Smart Shopping Tips

Shopping for an Assisted Living facility for your relative is stressful; you don’t know much about Assisted Living and you don’t know what to ask when evaluating various facilities. Here are some tips.

First you need to decide if your relative would be best off in a large facility or a smaller six bed facility.

If your relative is quite active and social a large facility might be best where there is a large Resident population.

If your Relative requires help with daily activities and closer observation/supervision then a six bed facility might be the better option.

Questions to ask when you are shopping for Assisted Living.

1. Is there awake at night staff?
   Some facilities have on staff member on for 24 hours and are not awake at night. Elder Homes Assisted Living staff work 8 hour shifts and are always awake at night.

2. Are there any “Extra Costs”?
   Make sure the monthly rent is all inclusive with no extra charges.

3. Does the staff speak understandable English?
   The elderly often have hearing challenges and the addition of heavy language accents can be problematic.

More tips can be found at the Fresno-Madera Ombudsman Program Website.