Choosing the Best Senior Living Facility

When it is time for your loved one to move into a senior living home, numerous options for you to choose are available. Sorting through the information independently can be difficult and overwhelming. Choosing the best senior living facility that suits you also becomes challenging especially when you’re not familiar with the data you get a hold of. In this scenario, you can consider finding and hiring a senior living consultant.

What is a Senior Living Consultant or Senior Living Placement Agency?

A Senior Living consultant is the best person to talk to when trying to find the right senior living facility. They are the most knowledgeable when it comes to senior living homes and communities – they have all the right information! They assist and help families and their loved ones find the appropriate facility for them. Consultants or advisors work closely with families from the beginning (when you’re trying to decide on a facility) to the end (when you decide to move into a facility). Senior Living Placement Agencies are companies that consist of consultants. If you want to find a consultant, an agency is a good first step.

What Can They Do for You?

The basic aim of a Senior Living Consultant is to MATCH your family – and your loved one – to the senior living facility that would best meet your specialized need by using the knowledge and information they have.
When you start your own personal research, you will encounter a ton of information that is new to you, and you would have to sort through all of these yourself. Most families would agree that this gives them the most stress. It becomes easier with a senior living consultant. Since they already have a database of facilities, a consultant can save you from doing this tedious work. After a short interview, a senior living consultant will recommend two or three options (senior living facilities) based on your needs. This saves you the time and stress of researching by yourself!

What Else Should You Expect?

Senior Living Consultant assists your family from start to finish. You can expect a lot of questions from a consultant. They would need to get general info to help them match you to the right place. A consultant will probably ask you of your (or your loved one’s) medical history, allergies or dietary restrictions. They will also ask you if you’d like to get services that can help with personal needs like bathing, dressing and other assistance in activities of daily living. Seniors prefer to live close to their friends and family. This is something that consultants consider when providing you with their recommendations. Lastly, they also acknowledge different cultural and religious beliefs.

After a careful assessment of your needs based on your talk or interview, and providing you a few options, they can schedule and accompany you in a visit to the facility. During a visit, you can determine if a particular facility meets what you want for your loved one.

A consultant’s service extends until you have picked a facility and finally decided to move in. Senior Living Consultants usually have enough local knowledge to even provide you with moving services to ease your loved one’s transition to senior living. Your consultant will stay with you even after the move to make sure that everything has settled, and that you are happy with your senior living facility.

Senior Living Consultants can also help, assist and give you advice in terms of financial concerns. The truth of the matter is, facilities are not cheap, but your consultant will work hard to find the best and most affordable choice. Most consultants are willing to handle the stressful task of calling your insurance provider to discuss what are covered by the company and what are not. This will greatly help you decide on which facility fits the budget.

Choosing Your Senior Living Consultant

A consultant is someone that you would probably work for a good number of years, so it is imperative that you pick the right match for you and your family. When choosing your consultant or advisor, make sure that they know the area you prefer. This is to ensure that they can supply you the correct and vital information when you start to decide on a senior living facility. Choose a consultant that is familiar with Medicare/Medicaid insurance and benefit programs so that you can maximize what you have and minimize any out of pocket cost. Lastly, find a consultant you feel most comfortable with.

Choosing a Senior Living Facility

Whether it is for yourself or your loved one – is one of the biggest decisions in life. You have so many options and choices to weigh. In these kinds of situations, you’ll need all the help you can get. Senior Living Consultants will help you handle the complex world of senior care.