DON'T COMPLICATE THINGS - JUST ASK LISA
It's all about the customer service
Do you ever wonder what happens when you visit one of those online referral services for elder care?
You’ll fill out an online form and click send. What happens next? Your information is sent to every senior living facility in a 20-mile radius. Expect an inundation of phone calls within 30 minutes from every sales and marketing person who gets your info! Of course all these facilities won’t be suitable for your loved ones’ specific needs.
Call me instead. I offer personalized service to people looking for the perfect place for their senior loved ones to live. I’ve worked in senior living for the past 13 years. I know about all the communities in the area. I know the people who manage them. I know what services they offer, and how much they cost. Let me help you weed out the inappropriate places and point you to the top two or three communities that best fit your needs.
First, Let's Talk About You
Energy level
- Low
- Moderate
- High
Cooking
- You cook for your loved one daily, at least twice per week
- You cook a few times a week and stock the freezer
- You feel confident they cook regular, well-balanced meals for themselves
Social Engagement
- You visit daily and are their social life
- They will go to social events once per month, or you take them
- They visit with friends regularly, but you must take them for safety
Driving
- You drive them everywhere they need to go
- They drive only a couple times a week and only on sunny days or you drive them
- You never worry about their ability to drive safely
Bathing
- You must assist them with baths due to safety issues
- They bathe a few times a week and only when you are there
- They are perfectly safe in the shower alone?
Grooming
- You must regularly remind or physically assist them to brush teeth, shave, shampoo or fix their hair
- You need to be there when they brush teeth shave, shampoo or fix their hair once per week
you are confident they regularly brush teeth, shave, shampoo or fix their hair with no issue
Medication
- You visit multiple times per day to ensure they take their medications properly, you give
them the meds if necessary - You set up a med planner once a week and check in several times per week to make sure they take them
- You are confident they never have an issue with remembering to take their meds
Getting around
- You visit daily to ensure their safety to/from the bathroom
- You check on them several times per week to make sure they haven’t fallen
- OR you never worry about their mobility in the home alone
Concerns
- You worry about their safety and cannot sleep well at night
- You dread any late-night phone calls
- You cannot leave town on a trip with your family due to fear of leaving them with no support
- You adjust your life in order to meet their daily needs
- Nobody can take care of my loved one better than me
Now, Let's Talk About Them
Energy level
- Low
- Moderate
- High
Cooking
- Never cooks for their self, therefore doesn’t really eat much
- Cooks only a little bit, tending to open something pre-packaged
- Loves to cook daily with variety and good nutrition
Social Engagement
- Prefers to be left alone in front of the TV all day
- Occasionally attends a social group, but has slowed down due to mobility
- Often attends or even leads social groups, attends church weekly
Driving
- Cannot drive, it’s just not safe
- Drives only short distances only on sunny days and only a couple times per month
- Drives regularly to errands and social events around town
Bathing
- Rarely bathes due to low energy or safety concerns, it’s too much trouble
- Bathes self a few times a week but will call you to let you know
- Loves a daily shower and has no safety concerns
Grooming
- won’t brush teeth, shave, shampoo/fix hair because it’s just too difficult or they don’t remember
- Brushes teeth, shaves, shampoos or fixes hair only once or twice per week but they need help
- Brushes teeth and shaves daily, washes and fixes hair with no issue
Medications
- Cannot manage medications correctly without help as arthritis makes it painful, missed meds occur often causing health issues
- Can manage if med planner is set up but someone must call daily to remind make sure
they are taken - Manages own medications daily without issue and can successfully work with the
pharmacy
Getting around
- Gets up only to go to the bathroom, otherwise stays seated all day, has had many falls
- Has difficulty walking long distances, strength and balance is poor ,falling is a strong
possibility - Walks briskly inside and outside the house and exercises daily to stay in shape
Adaptive devices
- Uses a wheelchair in the house or when going out
- Uses a walker/cane around the house or when going out
- Walks with no adaptive device