Whether you are moving your loved one into a high end assisted living community or a nursing home that will eventually accept public aid, it is mostly a heartbreaking event that is stressful for the senior and their family. Because it is such an emotional event, you need to be…
In this past week, I have had many clients approach me with long term care placements involving potential shortages of funds. All of them were approaching what I call the long-term care “black hole.” Let me explain exactly what I mean by that as it will vary according to the…
As a senior living advisor and Certified Care Manager, I always conduct a face to face assessment of my client. This gives me an opportunity to evaluate him/her from a cognitive and functional standpoint. I observe the environment s/he is living in, talk with the family about the individual’s personal…
I have been involved in two recent cases where I was hired to provide a second opinion to seniors who were seeking to move to a Continuing Care Retirement Community* (CCRC) in Cook County of Illinois. I wasn’t surprised to learn during my initial consultation that neither of them knew…
This is a question that is asked of me and often causes controversy among the families that I serve. My goal is to find the best answer, and every situation is different. In the seven years that I have owned my senior living business, no two cases have been exactly…
Couples who want to remain together but require different levels of care always present some very complicated challenges. One person may want to stay in the home, the other may not. A member of a couple may develop health challenges that may necessitate a move to a nursing home due…
Many of my clients are surprised when they are told their senior loved one has “reached a plateau,” with his/her assessment for the appropriate level of care upon their release from the rehabilitation community is going to be key for your loved one’s long term plan of care. If your…
If you carefully scrutinize the activity schedule at a long term care community and correlate it to the seniors needs, his/her independence could be enhanced. I was the Admissions Director of a Continuing Care Retirement Community located in Cook County near the Chicago metropolitan area. Many of the children who…
If your loved one requires a Medicaid bed in the Chicago metropolitan area and the payor source is Public Aid Pending (PAP), you may be in for a difficult encounter. What do I mean by Public Aid Pending? It means that an individual needs the support of the Medicaid program…
As a senior living advisor, I recommend that my clients who are at the independent living or assisted living level take a trial stay at a long-term care community before they make a commitment to move in. This will allow a senior to sample the food, try the activities, socialize…