MCF Chains

David J

I posted this to the Spouse board, but forgot to cross post. 

 There are a few national or multi state MCF or AL chains that have facilities near me.  Some may be franchises. 

Any body have experience with Artis, Leisure Care, Benchmark, EPOCH, Masonicare?  I’m sure there are more, and Amy experience you can share would be helpful. Thanks. 

harshedbuzz

I can only speak to my experience locally in the Philadelphia suburbs. I toured a range of facilities in advance of dad's placement- from state-run veterans homes, to religiously affiliated non-profits, to community based non-profits, to the county-run SNF, to corporate chains. There are some subtle differences.

All of the corporate chain MCFs near me seemed more appealing to a family member touring- they were beautifully decorated with touches like "memory shadow boxes" and cute Main Street facades in the public areas. They tended to cherry pick their residents- so the people you met were calm and compliant around hygiene and dressing. One of these was near my mother's house and was her choice for dad, but they didn't offer him a place based on the potential for challenging behavior associated with his specific diagnosis. 

One caveat, most of these places do not accept Medicaid. So if there is a possibility that your LO could outlive their money, it would be best not to do a placement there. My state doesn't allow Medicaid to fun MC, so dad would have eventually needed transfer to a SNF "Medicaid bed" if he lived lone enough so we chose a chain that also ran SNFs to make the transition seamlessly. 

In making a choice, you want to look at training and staff turnover because these factors will most impact care. Dad's MCF wasn't as beautifully decorated as some of the others I passed on the way to visit (6 mile drive and I passed no less than 8 other facilities), but the staff was well trained, paid better than most and had been there for years. 

Good luck.

HB