When you need a house, you contact a realtor.

When you need a job, you contact a recruiter.

When your senior family member can no longer live safely in their home, who are you going to call?

And what do you Google for help?

And who can you trust?

And what does it cost?

Four years ago, I had these and many more questions when I was tasked with helping my Aunt Alice. She was a fiercely independent 93-year-old living alone in her home. She had assistance from family and friends that allowed her to maintain that independence for many years, but overnight that changed when her doctor told her it was no longer safe. Since I couldn’t call Ghostbusters and my Fairy Godmother was on vacation, the search fell to me, and I dove in to find her a new home.

This was truly an unexpected journey with quite a steep learning curve. I had been working in the Travel/Hotel Sales industry for many years and had no experience with this. Two weeks after she was settled into her new home, I had an epiphany…actually, it was more of an awakening. Suddenly I realized that the scary, frustrating, difficult process that I just went through in finding a safe home for my aunt was playing out every day for families in need of help navigating the overwhelming options in senior care. And I knew in that moment that I wanted to help other families through this process, and I haven’t looked back.

If you have not personally experienced the need to find senior housing care for someone in your family, I am sure that you know someone that has. We are experiencing a “silver tsunami”, the wave of baby boomers who will need care in the next few years. There are 77 million boomers with the oldest at 75 and 10,000 more a day crossing the 65-year-old threshold.

If you know someone who needs assistance with finding a safe, caring senior housing option, the questions above are just a few of the many that come to mind when a senior needs your help. The good news is, there are professional senior housing advisors who can answer these and the myriad of other questions and issues that will come up as you go through this process. Forever Care Services’ senior housing advisors have the knowledge and tools to reduce the overwhelming options in senior housing down to what makes sense for the senior in transition.

Now that you know who to call, what comes next?

• How does this work?
• What to expect?
• What is the process?

The good news is, senior housing advisors have the knowledge and tools to reduce the overwhelming options in senior housing down to what makes sense for the senior in transition.   

How do we do that? By offering a no-cost, personalized service that includes:

• In-depth discussion of the senior’s wants and needs
• A detailed intake that covers such specifics as:
  • Recent medical history
  • Medication management needs
  • Significant behavioral issues that may cause concern
  • Mental illness or dementia diagnosis
  • Assistance needed for activities of daily living
  • Current living situation and geographic preference
  • Financial picture, long-term care insurance, and VA Assistance

After gathering this valuable information, we match it with what is offered by area Adult Family Homes, Assisted Living and Memory Care communities. Once a select number of communities are identified, we:

• Contact the community to discuss the specific needs of this potential resident
• Check the Department of Social and Health Services (DHSH) pages to read the latest state inspection of the community to look for any notes or citations that may be of concern
• Set appointments for tours and accompany the tour to provide a conduit between the senior and the community as we may have information that is helpful connecting the two sides

Ultimately, the decision to move to a community is the responsibility of the senior and their family and/or advisors. Our primary role is to present the best possible options for them to make that decision.

Learn more at our website.

— By Adrienne Miller, Forever Care Services Chief Care Officer