Assisted Living; What Caregivers Need To Know

In this episode of The Caregiver Café with Roz Jones, Roz is talking about what caregivers need to know when it may be time to look for an assisted living facility.

There may come a point in the caregiving journey when your loved one’s care needs become more than one person can safely manage at home. Maybe their condition has changed. Maybe they need help standing, bathing, eating, taking medication, or getting to the bathroom. Maybe it now takes two people to safely transfer them from the bed or chair. When that happens, it may be time to start asking questions and exploring the next level of care.

Roz walks listeners through some of the important questions to ask when touring an assisted living facility, including staff ratios, staff turnover, training, medical support, room options, emergency response systems, accessibility, activities, meals, shared spaces, and whether residents can bring personal furniture or pets.

This episode is a practical reminder that choosing a facility is not only about the building. It is about safety, staffing, comfort, dignity, and making sure your loved one receives the care they need.

Before you take a tour, pour yourself something warm, get your questions ready, and let Roz help you know what to look for, what to ask, and what to pay attention to.

Thank you for listening. If this episode encouraged you, supported you, or gave you something to think about as a caregiver, be sure to stay connected with Roz Jones.

Visit Roz online for caregiver resources, blogs, books, speaking information, and support for families navigating the caregiving journey.

Website: www.rozjonesent.com

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Because caregiving is not meant to be carried alone.

Transcript

Intro 0:00

Hey guys, how you doing today? Can I get you started with something to drink? Is your aging loved one home alone? Forgetting to take medicine or pay bills? The Caregiver Cafe with Roz Jones has a menu of resources to serve your caregiver needs. As a caregiver, Roz understands your daily challenges. This podcast focuses on the unique and dynamic issues of caregiving.

Roz Jones 0:24

Hi, I'm Roz Jones, CEO and owner of Jacksonville's Best Caregivers. Will we help expand the life of your loved one? Why do I do it? I do it to help the caregiver to reduce that SOS on their journey, which is being stressed, overwhelmed, and providing safety and security. When you can't do it all, you give us a call. And today on the Caregiver Cafe, we're going to see what's in your cup when it in regards to asking questions. What are the questions that you need to ask when you're looking for an assisted living facility? At some point during the time when you are caring for your loved one, there may be a time when you cannot physically, physically continue to take care of your loved one because of the decline of your aging loved one or because of the change in the disease, which has also exacerbated the decline of their physical being them being able to stand, feed themselves, uh, go to the bathroom on their own. And now they need more help than you individually can give them. And so when you need two people there that, you know, that are trying, um when you have a loved one and you may need two people to actually lift them out of the bed, that is an indication that the person may need to go to an assisted living facility or to a or to a nursing home. So what you know, so one is what are some of the things that you need to look for uh, you know, when you are touring some of these communities. So, you know, what do you need to absorb? What type of information do you need to look for? So here are some of the the the the key things that you want to talk about or look at when you are going to to these um taking a tour at these facilitator these facilities. Number one, you want to talk about staff. What is the staff ratio? You know, is the staff ratio one to ten or one to twenty? If the staff ratio is one to twenty, understand that your loved one will get less care. They will get less care. So you want the ratio to be smaller versus larger. Okay, what is the staff turnover rate? You need to ask that question, particularly with COVID, it's hard to keep staff now. As you all know, there are more than um, I want to say millions, I don't even have the exact number of people who are leaving the medical field because of the stress of COVID. So what are they doing? Also, too, what type of training? What type of training are you giving your staff now, particularly with COVID? You know, is there a registered nurse or a a licensed practical nurse, an LPN on staff, you know, uh, you know, during each one of the shifts? This is very important when it comes to if there's a a change in your loved one, you need to have someone like this to make sure they have this type of level of staff on care 24-7 to make sure, you know, the the you want to talk about the the spaces where they live, you know, is there a private room or a shared room? What is the cost difference between a private room and and in a shared room? When the person comes in, can you decorate? You know, you know, that's something very important. Can you bring in your own type of furnishing? Furnishing, furniture, you know, what you know what can you bring in? Will the person have a private bathroom or a shared bathroom? Can these rooms accommodate wheelchairs and walkers? You know, um do the rooms have a 24-hour response? You know, do you have uh those buttons are falling and I can't get up? Is there a call button in the bed? These are some of the things that you need to know. Do they have cable? Will they be able to watch TV? Are there activities, are there daily activities where they can, you know, participate with other uh uh residents? Is there a refrigerator in in the room where they can have their own food or do they have to, you know, eat in in a common area with other people? You know, are pets allowed? These are just some of the things that you need to look at when you are touring, when you are touring a facility. There's a list of questions that I can give you. We will also have a download for you, but I just wanted to talk to you, you know, really quickly about, you know, some of the questions and things that you need to look at when you are looking for an assisted living facility. So once again, I just wanted to talk to you about what was in my cup, uh, you know, so far as when you are looking for an assisted living facility for your loved one and you're on a tour, what are some of the, you know, what's a checklist that you all want to take with you? Make sure that you uh go into our show notes and you will be able to find the checklist on when you take a tour uh for an assisted living facility. What are some of the things that you need to look for uh for the care of your loved one? Thank you again. Uh let us know what's roasting in your cup today and what type of shows or people would you like to uh for us to either invite or the topics that you would like for us to address. Once again, I am Roz Jones, the uh executive producer of the Caregiver Cafe. And thank you for uh joining us and letting us uh share our cup of coffee with you today.

Outro 5:48

Until your next visit to the Caregiver Cafe, connect with Roz on YouTube, LinkedIn, and her blog at thecaregivercafe.net. Caregiver Cafe Podcast specializes in serving those who provide care and support to a sick or aging loved one. I'm the voice guest, but I'm one of you. So when Roz has an expert or frontline workers, I'm listening. We hope you've enjoyed the show. In the meantime, don't forget to connect with Roz on YouTube, LinkedIn, or at the blog at the CaregiverCafe.net