Major Problem 3: Referral List
Some senior care referral agencies have a select list of facilities that they network with. Technically, this is true with the Concierge Care Advisors, but there’s a different reasoning behind than personal problems or financial gain.
While we serve California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, the majority of the senior care advisors are based in the Pacific North West. I only mention this because we are familiar with a LOT of senior housing communities. Brian Prouty recounts in his blog, “King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties host 246 different Assisted Living Communities (King 152, Pierce 50, and Snohomish 44).” That’s three counties in the PNW.
While I’m not going to suggest that we know of ALL of the senior living communities, we do know a ton of them. What’s more is we actually inspect each of these on a semi-regular basis. The longest we’ve currently gone without inspecting a housing community is about 2 months. To give a point of reference, the DSHS is required by law to inspect the housing facilities once every 13-16 months.
There is always the chance that we’re unfamiliar with a senior care community – after all, Adult Family Homes seem to be popping up everywhere nowadays – but we would never outright deny one.
Typically, we do only work with communities that uphold our sentiment and high standards, but that doesn’t mean they cost more. It means that we know that the care the elder is going to receive is quality and you’re not going to get a call a few weeks in saying that your elder has become sick; more than that, you’re not going to visit only to find them near-comatose due to staff members doping up elders to handle them more easily.
Major Problem 4: Maximizing Elderly Profits
A real problem is elder fraud and senior scams that perpetuate in all senior care facets. Whether it’s on the senior care referral agency side – moving elderly people into housing they cannot afford long term – or even in-home caregivers that take advantage of seniors’ trust and short-term memory.
We don’t do that. When we talk to seniors and their families, we plan long-term. We assess everything. Even if a senior can afford a palatial assisted living facility, we still need to account for any chronic health conditions or potentially future problems. They may need to move into a more intensive care facility along the way.
Even though we are usually contacted by the adult children of the elders, we work for the elders. We don’t reserve funds so the children can have a bigger inheritance. We help with long-term planning. If seniors can stay at home, we help assess how they can stay at home and for how long.
And the first thing we do is make sure elders are getting all the funds they’re entitled to. One of the biggest aspects we fight for is Veterans’ Benefits. So many people are entitled to these funds, but don’t know how to get ahold of them, we’ve been through the process many times, so we will help get them through.
