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Security and online Senior Living Referral Services
With the recent Equifax Breach it has brought more awareness to how vulnerable our information is with the technology that exists. While researching Senior Living options online for yourself or a loved one you may be unaware of the ways in which your information is being distributed. Many online Senior Placement and Referral service companies will want to capture your information before generating a list of options. For example, while google searching Assisted Living Portland, Oregon a list of links will be generated. When you click one of the links you will be required to put in some basic information before being directed to a list of options or before you can receive further pricing information. Entering your information will typically result in a phone call from the online Senior Living Referral service to gather additional information. Entering your information could also result in a phone call from 10 or more communities that the online Senior Living Referral service distributes your information to. In addition, once the online Senior Living Referral service captures your information, distributes it to the referred communities, your information will be entered into the databases of those communities and can be viewed by anyone that has access to that database. Your phone number, your email, your address, your health and financial information can all be distributed when the online Senior Referral service captures you or a loved one as a lead. Once they capture you or your loved one as a “lead” they essentially “own” the “lead” and receive compensation for referring your name and contact information to multiple communities or when you or your loved one move into a community that they distributed your information to they can also receive compensation. In order to avoid having your information mass distributed to multiple communities and input into numerous databases do not fill in your email address, name or phone number to receive pricing or a list of communities. A more secure and efficient way to narrow down Senior Living options, that fit your criteria, without having your information mass distributed, is to use a Trusted Senior Living Advisor that is willing to meet with you in person to assess you or a loved ones needs. Once the assessment is completed a Trusted Senior Living Advisor should recommend only a few options that are a good fit and can also provide coordination of setting up the tours as well as take you to see the recommended options. Using a Senior Living Advisor who is able to recommend a few options instead of overwhelming you with multiple options will save you time and hassle. A Trusted Senior Living Advisor will know which communities have stable staff, happy residents, good food and quality care. The only way to gain this type of in depth knowledge about the Senior Living Communities is by visiting them regularly, which the online Senior Living Referral companies do not have. Another benefit of using a Trusted Senior Living Advisor is that they can be your one point of contact rather than having your information distributed to all the communities you are potentially interested in. Only the Senior Living Advisor will have your contact information unless you would like to give it to the recommended communities. This will eliminate numerous calls and emails from...
read moreUnderstanding Long Term Care Policies
Only about 10% of the senior population have Long Term Care Policies, yet 90% or greater of 65+ years old will need some form of Long Term Care. As a Senior Living Advisor, I assist my clients in reviewing their Long Term Care Policies to determine if they are currently qualified to use the benefits of their policy or when they will be qualified to use the benefits which they have paid into for many years. It is common for many of my clients to not know where their original policy is and also not recall what their policy covers. Upon reviewing their policies with them they are usually surprised to find out their policy covers more or less than they expected. Whether you are looking to purchase a Long Term Care Policy currently and would like to become educated or you would like to understand how to read your current policy here are some common features and provisions: Elimination period: The period of time before the insurance policy will begin paying benefits (typical options range from 20 to 100 days). Also known as the waiting period. The Elimination Period can include a hospital stay, a Skilled Rehab stay, home care services and assisted living/memory care/foster care home stays. Duration of benefits: The limitations placed on the benefits you can receive (e.g., a dollar amount such as $150,000 or a time limit such as two years and some policies are unlimited). Typically the higher the dollar amount or longer duration will increase your premium or monthly cost. Daily benefit: The amount of coverage you select as your daily benefit (typical options range from $50 to $350). Optional inflation rider: Protection against inflation. An inflation rider means that your benefits of coverage will increase annually by a percentage. It’s common with the policies I review to show a 5% annual inflation rider. Range of care: Coverage for different levels of care (skilled, intermediate, and/or custodial) in care settings specified in policy (e.g., nursing home, assisted living facility, at home). Many policies written 1991 or prior have many definitions for skilled nursing that apply to assisted living, memory care and foster care home settings. Pre-existing conditions: The waiting period (e.g., six months) imposed before coverage will go into effect regarding treatment for pre-existing conditions. Other exclusions: Whether or not certain conditions are covered (e.g., Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease). Some policies may not specifically address dementia or other forms of cognitive impairment, but if one’s cognitive impairment prevents them from being able to care for themselves (e.g., being able to prepare meals, take medications, take a shower, get dressed, use the toilet) it will qualify them to begin using the policy. Premium increases: Whether or not your premiums will increase during the policy period. This can be very important as most of my clients took out their policies 10+ years ago. If the monthly premium or cost of the policy prior to using it goes up significantly each year it can become unaffordable over over time with regular increases. When my clients ask me if they should get rid of their policy after the premiums have increased to the point where it’s significantly impacting their monthly budget I like to sit down with them and look at their income, expenses and assets...
