What you didn't know you didn't know about senior living: What to look for in a community.
- Apr 4, 2017
- 4 min read
The second floor of my community
You’ve decided that mom needs a little more assistance and can’t live at home anymore, and she’s agreed to look at a few communities in the area to see what they’re like. Now what?
First, call ahead and schedule a tour at a community; don’t just show up. I mean you can, but the person in my position will be annoyed (I know it’s my job, but it throws off my schedule for the day), and you might not get to meet with the admissions person if you show up unannounced. I am out of the building quite frequently, and while other staff members can give fantastic tours, they don’t always have up-to-date information on what’s available, what special deals we're currently offering, etc. So yes, this is a selfish request on my part, but it also helps you out.
As for touring, I’m going to let you in on a little trade secret. When you go to a community, they will talk about their services, the 24-hour care they provide (assuming it’s an ALF you’re touring in this scenario), their full-time Activities Director, on and on, but you can kind of glaze over those overwhelming details, because every ALF has those things. ALFs are state-regulated, and there are rules about how many activities a day must be provided, and what kind of care must be accessible. There are state rules about nearly every aspect of an ALF, and every two years (at least in Oregon), the state comes to check on the ALF and ensure that they’re adhering to these guidelines. Yes, activities and 24-hour care are important, but don’t get hung up trying to memorize these facts; they aren’t unique to one ALF.
Instead, here are some suggestions of what to look for/ask about:
- Before you tour, check out online reviews. There might not be many, but you can get a general feel of satisfaction from these. If you see any negative reviews, don’t be afraid to bring these up on the tour. For example, my community has multiple negative reviews from several years ago, and I appreciate when I’m asked about them because I can let the family know that Prestige purchased the building from another senior living company in 2013, which is when the negative reviews end.
- Pay attention to the first impressions of the community. Was there a ‘nursing home’ smell when you walked in the door? Is there someone friendly and helpful at the front desk? Is the building clean, well-maintained, bright and airy? Are caregivers evident? Are they running around appearing stressed?
- Look at residents out and about in the community. Do they appear to be occupied, entertained, or alert? Does your parent seem to have some similarities with the residents you’re seeing?
- Does the person giving the tour acknowledge the residents you pass? This could be an indicator of how engaged management is with the residents.
- If you aren’t handed information about the community, ask for some. Request a rate sheet, an activity calendar, a menu, and a Uniform Disclosure Statement (UDS). The UDS is a state-dictated document that shows the nuts and bolts of the community – when the building was built, who owns it, who manages it, how long they’ve been with the company, what services are included, what services cost extra but are available, etc. Also, if you'd like some extra reading, every ALF is required to have their previous state survey results accessible, and you can request a copy.
- If it’s important to you or your loved one, feel free to inquire about staff turnover. In the senior living industry in general, staff turnover is very frequent and common. However, you might consider asking specifics, like how long members of management have been with the company. That will probably be more telling than asking about turnover rates of front-line staff.
- Ask if the person giving the tour is the best contact for admissions information, and if not, get the correct person’s direct phone number or email address. When you’re done touring several communities, there will be questions that come up, and the lines between the ALFs will blur as you try and remember which one had a unit available upstairs, and which one had the salon on the first floor.
Typically before the tour the Community Relations Director will sit your group down and ask your loved one some questions. This is a good chance for you to sit back and let mom or dad answer for themselves, as tempting as it might be to jump in. When I ask questions of the senior who is touring (by the way, the senior themselves are only on about half of the tours I give), I am doing several things. First, I am learning about them so I can showcase aspects of my community that might interest them specifically. Second, I am gauging how involved they are in the process – do they prefer to control the situation, or are they overwhelmed and prefer to defer to their family member? And finally, I am roughly estimating their cognition level so I know how to best interact with them.
A word of caution: it is very easy to get overwhelmed and tired out by touring ALFs, especially for a senior. Plan to only look at two or three communities in a day, and leave time in between appointments so you don’t feel rushed if you’re given a longer tour. A visit at my community is typically about 30-45 minutes, but we are a smaller building than most other ALFs in the area, which might take an hour to tour. I would guess that most families research four or five communities, visit two or three, then go back to their favorite two, perhaps bringing the senior along on that visit to make the final decision. I worked with one family where the grandson visited eight communities, and that’s the most I’ve ever heard.
These suggestions are based solely on my opinions and experiences, so don't imagine this is the end-all method to finding the best ALF for your loved one. I'll leave you with my final piece of advice which I hand out freely on tours that I conduct: go with your gut. Don't overthink the details; if there's a community you can picture your loved one in, then make that picture the reality.
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