The Truth About Assisted Living: Or Make Other Arrangements, 'Cause I'm Not Going!

By E.N. Porter

What People Are Saying

Miss Porter definitely gets her point across. If I did not have an insight to the inner goings on of an assisted living community, this book would be my bible!
Lionel Lavoie - Retired Air force Florida

Wow, this is good, and so true! I can relate to everything and have lived a lot of it!
Jessika Keller Marketing Director California

This is a great read. Very educational on the ins and outs of the Assisted Living business!
Steven Savell Financial Advisor- California


Miss Porter hits the nail on the head in this wise how to book. Assisted Living is really in its infancy and her suggestions and insight will prove invaluable to any one thinking of placement in Residential Care. Miss Porter has seen the industrys good qualities as well as the areas that lack proper oversight which has helped her create this timely book!
Pamela Cameron Nurse Consultant Director of Staff Development - California


Take the time and read this book, share it with others who may be looking for an Assisted Living Community, you wont be sorry you did!
Joe Allire - Port Authority California

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 4, 2008
• ISBN: 9781462822669

E.N. Porter

About the Author E. N. Porter has worked in the assisted-living and memory-care business for the last decade. She has been employed by three of the largest providers in the country as well as a smaller mom-and-pop operation in the state of California. She is an administrator in good standing and has always done very well on her annual California State audits with scores of 100 percent in compliance with state rules and regulations. Her passion for seniors came at an early age, having been brought up in the church by her father who was a minister and a grandfather who was a bishop of the Episcopalian faith. She can’t remember not being around seniors and being thrilled by the stories they would tell and the incredible wisdom they would share. With a future in senior care, this childhood would contribute to her skills as an administrator. She has traveled the world from China to Tasmania, with several stops in between, and has interacted with people of all walks of life and of all ages. She has two brothers and one sister who are involved in real estate, international business, and public service. She also has a son who is an international organizational development specialist. At this time, she resides in Sacramento, California.

Book preview

Copyright © 2008 by E.N. Porter.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

43492

Contents

From the Beginning

(FYI)

The B Word

(And Other Info)

Dial M for Marketing

(Have I Got a Deal for You)

Do You Know Your ADLs?

(Buyer, Beware)

"All Abored for Activities"

(To Nowhere)

What’s Cookin’

(Don’t Ask)

It’s a Man’s Job

(Or Not)

Points to Remember

In Closing

Dedication

I would like to dedicate this book to my son, Trever, whose support and help throughout the process has made the final product achievable! Thank you for allowing me to read it to you from cover to cover on our road trip and for being a captive audience!

To Chuck-A-Luck, my good friend and coworker, who walked me through the publishing maze and offered great encouragement with his kind words after reading my manuscript.

To Joey Allire, for his understanding of how the creative juices flow and for not offering me a critique of my work until it was done, thus allowing a finished product to emerge, and for introducing me to the publishing world.

To my siblings, David, Marcie, and Howard, who have always been my greatest supporters!

Author’s Notes

This book was written as an informational tool. It is intended for people who are just beginning to search for appropriate alternatives in living accommodations for parents or loved ones who have reached a time in their lives when living at home is no longer a viable option. In addition, this book is for the weary caregiver who can no longer accept the burden of caring for a family member or loved one.

These chapters are not intended as an indictment of assisted living or memory care as a whole; rather, they should be used as a tool to avoid some of the pitfalls one can encounter while in search of alternative living for the loved one who can no longer stay in their own home.

It is my hope that you will find the information both provocative and helpful in the midst of a very stressful time in your life as well as in the life of your loved one. It is so very difficult for an individual to be uprooted from all that is familiar and placed somewhere that is foreign and at first frightening. Preparation is crucial in getting your loved one to agree that the time has come to move to a more appropriate living arrangement. From the knowledge you might take away from this book, it is my hope that you will be able to select the very best possible placement for your loved one.

I would like to share some recent statistics that were posted in the July-August 2007 AARP Bulletin:

• If you are a caregiver for a relative, you belong to a group that a new AARP Public Policy Institute study says has an estimated economic value of $350 billion.

• There are thirty-four million unpaid caregivers.

• They provide an average of twenty-one hours of care per week.

• They spend an average of $2,400 out of pocket each year to help their relatives.

These statistics are on the rise with every swing of the pendulum. Prepare yourself for the future!

Chapter 1

From the Beginning

 (

FYI)

I was in between jobs and thinking about a career change when I saw an ad in the local paper that read:

Bookkeeper needed for Premier Retirement Community

Must work well with seniors, computer literate

Drug Testing and FBI Fingerprint clearance a must

Apply in person.

I thought, well, how hard could this be? Jobs were very scarce at the time, and I had nothing to lose. I decided to apply for the advertised bookkeeping position and dropped off my resume, which showed a background in property management and included marketing. To my surprise, I was contacted and interviewed by the regional marketing director for a residential-care facility for the elderly. Before I knew it, I was offered the position of community relations director, or CRD, and quickly accepted. I’m sure I wasn’t going to complain, a job was a job after all! Thus began my introduction to the world of assisted living.

Once I started this new career and incredible challenge, I discovered a whole new universe of fascinating ideas and a real need for the product I would be selling: