Of course, it is important to understand the costs involved in assisted living. The majority of assisted living communities are private pay meaning that the resident is fully responsible for the cost. While Medicare and Medicaid do not usually cover the cost of assisted living services, long term care insurance does. Veterans and their spouses should also ask about VA Aid and Attendance.

Ask, up front, about how costs are paid at the assisted living you or a loved one are considering. Look beyond the glossy brochures and ask specific questions about the cost of living there. A reputable community will always have a written contract, so ask to see one. Be sure that they clearly differentiate between the cost of the apartment and the cost of any services provided.

It may be a good idea to have a calculator with you when you tour so that you can have a running total of the costs. Find out if services are bundled or itemized, when provided. Ask for a listing of any other fees that might be assessed. Assisted living communities vary greatly with regard to the amount of the security deposit, “buy-in” fee, endowment fee, or move-in fee that might be assessed. Also, there can be variance in the timing of rent and fee charges. So, be sure to ask about each of these cost items.

Leaving the home you have been in for years is difficult. However, if an assisted living facility provides a variety of services and amenities, it can significantly help the transition to a new environment. The key is to match your loved one’s current personality and interests to the services that would be most beneficial. For example, an assisted living community offering a pool, tennis courts, or a community center will only benefit you or your loved one if you actually swim, play tennis, or throw parties.

Conversely, if you or your loved one no longer drive, then an assisted living community with transportation to medical appointments, shopping, and excursions would be very useful. So, with respect to services and amenties, consider a wide array of possibilities including activities, opportunities for socialization, visiting hours and policies, dining options, housekeeping and maintenance services, transportation, safety, and “special touches.”

• Ask for a copy of the assisted living’s activity calendar.
• Find out how often the activities change or how the community incorporates resident suggestions into the activities.
• Does the community offer both onsite and offsite activities?
• Do the activities address your social, emotional, physical, and spiritual needs?
• Do volunteers or family members get involved in running some activities?
• What are the policies regarding visitors?
• Can you have guests in your apartment and for what length of stay?
• Can you and your guests use the common areas in addition to your apartment to socialize?
• What times of day or night can you receive visitors?
• Does the assisted living facility have a process for checking visitors who come and go a the community?

You should expect the care provided in assisted living will meet your needs or those of your loved ones and be provided in a timely manner.

When touring an assisted living facility, you should find out about assessments, planning for your care, and the processes for care change, handling emergencies and discharges from the assisted living community. Ask how the initial assessment of your level of care is completed. In Virginia, it is a requirement that an assessment be completed prior to your admission to an assisted living facility. Who will do the assessment and how will you be told of the outcome? If you do not agree with the assessment, what recourse do you have?

Once the assisted living facility has determined that it can meet your needs or those of a loved one.

• Ask how the plan for that care is implemented?
• How soon after you move in will the plan be in place?
• Who has input in the plan?
• How often is the plan reviewed and modified?

When you decide to move to an assisted living community and your care needs change, ask in advance what happens when you need more care.

• Can you stay in your apartment or do you need to move to somewhere else in the building or somewhere else on campus?
• How does the assisted living facility handle emergencies?
• Under what circumstances can the resident refuse service?

Most importantly, you need to know before you decide what process the community has in place for discharves.

• Is this process in writing?
• You will want to know if the community will inform you prior to issuing a discharge and if so, how far in advance? All of these questions will provide a complete picture of the type of care you can reasonably expect in assisted living.

As you tour different communities, understanding differences in staffing is an important factor. After all, it is the staff that provide the care for you or your loved one.

First, ask about the nursing staff since staffing requirements vary among communities and may be regulated by the state. You will want to know how many nursing staff are scheduled for each shift. You should reasonably expect that the higher the level of care offered the more staff are available.

Find out how many hours per day a nurse (LPN or RN) is scheduled on-site. This will give you an idea of the level of supervision provided.

It is also important to know that if your doctor calls to change a medicine or the type of care, there is someone at the community who can respond to the doctor’s orders. Ask who is responsible for administering medications and completing care assessments.

Also, you will want to know about the turnover rate for staff and the tenure of key employees. Besides the nursing staff, find out what other support staff are available and what their responsibilities are. Does the community have dedicated staff to implement activities, provide dining services, complete housekeeping and laundry chores, and do routine maintenance or do staff take on multiple responsibilities?

Note how all staff interacts with residents. Do they greet residents by name and seem to know about their level of care? Ask how staff is assigned to care for residents and who supervises what care is given. Be sure you are comfortable with the staffing before deciding on which assisted living community you choose.

