Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The Cost of Waiting

Our Senior Care Coordinator, Mary Frances Moegling, found an insightful and thought provoking website titled "The Cost of Waiting" http://www.thecostofwaiting.com/. The site is sponsored by our friends at Atria Senior Living Group.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Tips On Touring

Choosing a senior living community, whether for independent living or assisted living, requires thorough investigation. Location, convenience to friends and family, services offered and proximity to shopping, doctors, highways, are important parts of your search. Next, it is important to assess your current needs and understand how a community can accommodate changing needs over time.

Every community is unique, so it is important to do your homework. While brochures and checklists are good, personal tours of different communities will give you a lot more information. Your personal level of comfort with a provider is the most important criteria in determining what community is right for you.

Ask yourself the following questions as you walk around:

Were you greeted promptly at the front desk and offered assistance?
How does the environment make you feel?
Is the building and grounds clean and attractive?
Is the staff friendly and helpful?
Does staff know residents by name?
How do residents and staff interact?
What do residents say?
Do the resiendts seem happy?
Is there a varied range of activities?
Are there activities outside the community?
Do you observe residents socializing with each other and attending activities?
And of course, how's the food?

For those families or friends seeking a community on behalf of someone who cannot personally visit, it is important to include them in the search process as much as possible. Respect their needs and wishes as much as possible. This will lead to better acceptance in making the transition and ultimately result in greater satisfaction.

Other factors to consider:

  • Services offered (activities, housekeeping, maintenance, transportation, salon)
  • Licensure requirements
  • Community ownership/management
  • Available medical and health services
  • Contractual agreements
  • Memory impairment/dementia/Alzheimer's care programs
  • Resident/family participation in care planning
  • Costs (entry fees, bundled services and level of care charges)
  • Physical layout of building, elevators
  • Common area décor & amenities (library, lounges, card rooms, fitness center, exterior)
  • Handicap accessibility (doorways, corridor widths, grab bars)
  • Range of apartment styles and sizes (finishes, climate control, appliances, storage
  • Telephone and cable television
  • Residency criteria (admission/discharge, pre-lease assessment)
  • Fire alarm and sprinkler systems
  • Emergency call system
  • Staffing levels and availability (24-hour staffing, experience, length of employment)

We hope that these tips on touring are helpful. For more information about communities in your area, please call 1.866.657.3621 or click http://www.carechanges.com.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

BLS Advisors LLC - Veteran's Pension Benefit

BLS Advisors LLC is an experienced, trusted, professional financial advisor specializing in ways to finance long term care and plan for retirement. BLS Advisors works with seniors and their families to ensure that financial resources are available for the long term to cover the expenses of daily living as well as extraordinary medical expenses. We are best known for helping war Veterans and their widows qualify for the Veterans' Pension Benefit that helps pay for long term care. This benefit is also available to Veterans and widows with extremely low incomes.

A well thought out senior financial planning strategy to manage the financial challenges that seniors face is the most important step to achieving your retirement goals or long term care needs. At BLS Advisors, we help you plan for all areas of retirement: from financial needs to senior long term benefits. We follow proven, prudent practices to ensure our clients' needs are satisfied.

BLS Advisors specializes in:

  • Veterans' Pension Benefit
  • Financial Planning for Retirement
  • Reverse Mortgage
  • Long Term Care Insurance
  • Estate Planning

Barbara Steinberg, the founder of BLS Advisors, is a Certified Financial Planner™ and Registered Financial Gerontologist™. She is bound by the highest ethical standards in the financial services industry. As a Registered Investment Advisor representative, Barbara has a fiduciary responsibility to do what is in the best interest of the client.

Trustworthy, ethical and honest, BLS Advisors is obsessed with finding the best financial solution for each client’s situation. Contact us to learn more about our senior financial planning services, including the Veterans’ Pension Benefit and our long term care financial options. For more information and to receive a call from BLS Advisors, please call 1.866.657.3621 or click http://carechanges.com/care-resources.

Elderlife Financial Services

Elderlife Financial Services provides loans for seniors and their family members or concerned adults who would like to help their loved ones access assisted living communities. Elderlife’s efs:Access loan structured like a Line of Credit, is an easy way to finance senior living, eliminating for many, a significant obstacle to moving into a senior living community. With low monthly payments, you and your family can utilize this loan to:
  • Pay for rent while waiting for a home to sell
  • Pay for rent while waiting for VA or other benefits
  • Finance move-in fees
  • Supplement monthly rent

Application is fast and simple. Decision in most cases within 2 hours and funding within 72 hours on an up to $50,000 Personal Line of Credit to help pay for monthly assisted living costs. Up to six friends or family members can join in the loan to help a loved one. Elderlife is accepted at more than 2,000 assisted living communities in the 48 contiguous states. For more information and to receive a call from Elderlife, please call 1.866.657.3621 or click http://carechanges.com/care-resources/elderlife-financial-services.