Assisted Living

Parent Cafe
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<p>Time to start looking at assisted living options for my 90 year old mother. I started making some calls. What kind of questions should I be asking/</p>

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<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/736921-anyone-have-any-tips-selecting-assisted-living-care-facility.html?highlight=assisted+living[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/736921-anyone-have-any-tips-selecting-assisted-living-care-facility.html?highlight=assisted+living&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I asked the same thing about two years ago. You might find some useful information in the replies. Good luck.</p>

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<p>Thanks, I searched the forum first but didn’t see this. I will read through it.</p>

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<p>Remember that not all assisted living facility are created equally. Do your homework on each one. Also, if you can find a facility that has a progression to skilled nursing available, it will save you much time and trouble later. Not having the next level of care available after assisted living ( the skilled nursing level) is not something most facilities will tell you about without asking them.</p>

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<p>Be SURE to ask about the skilled nursing level. One move is so much easier to handle. Ask about transportation to drs, hair appointments, etc. Not just is it avaliable, but how often, how far in advance to you have to book transportation, etc.</p>

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<p>MOm lapse from Indepenent living to skilled nurse in very short period of time, not only she became incontenence adn incapable feeding herself but also wheelchair/bed laiden. She needs one on one care. We had no chance to look for a facility for her, so we are doing it at home with 24/7 care. One of the RN we hired told me there is no place gives nursing care than your own home as all skilled nurse facility she worked for has 1:6 caregiver to patients ration, if you need to be feed, no one will take you in.</p>

<p>Make aure to ask for caregiver ratio both in AL and SN facilities before decide on any thing. And be prepared to pay thorugh the nose if you are going to the SN facility.</p>

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<p>Check out <a href=“http://www.carepathways.com%5B/url%5D”>www.carepathways.com</a>. One of the things I found very useful, aside from ratings, is that they show the number of vacancies. They also show the average number of nursing hours per patient per day.</p>

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<p>I forgot to mention: Check costs carefully. I found that by moving one county over, the nursing home rates dropped by an average of $1000/month. </p>

<p>If you know clergy in the area, they are a great source of info since most are doing visitation in nursing homes.</p>

<p>Best of luck to you. :)</p>