Assisted Living Gaining In Popularity
Thanks to increasing longevity and healthier lifestyle habits,
more and more older Americans are considering assisted living as
a residential choice in their later years Assisted living
facilities (ALF) provide personal care and other services which
enable residents to live as independently as possible in a more
homelike setting than a nursing home
Before choosing an assisted living facility, according to the
MetLife Mature Market Institute®, it’s important to understand
which services may or may not be offered and how to evaluate
those services
1 As a family member, you will want to assess the functional
abilities of your loved ones to make sure that assisted living
provides the appropriate level of care You may decide to engage
the services of a geriatric care manger to help you with your
assessment Geriatric care managers specialize in assisting
older people and their families in making their long-term care
arrangements The National Association of Professional Geriatric
Care Managers (1-520-881-8008) can provide referrals
2 It is important to visit multiple facilities and to make at
least one announced and unannounced visit to the facility so
that you can observe the residents’ daily routine
3 Be sure to review the facility’s contract as part of your
research This document should provide information on what the
basic fee does and does not cover, and the discharge policy
It’s a good idea to review the contract with an elder-law
attorney before you sign it
4 Ask for the licensing or certification inspection report
Remember, licensing and certification criteria vary from state
to state Check with the local Long-Term Care Ombudsman who can
be identified by your State Office on Aging and Better Business
Bureau to see if there have been any complaints about the
facility or staff
It’s also important to remember that what is covered in one
facility’s fee structure may not be included in another For
example, medication management or free transportation to
doctors’ appointments may not be provided
The MetLife Market Survey of Assisted Living Costs 2004 found
that the average cost of an ALF in the US is $2,524 monthly or
$30,288 yearly Medicare and Medicaid typically do not cover the
cost of ALFs, but most
policies do
The full article:
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Tags | abilities, attorney, certification, facility, functional, lifestyle, management, medication, ombudsman, professional, result, transportation, unannounced
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