Anyone Used "A Place for Mom"

[48Fire]

I think "A Place for Mom" has been mentioned in a few posts, but does anyone have any direct experience with it? We are days away from placing MIL in assisted living in Cincinnati area, and this looks like it could be a good service. Money is not a huge factor. She has severe stage vascular dementia, and continues to degrade fairly rapidly.

Thanks!

 

[jwkde]

We reached out there about 18 months and they are nice and very helpful with finding places and some resources. We decided at that point we did not want to go in that direction yet.

But they never stop calling now!! Even when you tell ask (and tell them emphatically) to stop calling

 

[gauss]

Those commercials reminded me of my experience when I sought my first mortgage. Back then I heard on the radio an ad for any outfit that said they would present your info to all their lenders saving you time and effort. I heard back from the lenders but they were all priced higher than what I could get on my own. My conclusion is that the lenders are paying to be part of the outfit and thus get to market to people who don't have time to shop.

I have no experience with "A Place for Mom", but I offer this note as a caution to do your independent work too if you use them.

-gauss

 

[Tom52]

We reached out there about 18 months and they are nice and very helpful with finding places and some resources. We decided at that point we did not want to go in that direction yet.

But they never stop calling now!! Even when you tell ask (and tell them emphatically) to stop calling

+1

Once you reach out to them they will bug you to death with their phone calls.

 

[Texas Proud]

I was going to use the online version to take a look at what places were around here... they wanted too much info for me to just browse... so, do not know what kind of results you would get...


From the commercials... it looks like a 'soft' hard sell company... not interested in that...

 

[rodi]

One resource I found useful in my research for FIL (and now MIL)...

Medicare.gov Nursing Home Compare

It gives you licensed nursing homes in your area (put in a zipcode and radius). It tells you the staffing ratios. It tells you whether they've passed licensing inspections. Etc...

I used this list to determine which facilities to contact. It gives you the contact info.

I was able to eliminate a very nice place with a good rep when I saw they had several citations against them issued during inspections. That's something the marketing department doesn't advertise.

Nothing beats doing your own due dilligence for your loved one.

 

[pjm-7]

Brothers and I have not used "A Place for Mom". Since you are in Ohio you might want to check out Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services (oprs.org). They have a location in Cincy. They have been very helpful with parents, both independent apartments and memory care in northern Ohio.

 

[Likes_to_Lurk]

Are you looking for assisted living or a nursing home? This is an important distinction. If your MIL needs a nursing home, I agree with Rodi's recommendation to use Medicare.gov are a starting point. I had a similar experience as Rodi when looking for a placement for my mother.

If assisted living is appropriate for your MIL, check with Ohio's department of aging. Most states have such a bureau and may have resources to help you find a place. They may have evaluations of the AL homes.

You can also hire a social worker to assist you.

If you MIL is rapidly declining, you may have to look at nursing homes sooner rather than later. It is possible that the assisted living homes will not take your MIL, if her condition is advanced.

It is a difficult process, but help is available. Good luck.

 

[MichaelB]

I have signed up for a couple of web sites that assist in the search for assisted living and nursing homes. I use bogus telephone number and throw-away email. Their web sites can be helpful to build a list of candidates for AL.

These organizations are a business. If they assist in the actual sign-up of a new resident they receive a commission from the home, usually equivalent to one month of rent. They can add value and earn their fee, but I think they would need to be local to have any real knowledge of the facilities and options.

 

[MildlyEccentric]

I think "A Place for Mom" has been mentioned in a few posts, but does anyone have any direct experience with it? We are days away from placing MIL in assisted living in Cincinnati area, and this looks like it could be a good service. Money is not a huge factor. She has severe stage vascular dementia, and continues to degrade fairly rapidly.

Thanks!

My mother lives at the Evergreeen/Wellspring assisted living facility in Cincinnati and her brother also lives there in the memory impairment wing. It is a very nice place and I would recommend checking it out.

 

[Nunthewiser]

We are going through this process as well with my mom. I second the advice to go to your state website for help and avoid the commercial BS. Florida has a good database that can be sorted and downloaded to excel to help in the process.

We ended up with Good Sam Society for her ALF . They are a Lutheran based non-profit that (at least here) genuinely wants to help. I think they also offer to assist with finding facilities, but we didn't use them for that.

 

[BTravlin]

My MIL was suffering from Lewy Body Dementia and the family decided to place her in assisted living. We thoroughly checked out four places in the area before settling on one. She spent about nine months there before passing. The facility was relatively new and provided a wonderful atmosphere compared to some of the older facilities. The staff there was very attentive and took excellent care of her. We ate there several times and the food was quite good too. She started out in regular assisted living but was moved into the higher level care area after a few months. Cost, for the higher level care in a private room, was about $7,800/mo while the private room in the regular care area was $3,800/mo. This facility was in the metro Louisville area.

I hope things go as well as possible since coping with dementia sufferers is quite trying for all those involved.

 

[imoldernu]

I would suggest that anyone using "A Place for Mom" go to this terms and conditions site.
The "sharing" of any and all information is expicitly stated in no ambiguous terms. Any of your own private information, any person whose name is used, any medical info, addresses.. in short anything and everthing... they will share with any company in your area... not just nursing homes or living sites, but companies providing product of any kind.

Rarely are there sites that will admit to this much invasion of privacy. Privacy Policy | A Place for Mom


Note too, that the declaration also states that they will freely share any other information that they gather... even gathered offline through contact with any party... with all... people they do business with.

Based on this... I would never go to that website again, and would discourange anyone I know from using it.

 

[Lakewood90712]

For about a year and a half, we used a sim. franchised service called "Home Again" for daytime in home service. Don't know if they have a franchisee in your area.

Most of these agency's are independent , locally owned. We were very satisfied with the Home Again franchise agency we used. They were very careful in matching the aide with my dad's needs .If you have problems with the aide placed, speak up, and get a change of worker. The first is not always a good fit.

Cost in the metro Los Angeles area is about $19 hr , 4 hr min per day plus mileage for most of the service providers

Eventually got to the point where he needed 24 hour care.

I have a strong opinion of keeping them at home in familiar surroundings as long as can be done.That is the only shred of life quality you can give your loved one.

 

[48Fire]

Great advice!!! Thanks everyone. On phone, so briefly MIL will be in assisted living to start, and more likely in Northern Kentucky instead of Cincinnati if possible. We are doing some of the legwork today. Seems like consensus is that "A Place for Mom" is better for someone who can't/won't do the checking for themselves. Thanks again!

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