visiting assisted living facilities

I made an appointment the first time and during the meeting I told them that I may have more questions so I may stop by again if I do. I felt like that gave them a chance to schedule time for a longer meeting but also left the option open to me just drop by. When I did come back knowing I may have to wait for someone to talk to it gave me a chance to watch what was happening when unannounced. I think most places understand the desire to the kind of care they provide.

I toured a dozen places ahead of placing dad. The only one with which I made an appointment was the State VA Home; I dropped in on the rest.

You are going to be given the tour by their sales agent or some other person from the business side of the operation. You might need to wait if they're on lunch or assisting another family. I did have one instance where the sales agent wasn't able to give me a tour of the MCU because they had a new resident who was acting out. She did offer me a tour of their AL and the Dementia wing of the SNF. In my state, Medicaid doesn't pay for MC, so residents who spend down are transferred to a SNF.

Once I narrowed down my favorites, I did stop once or twice more at different times of day to observe meals and activities.

HB

I am about to begin visiting again. I did it for my mother many years ago; now for DW. Trying to get ahead of this.

I would suggest making appointments. It may allow for some preliminary questions over the phone to make your visit more efficient and focused on seeing and asking what you want. It can also help them be prepared for you with materials, documents etc. And they may suggest certain times of the day to come if you tell them what you are most interested in. There isn't much one person can do to change the way the facility operates, so surprising them probably makes no difference.

I realize one cannot always plan in advance when they will have 1-2 hours for a visit, so sometimes spur of the moment may be best.

As someone who has placed my wife 'too soon' I wish I would have had the opportunity to visit for 3-4 hours just observing the residents and interactions. I am not sure if that would have been permitted but it would have made it clear that my wife was not a good fit for the facility.

There was virtually no interaction between residents and no structured activities available. These were the primary factors that led me to the placement. It was clear after 12 days that bringing her home with help made sense. The facility itself was high end and the staff was great so the basic tour was not enough for a though vetting.