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By Pamela D. Wilson, CSA, MS, BS/BA, CG, The Care Navigator
In my weekly radio program, Parenting your Parents (www.parentingyourparentsradio.com), adult children frequently call to express frustration that they moved their parents or that their parents have moved only to be faced with having to move again. Why does this occur?
The need to move parents again often occurs because individuals or families did not consider planning for the long term. They planned for what they believed were needs for today not realizing that health care problems will arise and that care needs will increase as age advances. The situation also depends on the age at which an older adult first relocates. An individual moving at age 65 into an independent retirement community may be able to live in the same community for ten or more years. An individual at age 85, moving into an assisted living community, may only remain in the assisted living community for about two to three years until care needs again advance.
By the time an individual requires an assisted living level of care, consideration must be given to the realization that at some point near in the future, depending on the health of the individual, a higher level of care will be needed. Consideration must also be given to special care needs, such as individuals diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer's as a large percentage of individuals over age 85 have this diagnosis in common. Complications such as incontinence, vision difficulties, mobility difficulties and behaviors also must be taken into consideration.
There are many types of different communities for older adults ranging from little or no care to twenty four hour care. These include: active retirement communities, gated communities of care, independent living, independent with services, assisted living, personal care homes, memory care, long term care/nursing homes, respite communities and hospice. It is important to assess current needs and project future health care needs to ensure that you or your loved one does not need to move again unnecessarily as each move is more difficult and disruptive than the last.
Available finances are also a long term consideration. Will your loved one be able to afford to pay privately or is Medicaid an eventual likelihood? This requires special planning. What about current and future health care needs? Is long term care insurance available? There are many considerations in planning for long term care needs that effect decisions related to an appropriate choice of a care community.
When seeking assistance relative to a care community for you or your loved one, it is best to consult an expert who can take into consideration all things related to long term care and who has no interests but your best interests, meaning that they are retained by you for a fee.
Many self named housing experts do not charge clients for their services, their services are touted as "free" however they receive financial incentives from the communities they recommend to clients. These housing experts do not look at the long term picture related to care. Nor are all communities willing to pay the "free service" providers, thus families may not be shown an excellent community that does not believe in offering undisclosed financial incentives or finder's fees. If something is too good to be true, or free, there is a reason.
Ask how service providers you retain are paid and make sure they are working in your best interest, not the best interest of the communities or service providers they recommend -- or it's likely the next move for you or your loved one will not be the last move.
As owner of The Care Navigator, the company does not accept referral fees or financial incentives from business with whom we work as doing so would result in a conflict of interest. We refer the best businesses and communities for our clients and work only in their best interest.
Copyright © 2009 Pamela D. Wilson All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic or electronic process, transmitted or otherwise copied for public or private use without prior written permission from the author. Website: www.thecarenavigator.com
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Children & Caregivers 
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