My (On-Going!) Senior Community Quality Control Process
By: Nicolet Araujo
Here are some shocking facts regarding the senior-care referral business within California:
Anyone can go into business as a senior-care referrer with no qualifications required.
Senior-care referrers have absolutely no obligation to disclose their financial relationships with the assisted living communities to which they refer their clients.
Senior-care referrers are not required to perform any due diligence on the communities they recommend. They don’t even have to confirm that these communities are licensed!
I take due diligence very seriously
As a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA®), I follow a very detailed process to ensure the communities at which I place my clients meet my high-quality standards. Here is my process:
Step 1: Check Licensure
I always start at the California Department of Social Services’ licensing website, to review all recent visits that their inspectors have made to a community. If there have been minor infractions, I speak with the facility’s owner regarding how these were resolved. If there have been severe infractions, I immediately take that facility out of consideration.
Step 2: Visit Site
Whether it’s a six-bed residential care home or a large assisted-living facility, prior to contracting with them I visit the community and interview them based on a five-page Care Capabilities Checklist. I’m not just looking around to check for cleanliness and atmosphere. I need to know what level of care they are trained, willing and staffed to provide.
While there, I tour the entire community, take photos and ask to speak with residents (and their family if they happen to be visiting at the time).
Step 3: Continuous Reassessment
Once I am considering a community for placement of a particular client, I revisit the Department of Social Services’ website to obtain updated information. After all, things can change, and with that there can be problems at a facility that I previously would have considered a viable option.
Step 4: Communicate with Community
Prior to touring a family, I communicate with the senior community owner or manager regarding the specific care needs of my client. Are they capable right now of managing these care needs?
Step 5: Bring Family on Community Tour
You can bet that while I am there, I pay close attention to what I see.
Step 6: Follow Up
Once I place a resident in a community I return within the first week, and periodically thereafter, to speak with them and their family about their experiences. This feedback then gets added to my database for referencing going forward.
Not all advisors in my field take the same approach
As a recent expose in the Washington Post explains, it can be pretty scary out there!
Yes, the reason I am able to provide my services at no cost to my clients is that, as I fully disclose, I receive a commission from the communities at which I place my clients. But those sub-standard communities at which I would never consider placing anyone also pay commissions. I choose to ONLY work with the communities that consistently meet my quality control standards.
When you need assistance finding the best living situation for your loved one, please remember that I am here to help!