Can you tell me more about visiting MC Facilities?

Call me Gram

I helped my mother find a SNF for my grandmother decades ago, but there were like 3 choices in her area… and I don't think there were any MC options near her at the time. Now, I live in a city where the choices are overwhelming (which I imagine is actually a blessing).

What am I looking for? I have read that I need to get DH on lists. Where?

Where did you start? What questions did you ask? Why do I feel like I don't know what I'm doing? 🙃

BPS

I think the reason you feel like you don't know what you are doing is because you have never had to do this before and there is no definite right answer. Each facility may have a waiting list of their own. The larger facilities may have more activity options but will your husband take part in them. The small facilities may have less activities but I think it is easier for the residents to find their way to and from their rooms. My wife is in a MC with 12 rooms in the building she is in and the aids have to show some of the residents where their rooms are multiple times a day. I think the aid to resident ratio would be important to ask and under what circumstances would he have to move out. but a lot of it comes down to which one you feel more comfortable with.

sandwichone123

I also live in a city with many options. I made a basic list of questions: cost, staffing, and called several. After I got a feel for what I was doing I went to visit a few of the top ones I had called. Honestly, though, without a local support group I would not have found the mcf my spouse is in.

howhale

There are many resources and people here who can offer great suggestions for those things to check in a MC facility. Having had to do that years ago for other relatives, my one and only suggestion is not to be taken in by how pretty it is, how fancy, how many activities they promote, the chef prepared food, etc., etc. Most are for profit companies. My experience say forget how pretty, new or fancy it is. Look for the tenure of the staff, Not just the director, but the staff who actually does the work. If they are long term employees, that is a plus. Sample the food they are eating, not something prepared for you on a visit. Research any health inspections. One brand new fancy facility opened and within a couple months had already failed the health inspection. Staff is hard for them to find, many bounce from facility to facility. The one where staff has stayed a long time say something. The best we found was an old elementary school converted to a facility, staff had been there 20+ years, residents had been there similarly, health inspections consistently 100, no smell whatsoever walking the halls, etc. It was not fancy, it was older, but it was the best. It is what is behind all their smoke and mirrors that makes the difference. That is what your loved one will experience.

SDianeL

I searched for MC facilities in my city starting with those closest to me. I looked at and read reviews and narrowed the list to 3 top ones. I made appointments with those 3 and toured the facilities. One I didn't like the coldness of the director. One the residents seemed happy but it wasn't the cleanest. I chose the one that was the cleanest, not the fanciest but I spoke with the caregivers (RN & Social Worker) and they impressed me. Someone on this forum suggested that you try to speak with family members who are arriving or leaving the facility to ask them about the care their LO is receiving there.

annie51

Lots of good suggestions here. There are resources with lists of basic questions to ask and I’ve linked a couple of them below. For me I tried to focus on places that were strictly memory care, not combinations of assisted living/memory care. It seemed that the stand alone MC’s had a better focus on making the facility pleasant for the residents with dementia. My top choices had 24 hour nursing coverage and a 1:7 ratio of caregivers to residents, as well as in house doctor and nurse practitioner visits weekly. I decided on one that was not the newest and fanciest, but one that had a comfortable, homey atmosphere and accessible walking paths outside. For my DH and the stage he was in I felt that was more important than a huge list of activities and off site bus trips. It will depend on what you feel are the most important needs for your LO. Come back with more questions here if you need to!

https://alzfdn.org/10-questions-to-ask-when-considering-a-memory-care-community/

https://www.aplaceformom.com/caregiver-resources/articles/memory-care-checklist

Call me Gram

Thank you all! I appreciate your insights! I'll keep you posted during the search.

Lethe

the ALZ Association has patient “navigators” that can also give you a list. They of course can’t recommend one over another but the navigator will be local and know where to start. I gave a geographic radius and price. Then it’s up to you to visit. They can also be helpful in talking through what to look for and how to get a feel for a facility. Once you visit a few you will have a better idea of what you want and don’t want.

Timmyd

I live in a fairly large metro area and there are several nearby facilities. I used a locator service and also visited a couple of facilities on my own. One thing I was surprised by was the high pressure sales tactics. The visits themselves went about as expected, but the follow up calls and text messages were relentless. I also started getting frequent calls from facilities I never visited or contacted.