read moreHow to Know When a Loved One Needs a Guardian or Conservator
Caring for loved ones as they become unable to care for themselves can bring about difficult legal decisions. You may have a loved one that is no longer able to make good decisions with their health and finances. Guardianship and Conservatorship can help you provide for someone who’s incapable of managing their financial affairs or personal healthcare needs. Many of the clients we assist do not know what a Guardian or Conservator is nor when the appropriate time to pursue Guardianship or Conservatorship is. Here are some basics that may help: What is a Guardian and Conservator? Guardian: A person appointed by the court who has the legal authority to care for the personal interests of another person. Usually a guardian is appointed when that person is incapable of caring for his or her own interests due to incapacity or disability. Conservator: A person appointed by the courts when a person is incapable of caring for his or her own financial interests due to minority, incapacity, or disability. The Conservator has authority over the income and assets of a protected person. When does your loved one need a Guardian or Conservator? Your loved one needs a conservator when they are no longer able to manage their financial resources effectively due to mental or cognitive illness (including Dementia), mental retardation, physical illness or disability, chronic use of drugs or controlled substances, chronic intoxication, confinement, detention by a foreign power or disappearance. Your loved one needs a guardian when they lack the capacity to make adequate decisions involving their own care and safety. They become unable to make adequate decisions when their ability to receive and evaluate information effectively or to communicate decisions is impaired to such an extent that the person lacks the capacity to meet the essential requirements for their physical health or safety-such as providing themselves health care, food, shelter, clothing and personal hygiene. Who can serve as conservator or guardian? The conservator can be an individual (family member or trusted friend), bank, trust company, or professional fiduciary. The conservator is empowered to take possession of the protected person´s assets and income, and provides for payment of the protected person´s expenses. The Guardian can be anyone suitable and willing to serve. It can be a spouse, adult child, other relative, or partner. If none of the aforementioned are available or are not suitable to serve, the court may look to other options such as professional fiduciary. For more information on Guardianship and Conservatorship contact a Senior One Source Senior Living Advisor for a list of local Elder Law Attorney’s...
read moreAging in Arizona Radio Broadcast: Senior One Source Senior Placement in Arizona
Senior living options are numerous and varied in Maricopa County Arizona. And, with so many options, the choices can be overwhelming for seniors and their families. Senior One Source Senior Living Advisors, are experts in senior care and senior living with Senior One Source. A Senior Living Advisor joined us to explain everything from Independent Living to Skilled Nursing Facilities – and everything in between. For more information visit http://www.aginginaz.com/ Direct Radio Show...
read moreInterview with A Pearl Harbor Survivor
“Thank You” to all the veterans out there. Because of You, I have never had to think of: being drafted, defending my home or wonder if ‘we will be bombed.’ I live in the greatest country that has ever or will ever exist, provided by you, the defenders of this great nation. I spent a lot of time with my grandparents growing up and marveled at their sense of patriotism, honor and commitment to each other. From my perspective: at no time in our history is this more evident than in WWII. I remember looking at pictures in my Grandfathers Time Life’s WWII book collection before I could read. I would ask my Grandfather about those pictures and ‘that war.’ He would tell me only that ‘much was lost and much was saved.’ My Grandfathers response fueled my desire to learn about what happened in the Second World War. I learned about the heart, courage, honor, respect and sacrifice needed to persevere those tumultuous times. Stan S. born in 1918 at the end of World War I and present for the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor. I met Stan while working at A Senior Living Community. He first moved into that community in 2012 where I first asked him about his ‘World War II Veteran’ hat. He told me ‘I was at Pearl..’ I was already in awe of him for being not only a veteran but a veteran of the war I had spent most of my life studying. Excitedly I asked if he’d mind chatting with me about his time spent in the military and at Pearl. He said ‘sure’ and a couple of weeks later we talked. So much was shared about so many details I had longed to know about, but what I remember most was this: After telling me that he had out lived everyone in his company, his goal in life was to be ‘the last man standing’ from Pearl Harbor. I didn’t have any so called ‘expectations’ of what he might say and still found myself surprised to hear that. For those of us out there who like numbers, here is a simple question posed from Stan’s response. How many of the 60,000 or so survivors are left? Here is an answer from a December 7th, 2014 article in the Washington post by Peter Holley. “Nobody seems to know, exactly. Last year, 2,000 to 2,500 survivors were thought to be still alive, according to Eileen Martinez, chief of interpretation for the USS Arizona Memorial.” What we do know is that number is becoming rapidly reduced. Now, three years later I come back to Stan to get his recollection of that day. This time to remember the details discussed. Stan begins “I was at the beginning of guard duty with my sarg.” He recalls the sarg saying “those fools aren’t supposed to be flying this morning…. My God… they’re Japanese!” I was surprised to hear him say “they (his commanders) must have known something was going to happen as we’d had been doing drills for this.” He couldn’t remember for how long or specifically for what but knew that preparations and plans were in place for something that may happen. He continued “my job was to (transport) the troops down to the beach and...
