Elder Life Management: How to Choose the Right Long-Term Care Facility

How Often Do You Think About Elder Life Management for Yourself or Loved Ones?

For most of us, elder life management is something we’ll have to consider at some point. When elderly parents can no longer carry out daily tasks, caregiving for them often becomes impossible for adult children who have jobs and families of their own to tend to as well.

When your elder loved ones are no longer able to carry out daily tasks, when they have cognitive issues such as Alzheimer’s or age-related dementia, and need more care than you or other loved ones can provide, it may be time to consider a move to an assisted living facility. In the best-case scenario, you and your loved ones have already discussed and agreed upon a move. Now it’s time to seriously consider the best options.

Finding the right long-term care facility for your loved one will require a bit of research and a few visits. Perhaps you’ve previously visited a few local facilities when first discussing long-term care with your loved ones. If it’s been a few years and your loved ones’ condition has changed, you may want to take another look. The most important thing to consider are what services are needed now and those that might be necessary in the future. If they need physical therapy or if they now have cognitive issues, you must consider the quality of care provided by facilities.

Remember that recommendations are a great way to begin. Ask family, friends, church members and medical professionals if they have loved ones in long-term care facilities. Ask about their experiences with particular long-term care facilities and if they and their loved ones were happy with the care.

Important Considerations in Elder Life Management

In addition to the kind of care your loved one requires, it’s also important to consider what features are most important to them. For instance, will they be close enough to family and friends for easy visiting? If they are religious, will they have the access to services and connections they desire?

It’s a good idea to visit several facilities in person with your elder loved ones if possible. Make plans to meet with the director, nursing director and other key staff members. The following is a list of items to look for as you are considering a facility:

• Medicare and Medicaid certification
• State Licensing
• Accessibility for people with disabilities
• Residents who look appropriately dressed and well cared for
• Warm and respectful interaction between staff and residents
• A clean, fresh-smelling, comfortable, and well-maintained facility.

You can also make a second visit without calling ahead. Visit at a different time of day so you can interact with different staff members.

Important Questions in Elder Life Management – Choosing the Right Long-Term Care Facility

When meeting with the facility director or other staff members, the following list of questions will help you determine the quality of care and staff.

• How many care providers are there per resident? What kind of training do they have? • • How many of them are trained to provide medical care if needed?
• How long have the director and heads of nursing, food, and social services departments worked at the facility? How often do key staff members turn over?
• Is there a doctor who checks on residents on a regular basis? How often?
• What activities are planned for residents during the week and on weekends? Can you attend activities yourself to see what they’re like?
• Is there a safe place for residents to go outside?
• How do residents get to medical appointments?
• If you need it, does the facility have a special unit for people with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia? If so, what kinds of services does it provide?
• Is there information on state regulations for how care is provided? For example, what happens when there is an infectious disease outbreak requiring quarantine?

If you want to learn more about options for long-term residential care, there are many resources you can explore.

The following list is a great way to start if you are unfamiliar with the choices in your area and are without recommendations.

• Visit LongTermCare.gov for information about housing options for older adults and finding local services.
• Call your local Area Agency on Aging or department of human services from your state or local government.
• Use Medicare’s Care Compare tool to find and compare nursing homes and other health care facilities in your state or territory.
• Check the quality of nursing homes and other health care facilities with the Joint Commission’s Quality Check.
• Search the Eldercare Locator or call 800-677-1116 for help finding care in your area.

We Can Help

Whether you need a recommendation for long-term care facilities for your loved one or need to review and update your estate plan, we can help. We have a long list of clients that have moved into excellent long-term care facilities in the area. Give our office a call at (470) 235-7868 let’s see how we can help you.

Looking to find an experienced estate lawyer in the Georgia area who is skilled in asset protection and estate plan preparation? Shannon Pawley is an attorney in Georgia with expertise in estate planning and asset protection. Shannon can provide assistance with creating an estate plan to include making a will and how to establish a trust properly. If you have questions about asset protection or questions about making an estate plan, reach out to Shannon and she will be glad to help answer all the estate planning questions you might have!