Assisted Living Centers | Distance Learning Systems (DLSI)

Some Basics About Assisted Living Centers

What is assisted living?
According to Wikipedia, “An assisted living residence or assisted living facility (ALF) is a housing facility for people with disabilities. These facilities provide supervision or assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs); coordination of services by outside health care providers; and monitoring of resident activities to help to ensure their health, safety, and well-being.”

Generally, an assisted living center is a residential care facility that provides nursing services to patients with extra medical needs. However, the facility covers a wide range of assistance that includes personal care, supervision, and administration of prescribed medicines.

Who are qualified to stay in the facility?
Not all people are qualified to stay in the facility to avoid congestion of patients. Senior citizens, person with disability and individuals with medical needs are the only people who are allowed to stay in an assisted living center. All of them are called assisted living residents or those people who needs more assistance for the activities of daily living.

How much does it cost?
Ideally, assisted living centers will cost residents for about three to four thousand dollars a month. But majority of assisted living centers charge residents according to their desired nursing services. The more care they need, the more they will be charged.

What to expect in assisted living centers?
Assisted living facilities can provide a 24/7 nursing service which includes daily health monitoring, hygienic measures, dementia care, unlimited meal service, housekeeping, and emergency care. Physician and nurses can provide help to every patient living in the health center.

What is the most important thing to know about assisted living centers?
The center is all about giving care and aides. It is about the staff giving maximum care to the patients. Most staffs in assisted living centers think of their patients as their own family.

The Benefits Of Assisted Living Centers

Assisted living care is to help those individuals that are in need of assistance. This program can be a big help to our elderly people. Most of them do not have any capacity to do their regular routines. In assisted living care they can get the support they need while remaining independent as much as possible.

As elderly people, it is difficult for them to leave their homes because there are a lot of memories that they will leave behind. But thinking about what is best for them, assisted living centers are the best place to ensure that their senior years are spent happily and safely.

An assisted living facility is a good choice if an elderly needs more personal care services. It has personalized plans that meet their needs and accommodate their disabilities while giving them the freedom to do their personal things. Most facilities have a group dining area and common areas for social and recreational activities. Having an active social life is very vital for the health and happiness of elderly people. The community environment of assisted living centers gives opportunities for them to meet new friends. Moreover, assisted living centers also provide a home-like atmosphere. They also offer transportation, so that elderlies can go anywhere they want to go without relying on their family and friends.

There are a lot of benefits that elderly people can get if they choose to be part of an assisted living care program. This is intended for them. The program is designed to make their lives easier and comfortable without depriving their freedom to do their personal things. However, facilities should be closely examined to make sure that it offers the exact services that elderly people need for their well-being.

Signs To Look Out For Before Considering Assisted Living Centers

When you were little, your parents were the ones who took care of you. From making sure you were eating properly down to bathing you every day. Therefore, moving a parent into an assisted living center is one of the hardest and heart-wrenching decisions of your life. You feel guilty because you want to return the care that your parents gave you. However, guilt is the last thing you need to feel when considering assisted living for your parents. Always remember that in an assisted living center, they are provided assistance to make sure they are safe and healthy.

Unlike a nursing home, assisted living centers do not provide medical care such as treatment for specific conditions or diseases, making it appealing as they offer a relatively high level of independence. In fact, residing in an assisted living center is similar to having a private apartment but with an added perk that a trained staff is on hand to help your loved one when necessary.

But when is it the right time to decide when to move a parent to an assisted living center? Take a good look at the present housing situation, health status, and medical needs. If your parent is telling you that they are eating but you see food go bad in the refrigerator. If your parent is covering up bruises from a fall. If your parent cannot bathe themselves, groom adequately and launder clothes. If they forget to turn the appliances when they are finished cooking. And if you do not see the same bright and vibrant person they used to be years ago. These are some of the sure signs that tell you it is time for you to make that decision.

All of us care for our parents. And moving a parent to an assisted living center does not make us care for them any less.

Choosing an Assisted Living for the Mentally Ill

Assisted Living is usually associated with senior care, but it can also be treatment care for adults who have mental illnesses. These centers provide special care, along with housing, support, and treatment under a residential setting.

Things to Consider
Oftentimes, the family makes a firm decision to recognize the need for residential care. The family might have lost control over behavior over the mentally ill or personal efforts are just not enough. Whatever reason for transmission, there are some things you need to consider when choosing an assisted living center:

Psychiatric Needs
Not all assisted living centers specializes the treatment for certain mental illnesses. So, look for one that concentrates and specializes on your family member’s needs. You can always discuss with your health care advisor regarding their specific needs.
Location
The most preferred facility is the one nearest your home. However, mental health experts tell otherwise. They believe that the farther the home, the more progress a person can get and finding their one’s self again.
Features
It is of great importance to shop around and look for facilities as many as you can. Having more options can make way for comparison and better decision-making. Make sure to know the features of each facilities and if they can cater the specific needs of your family member.
Cost
Health insurance usually covers cost for treatment and housing in assisted living centers, while others do not. Depending on your insurance policy, you can ask them if they can provide financial assistance. If you have no insurance, you can find a rich source of referrals for affordable treatment from your State’s health centers. In special cases where mental illness is due to abuse, several government programs offer financial aid.