read moreHelping Elderly Parents Transition from their Home
After Marsha’s husband passed away, her daughter Beverly, started coming around more often and noticed that her mother was not able to keep up with the house & yard as she used to. Marsha also mentioned that she didn’t enjoy cooking for just herself, so would often eat snacks or frozen meals from the grocery store. As a result she had lost weight that she didn’t’ need to. Her driving abilities had also become unsafe. Deep down Marsha knew she should not be driving and therefore did not venture far from her home. Because she wasn’t able to get out as she used to and many of her friends had moved closer to their families or passed away, she was feeling lonely. One day Beverly was speaking with her friend Kathy about her mother. Kathy mentioned that her own 83 year old mother had recently moved into a Senior Living Community nearby where she had meals, housekeeping, transportation & activities provided. Kathy told Beverly her mother hadn’t been this happy since she lost her husband 8 years ago. Beverly told Kathy she would need a stick of dynamite to get her mother to move from her home since she was very stubborn. Many of us are facing issues with aging parents who are unable to take care of their homes or themselves any longer and becoming more reliant on others to enable them to continue living in their homes. They are unaware of their dependence on others because they are still “living on their own”. Most seniors and their family members do not realize that being unable to take care of one’s home or self is more costly now and in the future. As Senior’s age and are unable to maintain their home as they used to, they let routine maintenance go by the wayside, causing the home to deteriorate and lose value. Simple tasks such as cleaning out the gutters, replacing weather stripping, spraying for insects, checking for electrical problems, cleaning dryer vents, checking for plumbing drips or more extensive water damage can all cause costly damage to a home if left unmaintained. Most Senior’s assets are tied up in their home. When they need to move because of a change in health condition or decide to downsize, they rely on the sale of their home in order to be able to move to a Senior Living Community, whether Independent Living, Assisted Living or Memory Care. The longer a home is unmaintained, the more significant the decrease in value and the higher the cost will be in order to ensure it is in sellable condition and will sell for the price needed to cover the costs of expenses in the long run. If a home has to be sold quickly, due to a sudden change in health, the sale price will be significantly lower than if one plans ahead and works with a Realtor to ensure the home is in prime selling condition. The logic of many is that staying in their home costs less per month than downsizing and moving to a Senior Living Community. They compare the monthly cost of living in a Senior Living Community with what they are paying to remain in their current home. What they aren’t taking into account are the costs...
read more5 Steps to Weaning Dependent Adult Children off Senior Parents
Many families are facing the phenomenon of trying to ensure their senior parents have the best quality of life during their retirement years, yet dealing with the resistance of a dependent Adult Child living with or off of their parent. This dependency is depleting their parents of assets and income that is necessary for their retirement needs and quality of life. Parents are willing to provide for their children even when they know their children should be able to provide for themselves. They do this out of fear of what might happen to their dependent child or what that adult child might do, if they say “no” or no longer provide for their child’s “needs”. It is a huge roadblock and problem for families to overcome in helping ensure their loved ones can move on and have a better quality of life without the dependency of their children inhibiting them. To help with this process refer to the plan below. Scenario-Adult daughter helping mother with dependent adult son The Plan: Adult daughter, or someone mother will listen to, needs to have a conversation to get mother to think about “what is going to happen to your son when you pass away”? You need to get her to understand that she is enabling her son to depend on her and that it is not healthy or helpful for either of them. In her enabling him to be dependent on her it is going to hurt him in the long-run, when she, nor her income, is available to him after she is gone. While she is still around she needs to help her son, by weaning him off of her assistance so that he can learn to live emotionally & financially without her. Have your mother get some counseling or read some articles or books to figure out why she is allowing her son to be dependent on her and what fears drive her to continue to allow him to be dependent on her. Also, present some resources for the adult son such as counseling, job search options, educational venues and social avenues for him to seek healthy relationships with others his age. Spending time with those his age might motivate him to set goals for himself. Once we can get your mother and her son to understand that #1 it’s not healthy or helpful for him to be dependent on her when she will not be around to take care of him forever #2 her quality of life is just as important as his quality of life and she deserves to enjoy her retirement years, then we can begin the next step of the plan for weaning your brother off of depending on your mother. Your mother will let her son know that by “X date”, one of the following will need to take place: he needs to have a job or he needs to find a new residence and/or your mother will be moving to a Senior Living Community. It is important to set a date or timeframe that he knows is going to happen. It is to be made clear to him that after this date her resources will no longer be available for him to live on. He will need to find another source of income for...
