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Thanks to increasing longevity
and healthier lifestyle habits, more and more older Americans
are considering assisted living as a residential choice in their
later years. Assisted living facilities (ALF) provide personal
care and other services which enable residents to live as independently
as possible in a more homelike setting than a nursing home.
Before choosing an assisted living
facility, according to the MetLife Mature Market Institute®,
it’s important to understand which services may or may not
be offered and how to evaluate those services.
As a family member, you will
want to assess the functional abilities of your loved ones to
make sure that assisted living provides the appropriate level
of care. You may decide to engage the services of a geriatric
care manger to help you with your assessment. Geriatric care
managers specialize in assisting older people and their families
in making their long-term care arrangements. The National Association
of Professional Geriatric Care Managers (1-520-881-8008) can
provide referrals. |
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It is important to visit multiple facilities and to make at least
one announced and unannounced visit to the facility so that you
can observe the residents’ daily routine.
- Be sure to review the facility’s
contract as part of your research. This document should provide
information on what the basic fee does and does not cover, and
the discharge policy. It’s a good idea to review the contract
with an elder-law attorney before you sign it.
- Ask for the licensing or certification
inspection report. Remember, licensing and certification criteria
vary from state to state. Check with the local Long-Term Care
Ombudsman who can be identified by your State Office on Aging
and Better Business Bureau to see if there have been any complaints
about the facility or staff.
It’s also important to remember
that what is covered in one facility’s fee structure may
not be included in another. For example, medication management
or free transportation to doctors’ appointments may not
be provided.
The MetLife Market Survey of
Assisted Living Costs 2004 found that the average cost of an
ALF in the U.S. is $2,524 monthly or $30,288 yearly. Medicare
and Medicaid typically do not cover the cost of ALFs, but most
long-term care insurance policies do.
Assisted Living Gaining in
Popularity is one of
a series of Since You Care® guides for caregivers
produced by the MetLife Mature Market Institute in cooperation
with the National Alliance for Caregiving. |