Parents and Assisted Living Centers – Things to Consider Before Moving

Assisted Living Centers, also referred as residential care, is a kind of living arrangement where personal and essential services for daily living is provided, especially for seniors. It also provides the emotional aspects needed such as security, feeling of belonging, and comfort. This is not similar to nursing homes. The main difference is that assisted living creates independence by letting residents live under normal residential settings.

When Moving a Parent

Deciding to move a beloved elderly parent into an assisted living is difficult. If you already made up your mind, then there are two certain things you need to consider before pushing through:

Cost

The charge for services varies, depending on location and type of care. Private Assisted Living centers range from $800 to more than $5, 000 a month. Add-ons that may need to be covered are medications, laundry service, security, and transportation. Comparing fees with different facilities can help you find the best option. Also, make sure to notice how often a facility raise their prices.

Now, who will pay for the cost? Medicaid pays for the services in assisted living centers, except for room and boarding. Not everyone can benefit this though, Medicaid does not cover those who have assets more than $2, 000. Overall, Medicaid can only pay less than 11% of the total cost.

As for Medicare, excluding those under Supplementary Security Income (SSI), more than 90% of the total cost will be paid by individuals or families. They will not pay for housing except for those who are mentally retarded and developmentally disabled.

Cost for assisted living may be cheap for those who have insurance. Depending on age, you can only pay 3-8% out of pocket cost for a three-year stay.

Residence

Local and national referral services exist in helping you decide where to find a good place for the elderly to live. The Department of Human Resources in every state can provide a list of public services. Private referral services can be of great help as well.

Shop around and visit as many residences as you can. Know what you need and find out if they can cater those. Better to talk to staff, residents, and other family members to know the current situation of the place.

Conclusion

Assisted living center are not cheap, so be ready for it. Also, since you are entrusting the lives of your beloved ones, make sure you find the best one you can find. So, take time in knowing these facilities. Once you have these two factors figured out, moving your parents would not be as difficult.

Myths with Assisted Living Centers

When you are about to choose a senior care option for your loved one, you perceive ideas about the assisted living centers. Your perceptions and ideas are brought by the media who highlighted the negative accounts about these facilities. A single bad story about a living center will surely affect everything. The media tends to focus on the bad side of things. Not everything you heard on the news are true for all. There are good senior care facilities that have quality care services.

To help you decide, let’s talk about the common myths you’ve heard about assisted living centers. First myth: Assisted living centers won’t accept patients with urinary incontinence and those who are in a wheelchair.

It is true that patients must be able to move on their own, but wheelchairs are not prohibited, as long as they are able to transfer from the bed to the wheelchair or vice versa with the help of another person. Patients who needs two people to move or can no longer bear weight are not accepted. This is because the assisted living centers are not licensed to provide such services.

Patients who experience urinary incontinence are typically accepted as long as their situation can be supervised with toilet scheduling, using incontinence products and reminders on a constant basis. If bowel incontinence turns out to be an issue and cannot be handled properly, this may require an alternative care setting as the circumstance may affect other patients.

Another myth is that Medicare will take care of all expenses in the assisted living centers. Medicare does not cover non-skilled care services like assistance with activities of daily living, specifically bathing, medication management, dressing, toileting and transportation. The Medicare cover skilled nursing services, however in most cases, the assisted living centers prefers private pay (cash) or long term insurances.

Regulating Assisted Living Centers

Assisted living centers are a type of assisted living facility which offers care services for eleven or more people. They have bigger facilities and equipped with basic medical equipments as well as with regular nurses or staff that will assist the patients. The purpose of these living centers is to offer personalized and patient-centered care which will focus on the needs and preferences of an individual. Though these centers have medical staff that will monitor and support the patients, they encourage the family members to be involved.

One of the basic needs of any individual is emotional connection which requires a family member’s presence. However, not all assisted living centers have been good with their services. There are many complaints from the residents and the family members. There are those who neglect some needs of the seniors like assistance in going to the bathroom, certain type of food or grooming. To ensure the compliance and to investigate complaints, an inspection is conducted once or twice a year. The Office of the Assisted Living Licensing monitors and regulates all assisted living centers all throughout the country.

The monitoring is usually unannounced to make sure that what they see during the visit is not a result of any preparation. The office can cancel licenses or penalized depending on the result of their investigation. By doing this, they are able to regulate the quality of performance of the assisted living centers. They also keep records and files regarding these centers which are open for public viewing. If you are looking for a good assisted living center for your loved one, you can access the files and ask for guidance and advice. Regulations will help improve the quality and the condition of the residents, but regular and constant evaluation will avoid mistreatment and bad practices of the assisted living centers.

