CLIENT SITUATION
Carol was very concerned that her mom’s care was at such a high level that she would require skilled care in a nursing home.
WHY DOWDA SENIOR CONSULTANTS
I had helped Carol’s friend Sandy find an assisted living community for her parents years ago, and Carol knew how pleased they had been with their living situation and she was hoping she could find something similar for her mom. She was afraid her mom required too much care for an assisted living, but she decided to reach out to me anyway to see if that was true.
DOWDA’S SOLUTION
The WONDERFUL news that we had for Carol (and for many other clients who reach out in similar situations) is that there are VERY few prohibitive conditions for living in assisted living. Years ago, assisted living was closer to what independent living is now. In current assisted living communities, however, residents can receive assistance with every single one of their activities of daily living. They can be bed-bound, and even have hospice come in at end of life. Only a few conditions such as a ventilator or feeding tube are prohibited, but most are not interested in pursuing that treatment at this age. We were delighted to be able to share this information with Carol. We toured several communities, picked out one together that we really liked, and her mom moved in. It was during Covid, so there were some extra challenges, but she adjusted beautifully and was very happy.
DOWDA’S IMPACT
When we were helping Carol choose the right community for her mom, we helped her see how among different assisted living communities there is a spectrum of the particular level of care they are willing to provide. Over the years, we have learned the level of care that all of the different AL’s will offer as their residents age. The specific one that we strongly encouraged her towards (which ultimately she chose) was one that consistently offers the very highest level of care.
Several months after moving in, Wilma had a health event that took her to the hospital. When it was time for her to be released, the hospital staff told Carol that her mom would not be able to return to assisted living but would need to go to skilled nursing. The assisted living that we had found for Wilma insisted that they absolutely COULD care for her, and convinced the hospital staff of that fact. They took her back to her apartment at the AL, and had her on oxygen and brought hospice in. However, once she was back in the assisted living community, being cared for well and in her own environment, she made a huge recovery and graduated off of both the oxygen and hospice!
If Dowda Senior Consultants hadn’t been part of Carol’s story to help her find that community that would offer that highest level of care, she might have ended up in a nursing home after her time in the hospital, rather than in her lovely apartment with all of her friends and loving care staff. We are so grateful that Carol’s friend recommended her to us!
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