read moreGuide for Senior Living Options
As you are beginning to research Senior Living Options for yourself or a loved one you are probably beginning to notice that there are many choices available. This can make your search very time consuming and unless you are familiar with the various Senior Living Options it could take you weeks or months to make an educated decision that you will be happy with in the long run. In order to assist you in narrowing down the options, please refer to the categories below to gain an understanding of what options might be a good fit. If you prefer to speak with someone rather than read, it might benefit you to call a Senior Living Advisor at Senior One Source to learn more about the options and which communities within various categories are more preferable for your situation. There is also a reference chartat the bottom of this article detailing types of care & costs. Independent Senior Living Communities: Independent Senior Living Communities provide meals, housekeeping, transportation, emergency response systems and social activities. They have community areas for dining, activities and exercise. Living options can range between Apartment Homes to Cottage or Villa Homes with full kitchens. Sizes range from Studios to 3 Bedrooms. Some Independent Senior Living Communities now offer on-site home care services for residents needing minimal assistance with medication set-up or reminders, bathing assistance and dressing assistance. Utilizing Home Care for services beyond these minimal assistance needs can be more costly than moving to Assisted Living. Cost: $900-$4000 per month Assisted Living: Assisted Living Communities provide meals, housekeeping, transportation, emergency response systems, social activities and on-site 24/7 care staff to assist with Activities of Daily Living (ADL’s). Activities of Daily Living are Bathing, Toileting, Dressing, Medication Management and Transferring. Apartments range from Studio to 2 Bedroom sizes and typically have a kitchenette (Microwave, Refrigerator, sink & cabinets. Cost: $2500-$6000 per month Memory Care: Memory Care or Alzheimer’s Care Communities specialize in caring for those with Alzheimer’s or Dementia. They provide meals, housekeeping, transportation, emergency response systems, social activities and on-site 24/7 care staff to assist with Activities of Daily Living (ADL’s). Activities of Daily Living are Bathing, Toileting, Dressing, Medication Management and Transferring. A large portion of residents in these communities receive reminders and cueing in the early to mid-stages of the disease process and need more assistance with ADL’s as their Alzheimer’s or Dementia progresses. Activities are focused more on stimulating cognition. For those with early to mid-stage Alzheimer’s or Dementia an Assisted Living Community may be able to provide most care needs of the resident as long as there is no wandering, exit seeking, behaviors or too much confusion. Cost: $3000-$7000 per month Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation: Skilled Nursing Facilities provide 24/7 skilled nursing care for those with higher care needs or in need of short term stay rehabilitation stays. Higher care needs that may not be appropriate for lower level care options might include transferring using Hoyer Lift, assistance with eating, wound care, IV Treatment/Therapy and 2 Person Transfer. Rehabilitation stays might include therapy following knee or hip surgery, stroke and heart attack. Cost: $4000-$8000 per month Adult Family Homes: Adult Family Homes provide assisted living care in a smaller home-like setting. There are typically 5-11 residents in these homes with 1-2 caregivers...
read moreWhat is a Senior Living Advisor?