Assisted Living Centers News (Unpaid Fines)

The California Department of Social Services released more than $2 million in fees against assisted living centers throughout the state from 2007 to 2012. But a ProPublica evaluation of department information shows it gathered less than half of that. Indeed, the agency did not wrest any cash from many facilities it hit with the most serious charges. Of the 50 biggest charges evaluated over those years, the evaluation revealed, the department gathered no money in 39 cases. In one example, a service in a tiny Shasta Nation town that was working without a certificate accumulated more than $250,000 in charges and paid none of it.

“The fact that the charges were not paid is a concern,” said state Sen. Leland Yee, a Democrat who represents San Francisco and San Mateo County. “The reason we have charges is to prevent individuals from breaking the rules and laws.” ProPublica, as part of its continuous evaluation of the multi-billion dollar assisted living industry, had asked California authorities to generate information outlining their management of the state’s 7,700 assisted living centers, which have thousands of seniors people in their care. The authorities eventually admitted they could not generate basic data about essential factors of the department’s regulating functions. For example, they could not say how many examinations the department performs each year, or how many “unusual incidents” accidents, abuse accusations, medication errors, the facilities report to the state.

The revelations came as state congress, supporters for the seniors and news companies have increased their analysis of the department’s performance. In a case that obtained national advertising, the department did not take immediate action after the owners of a Bay Area facility abandoned its residents, effectively leaving 19 weak or affected seniors to look after themselves. Working without pay or training, a janitor and a cook tried to take care of the residents. While the government manages the elderly care facility industry, it has left management of the assisted living centers to the states, which, over the past two years, have designed a hodge-podge of widely divergent rules.

Being Active in Assisted Living Centers

A long time ago, an excursion to the doctor’s office for a senior housing resident in a wheelchair was frequently the only connection they had to the outside world. That was yesterday. Today’s message is that individuals living in assisted living centers and retirement groups can and do stay extremely active. Handouts and sites for elder care offices now promote their capacity to give transportation to hair stylists, shopping plazas, religious services, trips and numerous other every day exercises, even on short notice. Sufficient transportation empowers elderly inhabitants to live all the more autonomously and prevent feelings of disconnection. Hence, focuses are changing the way they manage and organize outside activities, giving occupants more decisions on what they might want to do regularly.

What separates one office from an alternate in helping active senior lifestyles can frequently be found outside the focal point, primed to take a gathering of seniors out and about. It’s the various minibuses and wheelchair-available vans, in numerous shapes and sizes that give this valuable service. Assisted living centers with a sufficient armada of shuttle transports and wheelchair vans are discovering that their vehicles are a noticeable difference. Families that help with assessing assisted living centers regularly look to transportation benefits as an indicator of whether their parent or grandparent is going to have the capacity to keep enjoying the activities they’re accustomed to.

From a marketing point of view, shuttle transports are moving billboards that give consistent, visual commercials of the senior living center to the community. For operational and restorative purposes, they are basic to the administrations being given. While numerous offices contract for medical ambulatory type outings, the flow and significance to client fulfillment in getting inhabitants to outside exercises has changed how associations see their transport limit. By expanding their transportation proficiencies and advertising offer with more movement alternatives, an office has a greater shot of keeping their units filled.

Focuses today can have a few multi-passenger vehicles out and about at any given time, transporting one or twelve inhabitants to and from different destinations. Almost all of these transport vehicles have a wheelchair lift and space for wheelchair travelers, a fundamental characteristic in giving versatility and opportunity to numerous occupants. A few vehicles can fit a few wheelchairs, while others can just fit one or two at once. All wheelchair vans have special tie-down frameworks set up for keeping wheelchairs set up and for traveler security.

Assisted Living Centers Reform Bill

AB 1554 would force Community Care Licensing to begin investigation of problems including abuse, neglect, or serious harm to assisted living centers residents within 24 hours and to complete this most important investigation within 30 days. Assembly member Nancy Skinner’s regulation to change the state’s defective program used to examine problems of neglect and abuse within California’s 7,500 mature care homes was approved this week by the Set up Human Services Panel on a single, bipartisan elect.

Responding to the scandal at Valley Springs Manor in Castro Valley, where 19 senior citizens were abandoned by the home care owner and reports stating problems in management and administration regarding California’s residential care features for the seniors, Skinner introduced AB 1554 to enhance the investigation and complaint procedure. The bill is part of a package of changes subsidized by the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform. “No longer will problems of abuse and neglect be taken under the rug. The terrible occurrence at the Castro Valley care service was avoidable,” Skinner, of Berkeley, said. “We know now that more powerful measures are needed to ensure the safety of our most vulnerable.”

Media reviews have exposed problems in the Community Care Licensing (CCL) issue investigation program exposing a design of superficial investigation, poor interaction with complainants and weak administration. At the hearing, Eric Boice, of Colfax, recounted how the issue and investigation procedure failed his mom, a former primary school instructor clinically identified as having Alzheimer’s. Boice said his mom passed away in 2009 as a result of the abuse and neglect she received while at an assisted living service in Auburn, California. “The investigation procedure was a joke,” Boice said. “We had proof and content information supporting our claims of abuse, yet the state organization did not demand any more information nor did they get in touch with our lawyer. My family’s experience is a sad commentary on our region’s capability to secure residents in assisted living centers.”