TYPES OF SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITIES
Decades ago, we called the places where older persons go to live “old folks’ homes” or “nursing homes” – names that conjured up visions of dark, dirty, unpleasant facilities where, frankly, no one wanted to go.
To be sure, many of those places lived down to those expectations. Today there are much nicer places, and we now use the more dignified term “senior living communities.” Following is a brief description of the primary types of senior living communities:
Independent Living: Describes a community where residents live in their own apartments with common areas for dining, recreation, and socialization. Residents may opt for help with housekeeping, but there are generally no medical staff on site.
Assisted Living: Communities, as the name suggests, offer an extra level of care customized to the resident’s needs. Most residents in these communities need assistance with some or all activities of daily living (e.g., food preparation, eating, bathing, dressing, grooming, managing personal hygiene, and administration of medications). In Texas, assisted living communities must always have a licensed nurse on site.
Memory Care: Communities are a special type of assisted living community equipped with a secure perimeter to thwart the wandering of its memory-impaired residents.
Residential Care Homes: Are assisted living or memory care communities based in smaller settings and usually located in residential neighborhoods.
Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF’s): Provide ongoing medical care for patients that no longer require hospitalization but have rehab or chronic medical care needs.
The dementia patient would prefer to live in his own home as long as possible, and his caregiver would prefer the same. But for most dementia patients, the time comes when the level of care they need outweighs the resources or care capacity of the family caregiver. There is no stock measurement of when this time arrives, but for most caregivers, the time comes when either (1) the patient is no longer safe at home, or (2) the caregiver can no longer provide the level of care required.
The limit on the care capacity of the caregiver may be a physical one (e.g., the patient is too heavy or volatile for the caregiver to safely handle) or an emotional one (e.g., the tasks required by the patient exceed the emotional capacity of the caregiver). In either instance, it’s time.
The process of selecting the “right” senior living community for a loved one is similar to that of a family searching for a new residence. The search criteria are much the same: location, price, style, amenities, etc. Also similar to finding a new home, the method of search can follow one of three approaches: self-guided, referral, or placement.
The “I got this” approach: A family may conduct its own self-guided search using internet search engines.
The “Zillow” approach: Like online home search services (e.g., Zillow or Trulia), there are online referral services who will collect basic information from the family (e.g., location, price, desired services) and reply with a list of communities that meet those criteria. The family then schedules tours with the proposed communities, selects the best choice, and negotiates the terms of the rental contract directly with the community.
The “Realtor” approach: When searching for a new home, a family may enlist the services of a professional real estate agent to guide their search, schedule tours and help with price negotiations. Similarly, a placement service will perform the same functions for a family looking for a senior living community for a memory-impaired loved one. It is a very hands-on, joint effort between the placement agent and the family client. An agent can help the family interview key staff members at a prospective community and conduct research into the community’s safety and compliance history.
Generally, there is no fee to the family for either referral or placement services as both are compensated by commissions paid by the ultimately selected community.
The website below can be used to check the inspection history for assisted living communities, memory care and skilled nursing facilities, and residential care homes in the state of Texas:
Some moving services cater specifically to families who are moving a loved one into a senior living community. These services take on a much broader role than a traditional moving and storage company (e.g., planning the move, coordinating with the staff at the new location, packing, reconnection of electronic equipment, etc.). Providers include both private pay and no-charge nonprofit services.
Following is a list of some senior moving services that serve the North Texas area:
