Seniors: Carefully assessing assisted living (years, date, raise, family)
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We just watched it. It doesn't at all reflect our own experiences with AL facilities. My mom spent several months in an ALF prior to her death, my MIL is currently living in an ALF less than 1/2 mile from our house.
Our experiences to date have been all positive.
PBS, of course, picked the biggest and most profitable as their target. But you can bet the little owner-operated places where they really do count pennies are far worse. Just as skilled nursing means orderlies rather than nurses assisted living means little or no assistance.
There's currently a thread questioning whether people really need a million dollars to retire. The answer is you need way more than that if you wish to make sure that you're never forced into an institution. Real skilled nursing (I mean a R.N. 24/7) costs a bundle. If you plan to stay at home you better not get sick until the day you die or you better have the resources.
We just watched it. It doesn't at all reflect our own experiences with AL facilities. My mom spent several months in an ALF prior to her death, my MIL is currently living in an ALF less than 1/2 mile from our house.
Our experiences to date have been all positive.
That is a relief to hear. Unfortunately, my one experience with an elder in AL more or less matched what was in this documentary. When my MIL's mother was placed in an upscale AL in Connecticut, we discovered black and blue marks and an aide (who was dismissed) admitted she had fallen a number of times, once in her bathroom where she was not discovered till the next morning. I would hope that this is the exception rather than the rule, but nonetheless I think the doc raises concerns we should be aware of, rather than our just assuming that all AL's, because of their cost and sales pitch, are necessarily "safe" places for mom and dad...and us.
Another thought — if AL costs today something like $400+ per day, what is it going to cost when we are going to need it some years down the road? Is that really sustainable, both from the institutions' end and from our end (even if we have millions), especially with the enormous wave of boomers pouring through? Seems to me that at that cost, a family member or trusted live-in hiree(s) could be paid with a much better result, with licensed RN as needed.
My dad was in a big facility that had independent, assisted living, and 24 hour care. We were very pleased with his care, but it cost a fortune.
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