Tips for Choosing an Assisted Living Community

By Janice Martin, Senior Living Specialist

Use care with online research
If you are researching a specific community and enter its name in your search, look carefully that the link you are selecting is for that community! Companies and services buy keywords and the link often takes you to another site. This can be large national placement services that have never visited the communities and are merely a database. They know nothing of care and safety concerns. Without your knowledge or consent, they will broadcast your contact information to every community in your area and you will immediately receive phone calls regardless of your situation or needs.

Look at everything
Look at more than the fancy front entry and the welcome gift. What do the residents’ clothes and hair look like? Are the carpets dirty? Look at the tile or carpet that butts up to the baseboard. Keep in mind that electric wheelchairs and scooters wreak havoc on baseboards, and they may show unavoidable marks from the tires. Does the furniture show unusual wear and tear or stains? Is the paint fresh? Do the staff uniforms look neat and presentable? Is there appropriate music at a nice volume? Are staff shouting at each other down the hall or across the dining room? How do care staff talk to the residents and each other? How does the community smell? A heavy, flowery or chemical smell is suspicious.

Staff relationships
Your first relationship will be with the sales counselor; however, they will not be providing the care for your loved one! They may be able to help with communication after a move, but they must pass your relationship on to the other managers now involved in care. Meet with these managers at one of your visits. Talk with the director of nursing about staffing and your loved one’s care needs and your expectations. Talk with the director of food services about any dietary restrictions or allergies. Talk with the executive director to get a sense of whether they are more interested in resident care than building operations.

Schedule a visit
Don’t show up for a visit unexpectedly and risk getting angry if you’re made to wait or can’t be seen. Sales counselors have multiple tours scheduled each day. It’s not a positive experience to have a rushed tour if they try to fit you in between scheduled appointments. A good sales counselor will plan a visit around an activity so you can observe residents and staff. Allow yourself to have time when you can relax and have all your questions and concerns addressed.

Safety measures
Make sure there are at least two elevators. Older communities may only have one, and there is no alternative for residents on upper floors to get to meals in the dining room or to exit the building if it’s out of service. One elevator means that residents may have to stand and wait for extended periods during mealtimes. Ask for a report of when the fire drills were held. These must be held during all shifts. Ask a caregiver during the tour what they would do in the case of a fire. This will show if they’ve been properly trained. Lost resident drills are conducted in the memory care neighborhood. These are especially important so that staff know what to do in an emergency. The director will take a resident to another area of the community for a snack to see how long it takes someone to report them missing. Staff must then look everywhere – in closets, the showers, behind curtains, under beds, in the bushes outside the community, and inside the cars in the parking lot. It is then reported how long the entire operation takes. Staff training may need to be put in place to make sure improvements are made. Ask for a report of the last drill.

Staffing ratios
Rather than a specific number of staff to residents, Florida regulations state that there must be “enough qualified staff to provide resident supervision and arrange for services in accordance with the residents’ scheduled and unscheduled service needs.” If the majority of the residents do not have a high care level, a minimum number of staffing hours will suffice. However, if the community has a considerable number of residents needing a high level of care, the community must staff accordingly.

Seek good resources
Using the help of a local placement service to personally guide you can be a tremendous help. They understand the differenced between communities, saving you time, energy, stress, frustration – and gasoline – from doing your own research. Senior Liaison of Central Florida Inc will walk beside you each step of the way through the entire journey.

They research communities to uncover any complaints or fines that may have been placed since the last state survey. Additionally Janice Martin, owner of Senior Liaison has just written a book titled, “The Complete Guide To Assisted Living: Everything You Need to Know Before, During, and After a Move.” It’s available now on Amazon.com in paperback (ISBN: 979-8-88759-430-9) and ebook (ISBN: 979-8-88759-431-6). This, combined with their personalized service will ensure you have the confidence to make an educated decision.

For more information, call 352-477-1866 for a free consultation or email SeniorLiaisonCFL@gmail.com. Please visit our website at
www.SeniorLiaisonCFL.com or Facebook at Senior Liaison. Janice Martin is a senior living specialist, community resource liaison, and family advocate.