We are looking at places for my parents and in the dilemma if we choose a new facility or one that is established? As far as activities where they can just go in and participate or where they are still developing and everything is not set in stone.
I should add that a provider new to the market of senior residences may not do as good of a job as an established provider. Seasoned providers may have both old and new facilities, and renovate older facilities to keep them well-maintained. We went with an established provider who developed a new facility in addition to having several renovated facilities. The new facility was for active seniors whereas the renovated facilities were for seniors needing assisted living and/or memory care.
I picked a new one and it has turned into a fiasco. Because I have requested the care per contract, they are kicking him out. The staff runs around clueless as to how to take care of 8 people, 7 now, soon to be 5. Another resident is moving because of lack of care and food. Yikes. Best of luck finding some place for your loved one. Be very careful being an advocate, if staff thinks you were mean you and/or loved one gets 86'd.
My observation I'd like to share I checking on my mom. I'm a only child. But mom was upset because of no toilet paper. I said something the attendant was rude. I wanted not to do He said she said so I fimed and they said it was a hippa. Violation wow they are taking her mone9 and happiness at 97 year old WOW the quality of life is still to me important. All I wanted is moms toilet paper but now I can't even visit my mom because hips says I can't film on my phone complaining about anything. When u choose a location for u loved one or they are there already just make a unscheduled visit.
I visited about 8 or 9 AL/Memory Care facilities for my two friends who had to go in as a married couple. They needed a memory care apartment, but all the new places had just one small room for the apartment, barely large enough for one person, let along a married couple. Only one older place had a choice of a two bedroom, one bedroom or efficiency apartment on the memory care floor. It looked like a New England Inn on the outside and was on a lake as well, with fishing from the shore available in the summer for the AL people who would enjoy that. And, once there, they would never had to leave as the care was continuous until their passing. The nurse in charge of wellness was very knowledgeable and had high standards for the people providing care, insisting they pay attention to the people in their care and give her written reports on their encounters with them. So, more than just the size of the apartment, the level of care provided became a huge factor in their going there. I couldn't be more satisfied. The wife only lived another 5 months before her mind was just shutting down and she could no longer swallow. The husband has been there now for 2 3/4 years and is very happy. He is physically healthy but just cannot remember from one minute to the next what he is doing or has done. But, the staff remembers and I get updates when I visit and ask for their observations. He socializes at meal time with certain other memory care residents--the ones who can still talk at meal times. But, he doesn't like games or the activities provided and prefers to just watch TV and read the paper back in his apartment. A doctor visits him once a month and the staff makes sure he takes all his prescribed meds at the right times. All that sitting is making him tire more easily when I take him out for a dental or eye doctor appointment. I am just starting to touch on that with the head nurse about a strategy to try to get him to move more, so I can't say yet what will come of that. I give this place a very high rating and am happy each time I visit and see what is going on there. I would head to this place in an instant should I get to the point of needing such. Good luck on your search. For me, the old place has worked out the very best. And, he has a lake side apartment, too.
If your parents have medical issues, the most important factor should be the care the community can provide. For example, for someone with dementia a top-notch, person-centered memory care that is twenty miles away is probably a better option than the local AL that takes a few memory care residents. If you're looking for independent living, then the niceness of the apartments and the location of the building is more important (walking distance to shopping/restaurants, for example). Also, communities tend to go through cycles, where new ones often have younger residents while one that has been established for a while will have older residents (because they all moved in when they were younger). If you're considering a life plan community or CCRC, make sure you carefully vet the financial health of the organization, that's much more important if you are buying in than whether the building is new or old. You can see there are no single answers to this question...
Dad's facility was very close to my home too, so it enabled me to go every day easily, and I could pop in at all different times. It wasn't a continuing care facility, and that concerned me, but I wanted to give him the best for as long as I could, so this was my best option. Because it was just across the county line, which is a couple of blocks from our home, it was technically not in a major metropolitan area. So, their sister locations charged $800+ more per month for the same exact living arrangements and care plan. I would have driven farther if needed, but that $800/mo savings was a no brainer (as explained to my family when asked why I placed him out of country).
As you've already seen, there are pros and cons to both new and older facilities. My parents lived in both. New ones are typically designed for needs today, with more handicapped-enabled bathrooms that are larger and wider doorways, etc. My folks' first place was like that. It was brand new. But the food was terrible. They moved near me to a much older place with a tiny bathroom that had a cut-out in the tub because it wasn't built with a shower thirty years ago. But it was near me and served them well for 15 years.
