Tag: CarePartners Senior Living

Nichole Smith from CarePartners Living: We in the senior living industry think of ourselves as co-petitors, not competitors, and we meet on purpose to know all of the services out there. Just this morning I met with a group of 140 providers, and I thanked them all for their help, because we just went through placing my own family in assisted living, putting my dad in hospice, him ultimately passing away, and it was the people in that room that I called upon when my family needed help. One provider can't do everything

Fall is time when weather kicks up and we should get a head start on preventing falls. Colette Roberge at CarePartners Senior Living point our there are many hazards around the home or that seniors are doing that can cause falls. What medications are they taking? Are some combinations making them dizzy? Fall is good time for a follow-up with the doctor to assess all their medications. Colder weather brings arthritis, which can also bring falls, and there are also wet decks, icy walks.

Your senior loved one staying at home is the ultimate goal for as long as possible, but it can be hard if it involves maintaining a mortgage or a big yard. Sometimes families will wait because they don't want to give up the family home or their loved one has dug in, and they wait too long. Warning signs depend on their situation, but if they're living at home, are they able to manage their medications, are they eating appropriately? They're isolated and don't think about eating. Colette Roberge at CarePartners Senior Living sees residents move in, and new life comes back into them, and they flourish.

Nichole Smith at CarePartners Living says that a lot of science was put into the design of their cottages. Their clients with dementia have a cycle of self-isolation, depression, that exasperates the dementia. The cottages are based on a home environment. Each site has three cottages on it, 20 residents each, which encourages interaction. Residents smell the coffee in the morning, hear their neighbors getting up, going to breakfast just like they did when they had kids, and this encourages their curiosity.

Nichole Smith at CarePartners Senior Living says that surprisingly, a majority of financial abuse comes from family members. We often have so many red flags that families are squirreling away money. When a person loses their safety awareness, of course they trust their family more than anybody else, and family members may be making decisions which they think are in the best interest of their loved one, but later down the line it may make it so they can’t get on a state Medicaid program because they’ve gifted money within the last five years.

Kelley Smith at CarePartners Senior Living talks about funding options for senior care. If a retirement/assisted living/memory care community really is the best solution, then we are going to talk about financing. What are you supposed to do if your dad’s gone, and all your mom has is her social security and her house? We have the largest floating Medicaid license in the state. Mom can take what little assets she has, and when she runs out of money, Mom qualifies for the state benefits and is guaranteed to be able to stay with us.

Jill Martinez, director of community relations for CarePartners Living, explains that Dementia can hit 90% of the population in some form. To care for a loved one on your own is an overwhelming experience. We really try to help them through that process of determining when it’s time to consider memory care or moving their loved one into a retirement community, because there really are some key factors to pay attention to. The cottages are set up for memory care specifically and are built a specific way.