 115 residents and has memory care if she ends up needing that. It is clean, nice and safe. Very happy with the seniorly.com website. She is more social than at home and we don’t argue about eating, she loves their food and her table mates. I did hire a friend to see her weekly and show her around. That has worked out great and they do mani pedi and have occasional lunches out or watch movies. If I had a person in moms home, she would not be as compliant and she would fire them. Besides, when my husband and I lived with mom, it took both of us to keep from burnout. Cooking, cleaning, meds, doc appts, laundry, hair. Mom gets excellent care and she is happy in her apartment where she keeps the temp hot.
Barb is exactly right, senior advisors are great and worth using when looking for assisted living/memory care because the family doesn't pay for the referral the facility does. Gma adjusted to assisted living and it worked for a little while- We experienced the same thing as you when looking for a nursing home, though. Not a lot of guidance. Senior advisors are a business, yes?... so I think the whole paying for the referral piece is why they don't work with nursing homes. If the government is paying the bill (Medicaid, Medicare) no one can get the referral fee. So, at that point we paid an elder law attorney for advice. He couldn't advise us on the placement other than looking at rankings, but at least he could help us with financial planning because once you need nursing home care, all the assets come into play. Sorry- edited to add the rankings link. Not pricing, but you can compare quality https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/#search
My husband has dementia. I have someone come from an agency three times a week for four hours. The agency charges $24 dollars an hour. The ladies do cognitive therapy, play games, watch TV, etc. with him. They do not do any household chores (my choice). Four hours of uninterrupted time three times weekly is wonderful. I have visited three memory care facilities and they gave me brochures with all of their charges. The charges range widely. We have longterm insurance so finances are not a problem. As long as I am able, I choose to take care of my husband with a little outside help. I have an advisor from "A Place for Mom" and she has been wonderful. There is no charge for this service. She checks on us regularly. The memory care facilities we were referred to were all wonderful. If something happens to me, my children know my choices for my husband.
Before looking into prices I would look at Medicare’s website to see how nursing homes in your area rate under Medicare’s inspections. There’s a one to five star rating system. The overall rating is a good indicator but for me the most important one is patient care.
My brother has brain cancer and needs 24/7 care and I live 1500 miles from him After his surgery, due to circumstances I couldn’t control, he ended up in two 1 star rated places which lived up to their rating—one place lost his belongings including his phone and wallet. Eventually we got them back—nothing nefarious, just carelessness and lack of real care and motivation. One factor that played in was he’s on Medicare and Medicaid and facilities typically have fewer beds since these payments are lower.
When he went into hospice I poured over the website and found homes with three star overall and four to five star patient care. I gave the list to the social worker and she made the calls. He got into a facility with a five star patient care rating. What a difference! Without research a low price facility might also have very poor care. There are different referral sites including Aging Care, that can give you pricing information.
Often a patient on Hospice can get into a facility (Medicaid) more easily as the facility assumes the person will not be a long term resident. (sounds harsh but it is a reality)
DW, if your LO isn't going in from a hispital admissiin, I would simply get him/her on every waiting list you can. Ask if they accept Medicaid after a certain number of months private pay.
Facilities don't readily publish their prices because you'll die of sticker shock so they want you to come in to tour so that you see what you're getting. This was my experience. I'm not sure why online senior advisor services "all only recommend assisted living or in home services", don't know if they're getting a kick-back or not, but maybe because MC and LTC are a whole different thing and more complicated when choosing (IMO). I tried to use a service to find a place for my MIL but because she needed Medicaid we got crickets. Plus I think that by time a senior needs MC or LTC they also usually need Medicaid, so the options are much fewer and there are waiting lists.
Gotcha! They want you to drain all your funds at the NH instead of spend down at home. It all seems like such a game. I’m trying to keep Mom at home as long as possible but her medical needs increase as each month goes by.
A senior advisor was great with my ex, my daughters' father, in the final cancer stages. He and they knew the end was coming, and he didn’t want care at home. A new partner was desperate for him to get more treatment interstate, stay home etc etc. For us, the senior advisor found a great place and also helped with the family dynamics.
Senior advisors are a business, yes?... so I think the whole paying for the referral piece is why they don't work with nursing homes. If the government is paying the bill (Medicaid, Medicare) no one can get the referral fee. So, at that point we paid an elder law attorney for advice. He couldn't advise us on the placement other than looking at rankings, but at least he could help us with financial planning because once you need nursing home care, all the assets come into play.
Sorry- edited to add the rankings link. Not pricing, but you can compare quality
https://www.medicare.gov/care-compare/#search
My brother has brain cancer and needs 24/7 care and I live 1500 miles from him After his surgery, due to circumstances I couldn’t control, he ended up in two 1 star rated places which lived up to their rating—one place lost his belongings including his phone and wallet. Eventually we got them back—nothing nefarious, just carelessness and lack of real care and motivation. One factor that played in was he’s on Medicare and Medicaid and facilities typically have fewer beds since these payments are lower.
When he went into hospice I poured over the website and found homes with three star overall and four to five star patient care. I gave the list to the social worker and she made the calls. He got into a facility with a five star patient care rating. What a difference! Without research a low price facility might also have very poor care. There are different referral sites including Aging Care, that can give you pricing information.
They can come out and see what kind of Care you want and need and make suggestions.
You can call the local Homes directly and tell them what you need and they'll have you come tour the place.
Take a tour of a fewt and decide which one you like best.
My opinion, they are all understaffed and unless you are in your own assisted living apartment, it's better to be in your own home as long as you can.
If you can afford it, I would rather live in my own home and have a Caregiver come in or if you have an extra bedroom, hire a Live In.
Re: senior advisors.
Are real estate agents in the business they are in because they love their community, or because they need a job?
A little bit of both usually, yes?
Senior advisors get paid by the facility for bringing them customers (same as a real estate agent, yes?).
If you want to do all the legwork yourself, go ahead. We used a service. Yes, he got paid. For doing a job. Iy isn't a "kickback".
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