When evaluating a geriatric care facility for placement for either yourself or your loved one, it’s important to develop a set of criteria that is essential to you. Everyone has different reasons for choosing a facility, as well as different needs and wants, and the idea that one care facility is going to be the best for everyone is just not the case.
The best way to choose a geriatric care facility is to develop a set of criteria – what is important to you, what are the things that you are looking for – and evaluate all of the facilities that you are looking at in accordance with those same criteria. In our Alzheimer’s Guide, we have a helpful tool that can aid in making that assessment called a Long-Term Care Facility Evaluation Form. If you would like a copy, click here to request a free Alzheimer’s Guide.
In this Elder Law Minute, Wes Coulson, Southern Illinois Elder Law Attorney, discusses the importance of developing a personal set of criteria to use when evaluating a geriatric care facility for placement for either yourself or a loved one.
How to Evaluate a Geriatric Care Facility
Transcript:
Hi, I’m Wes Coulson and this is your Elder Law Minute. Let’s talk today a little bit about how to choose a geriatric care facility for either yourself or for a loved one.
First, I want to dispel the notion that there’s one set of criteria that everyone should use. The idea that one care facility is going to be the best for everyone is just not the case. As a for instance, I love food. Okay, if I’m picking the facility I want to make sure that the food is good. Well, that’s not so important to a lot of other people. If you’re going to need to have physical or occupational therapy at a facility, you want to make sure that they offer that and that it’s good. If not, that may not matter to you at all. Some people are very strong in their faith and the availability of religious services on site might be the greatest factor in the world to them, for someone else that it may not matter.
So, the idea is just to sort of develop a set of criteria – what’s important to you, what are the things that you are looking for – and evaluate all of the facilities that you’re looking at in accordance with those same criteria. In our Alzheimer’s Guide, we have a thing that is, handily enough, called Long-Term Care Facility Evaluation Form. So, it is a good thing that you can use, sort of again a little bit of a handy score card to help in making that assessment. So, if you’d like to get a copy, let us know and we’d be happy to get you one. Thanks.
For more information on Alzheimer’s Guide Topics, visit these articles
- Memory Care: The relatively new option for Alzheimer’s care
- Alzheimer’s and Unpaid Family Caregivers
- Alzheimer’s and Driving: Why having “the conversation” can be a bad idea
“Your Trusted Advisor on the Elder Care Journey”
Dent-Coulson Elder Law is dedicated to providing families in the St. Louis area with their Elder Law needs. Our practice areas include Asset Preservation Planning, Veterans Benefits, Medicaid Eligibility, Alzheimer’s Planning, Special Needs Planning, Estate Planning and more. We understand the financial challenges you may face as you and your loved ones grow older. At Dent-Coulson Elder Law, our clients’ well-being is our number one priority. For immediate help, call (877)995-6876 or Contact Us and we will get in touch as soon as possible.