Quality can be determined by a number of factors. Having information about each can give you a picture of the total quality that a community provides. Therefore, find out about licensure, length of stay, complaint resolution, and support services. Every state has different regulations governing assisted living communities.

In Virginia, all assisted living communities are licensed by the Department of Social Services. One determinant of quality care is the type or length of the license, but quality extends much further beyond.

You should also find out how long an average resident stays at the community and why. Short term stays can be indicative of a community that accepts more frail residents who move on quickly to higher levels of care. Or, a short stay may mean that the facility accommodates residents who only need services temporarily until they are strong enough to go back home.

Complaints are inevitable any time a group of diverse people are living together. The key to a quality assisted living community is their ability to resolve disputes. Ask for a copy of a grievance procedure or inquire specifically about how complaints are resolved.

Finally, high quality assisted living communities have access to support services such as rehabilitation, specialized medical services, and multi-denominational clergy, to name a few. Find out which services the assisted living you are considering provides.

When considering a tour of an assisted living community, its ambiance should be more than a feeling. It should encompass the staff interaction, apartment choices, and accessibility of home-like amenities. As you enter the community, the vibe should be warm and welcoming. The entire place should look, feel, sound, and smell inviting.

Take note of staff members’ interaction with you and with each other. If staff members are calling residents by name and interacting in a friendly manner with them, then you’ll have a critical clue about the quality of care.

Ask to see all the apartment styles available. Be sure to view both furnished and unfurnished apartments. Note the amenities within the apartment – does it have a full kitchen or a kitchenette? Is the bathroom handicap accessible? Is there storage? What type of view is there from the windows? Is it well lighted? Are the carpeting and window treatments clean? Most importantly, picture you or your loved one and his/her belongings in this space – would it suit them?

Finally, a part of the ambiance of a community is the resident’s accessibility to common areas. Ask about the use of common living rooms, libraries, computer rooms, dining rooms, patios, and porches. Do you see any residents using these amenities during your tour? Observing residents actually using amenities can tell you about how comfortable and functional these rooms can be to residents.

The old adage of “location, location, location” definitely applies to assisted living. In this instance, “location” considerations should include both distance and surroundings. If you are looking for assisted living for a loved one then, maintaining your relationship with them and developing a good relationship with the assisted living community, will require the ability for frequent visits. So carefully consider the driving time and distance to the community.

Also, consider the distance of the assisted living community from both your home and work. Are you most likely to visit during the week, on the weekend, or both? What happens when you are contacted in the event of an emergency? How quickly would you be able to get to the community? If you are looking for a place for yourself, you will want the place you choose to be near friends, family, and quality medical services.

In addition to the driving distance, also consider the surrounding neighborhood in which the community is located. Is it in a rural, urban, or suburban location and what would fit your needs? What are the traffic patterns like? Will there be any new building construction? Is the community well landscaped and well maintained? Is there adequate parking? Determine how all of these factors compliment your personality and needs or those of your loved one.

The choice to remain in your home throughout your retirement years involves careful thought and tough decisions. Before making your final decision, you should consider three factors: fit, friends & family, and finances.

First, determine whether your home is still the best fit for your retirement. You have spent the majority of your life in your home, raising your family, making memories. Now, consider whether the layout of your home is the most convenient and safe for you now. How easy is it to traverse the stairs to your bedroom or the laundry room? How many rooms are you actually using and how many have furniture or items that you haven’t used in years? Can you continue the upkeep on your lawn and landscaping? How has the neighborhood changed over the years? How convenient would it be to shop or visit the doctor during inclement weather or if you were not able to drive your car? The answers to these questions are important not just for your immediate future. These are factors to consider if your current good health declines.

The next factor to consider when deciding to age in place at home is your access to friends and family. No matter your age, health or ability, we all need help from time to time. You will need to know that a neighbor or family member can help. Be sure you have a good friend to assist you or to check on you periodically, especially if your children are no longer in the area. Also, have a discussion with your children who may live near you to determine their ability to help. Finally, consider who you might contact for other tasks you may not be able to do such as mowing the lawn, shoveling snow, or doing household repairs.

You should also take a critical look at your finances to determine if you really can afford to remain in your home. While the Washington Metro area has a plethora of in-home services available the costs can add up. The average cost for a companion or home care assistant can run upwards of $20/hour. Most companies will require a minimum number of hours. If you include other costs such as grocery or medication delivery, home maintenance, meal delivery, gasoline and car repairs, lawn maintenance, and utilities, you may find that the total costs far exceeds your budget.

