We find the right senior care community.

There are many different types of senior care communities. Each one has unique features. Finding the attributes best suited to clients’ needs is the goal.

Based on clients’ needs and preferences, we accompany clients on tours of several senior care communities that have good management and a good track record. Usually, the client has an instant affinity for one of the choices – they find a place to call home.

We are your ethical advocates. 

Unlike placement companies, certified Golden Pond care managers do not accept money from senior care communities for referrals. We work for our clients and adhere to a code of ethics (link) and Standards of Care (link) established by the Aging Life Care Association and the National Academy of Certified Care Managers.

We often have the opportunity to negotiate additional benefits for our clients. In some cases, we can negotiate a reduction in a senior care community fee. This savings has more than paid for the care management assessment and placement activities.

There are group homes from 3 to 13 rooms and larger communities that feel like apartment living with restaurants, bistros, gyms, swimming pools and activities within and outside of the community.

Some senior care communities (Continuing Care Retirement Communities, CCRCs) require a buy-in while you are still healthy and offer care throughout the rest of your life. Some similar communities rent by the month and have services including:

• Independent apartments
• Assisted living
• Assisted Living Memory Care (locked facilities which require a diagnosis of dementia)
• Long term care support

We manage change. 

Senior care communities change over time. When a community opens and fills up the first residents have similar needs and abilities and they enjoy the community together. Over the years, residents age and prospective residents may note the frailty of the current residents and choose a community that is more active. Golden Pond Care managers keep in mind the acuity of a community and suggest tours accordingly.

Some individuals need the services of a nurse. If there is no nurse in a senior care community to assess a problem, like potential injury from a fall,  low blood pressure, or sudden pain, the certified nursing assistants and medication technicians who are not trained to assess the situation and call for doctors’ orders, have to call 911 for Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

Golden Pond care managers become very involved in providing continuity by knowing what is possible, who to ask, and how to advocate. Sometimes it is healthier for a care manager to negotiate than start a family battle with a community that is not client-centered.

Sometimes multiple family members get involved and the senior care community does not know who to listen to. A care manager makes all the difference in obtaining timely communication, having problems addressed, on-going client/situation monitoring and staff intervention.

Transition trauma is a situation that can occur when people move to a new “home.” It is bigger than the losses associated with leaving friends and long-known advisors, doctors, hair salons and beloved spaces. It ties into the issue of learning new information when it is harder to learn. Making new friends, remembering new names, and learning new routines becomes a challenge with an opportunity for depression and a downward spiral.

Golden Pond care managers help plan the move and the transition of our clients into senior care communities. Targeted support, key introductions and on-going monitoring and engagement allows clients to re-establish themselves without losing confidence and abilities.