Care Home Referral/Search resources

robleli · April 30

New here, both to this discussion board and to the situation. My father has moderate and rapidly progressing dementia (Alzheimer’s). Previously he was very compliant, but this continuing decline has brought out a strong, stubborn streak in addition to everything else. My siblings and I think it is time for memory care. He had been living with my aunt, but I believe his needs are out-weighing her abilities at this point.

We have the resources to move him into memory care. My question is this:there are a number of referral services in our area that will assist you in finding placement, and they get a referral fee. I’m wondering if anyone in the greater Sacramento (Roseville) area has used any of these services with success? And if so, would you be able to provide a name? It’s overwhelming thinking about doing all the legwork and visits when I am sure there are probably only a handful we should consider. It would be nice to have someone do the “weeding out” for us.

Thank you!

ARIL · May 1

This is such a specific location that you may or may not get lucky enough to get a response on this forum.

One observation: On three occasions I have needed help pre-vetting AL and MC facilities in two different states, in both rural and urban areas. I got excellent help from a counselor and her team at Care.com (the same people in all three situations); Care.com has a national reach and can make assessments in different places equally well. But the access to this help was a benefit provided to me by my employer, so I do not know what the service costs or how to arrange it privately. Nonetheless, I hope this helps a little.

You are fortunate to have all the siblings on the same page. Good luck with your search. I know how daunting it is.

Mint · May 1

I am in Ohio. There is a company called Carepatrol. It is a national company that you can google. Then you will need to enter your ZIP Code to find out if there is a franchise of this company that serves your area.

You do not pay these people, they work more like an insurance agent. They will be working in your area. I found them extremely helpful and really took away a lot of the legwork. They can help for placement wherever your loved one is at including home. They sort of served as a liaison between us in the facilities. I found out about them through the at the hospital, where my mother was..

My mom has been placed since November 1. My three sisters and I are very happy with where my mother is

Schilder64 · May 1

I've had good luck with A Place for Mom: here's a link: https://www.aplaceformom.com/

It's free and the people seem genuinely concerned and interested in finding a good fit.

I'm sorry you're dealing with this - I know how hard it is. Another member here recommended Ken Cardita's podcasts "Surviving Alzheimers" and I've been finding it very useful. He has some really good tips for how to move someone into a care facility. You can find them on Spotify, or the first 8 or 9 are on YouTube.

harshedbuzz · May 2

I would advise against A Place for Mom for a number of reasons.

The only standard for inclusion on their list of curated facilities is the willingness of said facility to pay them a kickback/fee for every resident who signs on. The fee is equivalent to about a month's care in the facility and baked into your price. That's money I'd rather see spent on training, salaries and resident activities.

Many of the best places have waitlists or are mostly full based on word-of-mouth alone. If you rely on APFM, you may miss better options.

Once APFM has your contact information, it's out there and you no longer have control of it. For months after I had regular calls for several places asking if I was still looking to place or if I was happy with my choice. These calls seemed to happen when a news sales manager was hired or the facility had recently been rebranded. I even had a call over a year later, with mom in my car a few months after dad died— it took some serious work to convince her I wasn't planning to place her.

I found the best place for recommendations was my local support group and casual conversations with people in my community. I found my top 3 choices that way.

HB

jehjeh · May 3

This only just now occurred to me, don't know why it took me so long.

I'm going to connect with a local support group so that I'm meeting people in my area. There will undoubtedly be families who have experienced local facilities and can offer their perspectives.

I wonder if there's a group in your area that you can attend? When my dad entered MC many years, it was that group that kept me sane.

H1235 · May 3

I would not want a long travel for visits. Obviously you also want a quality facility. It might be worth while to make some calls to the closest facilities, that look good and have good reviews then do tours. I think there are a few threads here about questions to ask and what to pay attention to when visiting a facility. I’m in a rural community, so options are limited and that probably makes my approach a bit different.

jen ht · May 4

I found an organization called Senior Care Authority to be very helpful - with more than placement. I've used them in 2 states.

You've found a good place here for support and ideas.

~jen ht

Care Home Referral/Search resources

Comments

I am in Ohio. There is a company called Carepatrol. It is a national company that you can google. Then you will need to enter your ZIP Code to find out if there is a franchise of this company that serves your area.

My mom has been placed since November 1. My three sisters and I are very happy with where my mother is

Commonly Used Abbreviations

Community Guidelines

Categories