If your home’s fit, your friends and family, and your finances do not support your decision to remain in your home either now or in the future, you should consider other options. The communities of Retirement Unlimited, Inc. have independent, assisted living, and dementia care services to keep you safe and well cared for throughout your retirement years. Contact a community in your area for more information or stop by for a tour.

Moving from a home that you have lived in for decades to a smaller apartment in a senior retirement community or assisted living community can be a daunting task. When it is time for your parents to make that kind of move, they will need your assistance. The following are some tips adapted from About.com that can help you with this process. You can find the full article at http://moving.about.com/od.

When you know that the move is going to happen, the best advice is to obtain a diagram or layout of the new apartment. Having this information will let you know exactly how much space your parents will have. The communities at Retirement Unlimited, Inc. can provide you with detailed floor plans of the apartments to assist you. Call or stop by for a tour and see what apartment styles are available. With the floor plan or diagram in hand you can decide together what items will fit and how much of their current things can be kept. If feasible, you can offer to keep the items that they can’t move or try to at least keep them in the family.

When you know how much space you will have to move in to, then begins the task of sorting the items that they currently have. Be gentle during this process. Many of us have made emotional attachments to items we may seldom use. If the item is truly a treasure to them, you can suggest giving the item as a gift to a child or sibling. It is often easier to give things to family members than to donate them to an “anonymous” source.

A great idea is to take pictures of items inside your parents’ home. Be sure to take detailed photos of such things as where photos and mementos have been placed on dressers or where certain pieces of furniture are situated to each other. Even note what pictures, paintings, or mirrors are hanging on the wall. When in the new apartment, try to place the items in a similar way so that the new home will feel more like their previous home. This will help your parents become comfortable more quickly in the new environment.

Above all, take your time. Plan for the move as far in advance as possible. In this way, you can give your parents the time they need to process through the sometimes painful task of parting with their things.

Sometimes, it is easier to hire outside help to pack and move items than it is to do it yourself. It may be easier for your parents to work with an outside person rather than family. There are many companies that specialize in moving seniors and assisting with downsizing. The professionals at Retirement Unlimited, Inc. have a world of resources to share regarding downsizing. Give a call to a community near you for some helpful information.

Finally, be patient with your parents and allow them to say “goodbye” to their things. If they take longer to sort through a bureau drawer because they uncover old photographs, let them spend the time to remember and if possible, share those memories with them. The reminiscing is a very important part in the process of moving from their home of decades into their new environment.

The retirement and assisted living communities of Retirement Unlimited, Inc. understand this difficult process and can work with you and your parents to make the transition into one of our communities a good experience. Call us for more information, or better yet come in for a tour and see what we have to offer.

If your parents are close to or at retirement age, talking to them about their future plans may be a difficult conversation, but it is an essential one. Having that discussion is the only way you will know whether your parents have even considered such things as: retirement living, assisted living, nursing homes, home care, or even Hospice. Be patient, both with yourself and your parents as you work through these complex issues. Here are some suggestions for starting (and continuing) the conversation. Remember that as your parents’ health, lifestyle, and finances change, so will their needs. Consider revisiting these suggestions on a regular basis until you are certain what your parents’ wishes are about their retirement.

Be Direct – If you and your parents have had a good relationship, then take a direct approach with your initial conversation. Be up front and tell them what you are worried about and ask them to discuss it. If you are worried about many issues, take them one at a time instead of all at once. Chances are, if you’ve been up nights thinking about these things, so have your parents!

Learn by Reminiscing – When you and your parents are together, talk to them about their past. Ask them about their childhoods, their fondest memories, their ancestors. Then, use this information to move into a discussion about their future. For example, if your parents reminisce that their ancestors had to work all their lives, then ask them how they would like to live in their retirement. Find out what your parents want most/least as they age. Ask what issues are worrying them now. Mention to them what you think they should consider in the future, especially if their health declines.

Bring up a “Friend” – There is a really good chance that your parents know someone who is dealing with retirement issues, considering assisted living, or is in a nursing home. Using that situation to talk to them about what they have “heard” is good or bad about those situations can lead to discussions about your parents’ wishes for their future.

Use the Internet – Search the internet for articles, information, and websites about retirement, finances, assisted living, or long term care options. Share these findings with your parents and use the information as a springboard for your conversation. Take the opportunity now to review Retirement Unlimited Inc.’s website and learn about all of the communities. Each retirement and assisted living community is unique and offers many options. Each community allows you to take a virtual tour. What a great way for your parents to learn about retirement and assisted living options! They can literally “see” the lifestyle that awaits them.

However you find a way to start the conversation, do so. You will learn more about your parents needs and will be more certain about helping them navigate through their retirement.