My friend's parents moved into a brand new place in FL that was incredibly pricey and they didn't have enough residents yet to serve them in the fancy dining room (that they showed during the tours). So they got stuck in a little dark place with very bad, canned food. So you need to go enough to get a real feel for the place and to talk with some residents you see (not the ones the marketing people direct you to). And you need to consider if there is a continuum of care. My parents lived in independent living but my dad moved over to skilled nursing section in the last three months of his life. I could push my mom over to see him in her transport chair, which was great.
I agree that being close is important. I am glad that I can visit my mother on the way home from errands. Now that her dementia has advanced shorter frequent visits work best. However, that is just one factor. Do your parents have any preference? My mother clearly preferred the older facility, which she felt was more homey. Since your parents are younger, they might like the newer place and also there might be more people closer in age to them. And It can be hard to break into established groups.
One thing not mentioned in your criteria is how close the AL facility is to where you live. My dad went to live in a facility that was brand new in my same neighborhood. The staff were enthusiastic, eager to please, and most had years of experience working with elders. The residents were on the higher functioning side, just reaching the point where it was getting difficult to live at home and willing to live in this beautiful new facility in the same area as their homes. For me the best thing about it was that it was a half a mile away from my house and looking back that was the most essential thing about the whole experience.
Dear kv7900.....I'm surprised to hear that your parents are so young, and yet in a facility. I am 65 and still working full-time! Just wondering what kinds of health issues have required them to live in a facility at their young ages.
I placed my father in a rural, but newer facility. What sold me was the place was immaculate and the aides were all very caring Mennonite women. His sister was in the more established facility across town, but it was "dumpy" by comparison. Make a couple of visits at each one before deciding.
KV - at ages 65 & 69, that is really young. So what level of care do each of them need? Your looking at IL? AL? NH? Have they each had a needs assessment done? If not I’d suggest that be done before a place is chosen to see if there’s a match up in needs & services.
At their age, they could live another 20, 25,30 years, so do they realistically have the $$ to each private pay an average 4K a mo for AL or 8-12k a mo for NH?
My Mama still lives at home with dementia. Last year she had to go to a SNF for re-hab. Sister and i loved the new fancy place but they did not have re-hab. We just popped in and talked to the residents everywhere. Then in another town, I visited one alone. It was as old as I am. But the people that worked there were amazing. The nurses and aids could redirect dementia patients like an air traffic controller! Many had worked there over 15 years. For this situation of re-hab it was perfect. The food was also very good and the nurses and aids were eating there too. Also it was super clean. Keep looking around at every place. There will be something that tells your heart "Sold! To the lady in the red dress!"
I guess I should mention that my parents are much younger than the typical resident (65 and 69) so my concern of having a facility that was established, they may feel very out of place whereas with not so many people it may not be that bad?
On the other side -- I placed Dad in MC in a brand new facility, and by the time he passed (8 months) they were at 50% capacity so he got lots more attention.
I'd go with an established facility. There is a lot more information on established facilities. I do recommend that you visit and talk with the residents of any facility that you are considering. If a facility doesn't want you to talk with its residents, that is a red flag. Also, visit more than once or ask a friend to tour the place so that you get a second set of eyes on the place. Discuss your findings. Good luck!
With an established facility, they have had the time to work out the "bugs" or get things organized. Everyone knows where everything is and what protocols are in place. But, the building and furniture may be aging and may not be esthetically beautiful like a new facility would be.
The good thing about an established facility is that they have a rating of their service (Yelp, state board inspections, etc.) where a brand new facility wouldn't.
My friend's parents moved into a brand new place in FL that was incredibly pricey and they didn't have enough residents yet to serve them in the fancy dining room (that they showed during the tours). So they got stuck in a little dark place with very bad, canned food. So you need to go enough to get a real feel for the place and to talk with some residents you see (not the ones the marketing people direct you to). And you need to consider if there is a continuum of care. My parents lived in independent living but my dad moved over to skilled nursing section in the last three months of his life. I could push my mom over to see him in her transport chair, which was great.
So what level of care do each of them need? Your looking at IL? AL? NH?
Have they each had a needs assessment done? If not I’d suggest that be done before a place is chosen to see if there’s a match up in needs & services.
At their age, they could live another 20, 25,30 years, so do they realistically have the $$ to each private pay an average 4K a mo for AL or 8-12k a mo for NH?
But, the building and furniture may be aging and may not be esthetically beautiful like a new facility would be.
The good thing about an established facility is that they have a rating of their service (Yelp, state board inspections, etc.) where a brand new facility wouldn't.