There are approximately 44 million Americans who are caring for an elderly loved one. Between one and two million people over the age of 65 have been abused by someone who cares for them. During the eleven years that I have owned my senior living consulting business, I have…
This month, I am celebrating the 11-year anniversary of the opening of Andrea Donovan Senior Living Advisors. I am hoping that I have at least another 11 years of rewarding work ahead of me. I have to chuckle because I have had so many unusual requests over the past decade,…
This week, I was overjoyed when a former client called me to tell me about her mother’s progress. Her mother was a young 70 when they became my clients less than a year ago. When I first met the elder during an assessment, she was at a short-term rehabilitation community…
When I started serving in the senior living industry over 15 years ago, all communities included three meals in the rent. Three meals were just part of the senior’s care package, whether the level of care be independent living, assisted living, or skilled nursing home. While that still holds true…
About one-half of the clients who engage me for my services do so after they have already selected a community for a loved one. Then, when a problem arises, they call me to help fix the problem. Unfortunately, no one has a crystal ball and can anticipate some of the…
Many seniors have a tendency to keep private their financial realities. However, if your senior loved one purchased long-term care insurance to cover the costs of a stay in a community or to hire non-medical home care, you will want to ask if you can look at it. I say…
I remember fifteen years ago when I started as an Admissions and Marketing Director in the senior living industry, my future boss took me on a complete tour of the community. Or so I thought. The community included independent living, where most of the seniors were well off mentally and…
Last week, I received a phone call from a prospective client who was in panic mode. The client’s parent, who has dementia, had moved in with him on a permanent basis. The parent had been spending several days a week with three adult children. A family disagreement, the details of…
Here are five easy steps to help convince your loved one who needs to move: 1. Enlist the child, sibling, or friend who is closest to the senior to initiate the conversation. The senior needs to hear the message from the right person. 2. Plant the seeds in very short,…
Only two things in my life have terrified me. The first was laying my husband of 33 years to rest after watching him suffer dreadfully from cancer of the appendix. I can at least take some comfort in the fact that I know he is at peace. The second thing…