What are the factors to be considered when choosing between assisted living and a nursing home? First, let us understand why someone might want to live in an assisted living facility or a nursing home. Usually, when seniors decide that assisted living or nursing homes are the next step for them, their children will go … Read more
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Keep Seniors a Part of the Decision Making Process
The call came from a close neighbor. John was 92 and still living in his own home. She had been helping him with little things like grocery shopping, yard work and checking in on him. One day he decided to drive to the store. Unfortunately he hit over 30 things with his car as he drove down the street. That was decision maker, it was time for Fred to move to assisted living where he didn’t need to drive anymore and that had caregivers providing the increasing support he needed…
While John preferred to stay at home, he knew he really needed more help than he was getting and he didn’t have any family to be there for him. He hated imposing on his neighbor but was grateful for her help. The neighbor and I toured several assisted living communities in Washington County looking for the right fit. Looking at the options can be very overwhelming and physically exhausting, especially for a man who is 92. The goal was to narrow down the choices to a couple then bring him back to make the final decision.
Finding Assisted Living – I’m Out of Town and My Parents Need to Move
June and Martin lived in a 55+ community in Tigard. Martin had Alzheimer’s disease but physically was very healthy. June had some significant health issues but no cognitive disabilities. Between them, though, they were able to leverage their strengths to live independently– until Martin ended up in the hospital then rehab. June and Martin’s son (and Power of Attorney) realized they needed to move to assisted living but he lived out of town and couldn’t get away from work to help them find a place for them to go. He called us to help.
We listened to his concerns about his parents then met with June to talk about what she wanted. We then arranged to tour several assisted living communities with her. She found one she really liked in nearby Tualatin and decided that’s where she wanted to move. She depended on her son to manage their finances so we helped facilitate the discussion between the community and her son to ensure paperwork was completed and deposits were made.
Immediate Need for Assistance Hospital Requires Move to Assisted Living Prior to Discharge
Jane was a 93 year old lady who lived independently in her own home in Lake Oswego for 40+ years. She developed pneumonia in January which led to weakness and several falls. Her neighbors worried about her living alone but couldn’t convince her she should seek assistance. She was proud of her independence and didn’t want strangers in her home and definitely didn’t want to move to assisted living. A major fall and trip to the hospital convinced her neighbors something needed to be done. In addition, the hospital wanted to discharge her the next day and wouldn’t let her go home. The hospital gave the neighbors our name and phone number so they called us to ask for help finding her assistance…
Adult Foster Homes are private residences in which the proprietor is licensed by the state to have a maximum of five seniors live in the home. Each house has a private room and at least a half bath. 
Adult Foster Homes are very experienced at caring for seniors and have experience with almost everything. They’re more like home, residents are treated like family and the ratio of caregivers to residents is really good—residents get a lot of attention. There are over one thousand adult foster homes in the Portland metropolitan area. We help narrow down the options. In addition we look at county and state records to see if there are substantiated complaints about the homes or other red flags that indicate it’s not an appropriate place for our clients.
Urgent Need for Memory Care after Hospital Stay Causes Family Caregiver Stress Don’t Wait for a Crisis to Make a Move!
A call came from the discharge planner at the hospital in Hillsboro. They had a patient that needed 24×7 supervision who couldn’t return to his home and needed to find a memory care facility as he was an “elopement risk” (they were worried he would walk out the front door and wander away). The hospital case manager wanted to discharge him as quickly as possible and asked us to help find him a room in memory care in Portland as it wasn’t safe to allow him to return home…
There were lots of signs he (and his wife) needed more assistance. The daughters had already decided the next time he was in the hospital would be the final straw, it would be time to move. While usually we can find the perfect place for him to move, this time every memory care building was full and most had a waiting list.
Our number one recommendation is don’t wait until there’s a crisis to make a move. When it’s a crisis you are stuck with what’s available and it may not be what you really want. The senior in crisis won’t get input on which place he/she wants, family will have to make all the decisions. They’re already feeling overwhelmed with all that’s going on with their loved ones and the pressure of making a quick decision to meet hospital discharge expectations is extremely stressful!
Planning Ahead for Alzheimer’s Care
Mr. and Mrs. C live in their own home in a large neighborhood in Beaverton, Oregon. They love their home and don’t wish to move. They were referred to us by an in-home care agency who has been helping care for Mrs. C in their home. Mrs. C is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. Mr. C recently had a heart attack scare, and after his recovery, got his family together for a meeting to talk about the future. Mr. C called me to find out what Memory Care communities were out there; in the event that something happens to him, his wife will need to be looked after…
Both Mr. and Mrs. C liked one community in particular. It’s near their son, near walking trails, has a nice courtyard and a nice view, and meets their budget. They also made a second choice as a backup plan in case the first community has no availability. They had another family meeting and told their sons about their decision. When the time comes, the sons know this is their choice, and will contact us to move forward with Mrs. C either moving to Assisted Living or Memory Care, depending on the nurse’s assessment.