When you want to invest your money wisely, you call a Financial Advisor. When searching for a home, you call a realtor. When you are not feeling well, you call your Doctor. When you have legal concerns, you call an Attorney. Who do you turn to when you want to ensure you are making the best decision about one of life’s most important transitions pertaining to how and where you or a loved one should spend remaining retirement years? Typically, when something changes with you or a loved ones needs you probably turn to a phone book or internet search. Then upon narrowing down options via those sources you begin to make calls and schedule appointments with those contacts. This can be very time consuming and if you aren’t sure what questions you should ask or what to look for, your conclusion of which is the best option may be one you later regret. When making a decision about long term health care needs during retirement years as you or a loved one are aging and becoming more dependent on others, you should contact a Senior Living Advisor. A Senior Living Advisor can provide you with an insider’s perspective on Senior Living options in your area. A Senior Living Advisor is a great resource which will save you time, money, hassle and worry. An experienced Senior Living Advisor will be able to provide you with information on which are the best options for Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care, Group Homes, Adult Daycare, Respite Care, Home Care, Home Health, Skilled Nursing, Rehabilitation, Hospice, Financial Options, Veterans Solutions, Medicaid, Elder Law Attorneys, Real Estate Agents, Estate Sale Planners, Moving Assistance and Geriatric Care Managers. A large percentage of clients a Senior Living Advisor is assisting have already made a decision on one or more types of senior living options and aren’t happy with the ones they chose. They realize how time consuming it is to research thoroughly and that their knowledge about senior living options is very limited. Senior Living Advisors have worked closely with businesses in the area for many years and are aware of which will be a great fit for you or a loved one after providing you with an assessment. Not only can your Senior Living Advisor provide you with an Assessment and give you the options that are best for your situation, they also can schedule appointments for you. provide transportation, accompany you on the appointments and ensure an excellent solution is provided for the needs that have arisen. For more information on this topic contact Kelley Rogers, a Senior Living Advisor for Senior One Source. With more than 14 years of experience, Senior One Source Advisor’s have already done the research and know which options can be trusted to provide a better quality of life for you or a loved one. By allowing us to guide you, we are saving you time, money, hassle & worry. Call a Senior Living Advisor today for Free Cost Estimates, Advice and Health Assessments! To find out more about Senior One Source visit www.SeniorOneSource.net. http://spotlightseniorservicesphoenix.blogspot.com/...
read moreChoosing A Senior Living Community
The choice to move into a senior living community is as individual as the person making the decision. There is no clear-cut, step-by-step template that tells people exactly when it is time to consider a senior living community, whether that be an independent living community, assisted living community or nursing home. However, there are numerous signs that a new living arrangement is needed, such as inability to manage a home’s upkeep, assistance with meals, medication management, loneliness, and other issues. Here, we offer some tips for choosing a quality residence and the important factors in the decision-making process. Choosing a senior living residence for yourself or a loved one is one of the biggest decisions of your life. It involves the sobering realization that living alone in a home full of love and memories may no longer be the best setting at this phase of your life or your loved one’s life. Fortunately, many more assisted living and senior living options are available today than there were decades ago. “Choice” is the key word in any conversation about senior living options. Senior living offers choice about where you or your loved one wants to live, choice about the services provided, and choice about the level of care and type of environment that bests matches your or your loved one’s physical and emotional needs. Each senior living resident and potential resident is a unique individual, so high-quality senior living residences offer a wide array of choices. While every senior living community is different, typical services include: Housekeeping services Transportation Assistance with eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, and walking Access to health and medical services Alzheimer’s and memory care Staff available to respond to both scheduled and unscheduled needs 24-hour security Emergency call systems for each resident’ apartment Exercise and wellness programs Medication management Personal laundry services Social and recreational activities Checklist for Evaluating Senior Living Communities The downloadable assisted living checklist defines the typical assisted living residence and what consumers can expect from an assisted living community. You can use this checklist when you visit and evaluate a potential new home for yourself or for a loved one. The guide and checklist also includes information on choosing an assisted Living communities for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia, often referred to as Special Care Units (SCUs). Download the Guide to Choosing an Assisted Living Community checklist. Assessing Senior Living Care Needs Because a variety of senior living care settings are available-including independent living, assisted living, nursing homes, etc.-it’s important to assess your or your loved one’s care needs. While some seniors may need little to no assistance, others may need medication management and some health-care monitoring, and still others may have acute care needs. Senior living communities you’re considering will conduct an assessment to determine if that care environment is appropriate. However, to give you an initial feel for which environment may be most appropriate, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services offers the CarePlanner interactive tool to help you choose between different living options. Family Caregiver Considerations Many times, families can make a joint decision about when it is time to consider moving into a senior living care setting. This type of decision-making allows for some research and time to explore the very real concerns of the senior...
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Senior One Source — "Free Senior Living Guidance"