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When you or a loved one needs an assisted living community, do you know how to find the correct community? 95% of people don’t, they know what they want, but they don’t know exactly what they need. When you search on your own, you look at the aesthetics of the community, you don’t look at the “inside” of that community as well. What you see when searching for an assisted living community is what’s on the outside, the big apartments, the nice garden area, the pretty dining room, the beautiful chandeliers, the large, heated swimming pool. What you don’t look for is what kind of care they offer. How long has the nursing staff been there? Do they even have nursing staff? Will I be able to live there forever as I decline? How long has the executive director been there? There are so many factors to take into consideration when searching for an assisted living community and you cannot think of everything. That’s why you need a senior advisor. A senior advisor helps seniors find a place that best suits their needs and wants. This is a very time-consuming process if you don’t know the communities, that’s why it’s best to work with a specialist. Best of all, senior advisors work for FREE! So, what does a senior advisor do? Senior advisors specialize in finding seniors the right place to live where they can age in place. At Assisted Living Made Simple we like to call it the perfect forever home. Senior advisors know the area, the different licenses the communities have and the inside scoop about each place and what it’s really like to live there. An advisor should take the following factors into consideration for each situation: 1. What is the person’s monthly budget? You don’t want them to be over-extended on their monthly payments. 2. What are their payment options? Is it all private pay, do they have long-term care insurance, are they able to receive VA Aid and Attendance? 3. What are their care needs? Do they only need medication management? If so, the price won’t be as much as if they need medication management, dressing and bathing assistance, feeding assistance, etc. 4. Is the location close to family and friends? You want to make sure they are near friends and family to ensure they are visited regularly. If they have visitors regularly, they don’t feel so alone, and it helps them adapt easier. 5. What is your loved one(s) personality? Do they like to socialize? Would they prefer a larger community with more people? Or would they prefer a smaller community with less people? This is another important factor to consider. We don’t want them living somewhere with a lot of other people where they will feel intimidated or out of place. We want them to be comfortable. 6. What kind of lifestyle did they have and what kind do they want to have now? Were they active before leaving their home and would they like to continue to be and are they able to continue to be active? Do they prefer to do things on their own, like reading, puzzles, and watching TV? Are these the things they want to continue to do while at their new home? Once you, your loved one(s) and your advisor take all the above into consideration, your advisor will set up tours of some communities they believe will be the perfect fit for your elder. They will take you on the tours and help you narrow the options down to the top choice. Once you have made your decision, your advisor will set up your move in with the community. He/she will give you information on movers and anything else you may need. Your advisor will be by your side through the entire journey. You do NOT pay a senior advisor out of your pocket. An advisor receives a commission from the community your loved one moves into. Should an advisor ask you for a fee, walk away and look for another advisor!! Also, do NOT sign an exclusivity form with an advisor. An advisor does not have exclusive rights to YOU! As you can see, there are many factors to take into consideration when looking for a senior living community. Please do NOT go this route alone. Assisted Living Made Simple is YOUR senior advisor team! We are here for you, and we will do our due diligence to find you the perfect forever home for you or your loved one(s). Call today for your FREE consultation, 386-847-2322.

Do you care for an elder? Maybe it’s a family member like my situation. I’m caring for my 95-year-old mother who will be 96 in April. Do you ever find yourself losing it? I do. I find myself yelling at her, but then I wonder if I’m really yelling AT her or just yelling because she can’t hear well. Caregiving is HARD!!!! If you find yourself losing it with your loved one, you’re not alone. I find myself losing it a lot more often than I used to. Here at Assisted Living Made Simple, we hold 4 Alzheimer’s/dementia caregiver support groups a month and while my mom doesn’t have Alzheimer’s, she does have bouts with dementia. I know the importance of taking time for yourself, but do I take time for myself? No, I don’t. I work 40 hours a week, go home, get her showered, dressed, fed, and sit with her until she’s ready to go to bed. In the morning, I get her out of bed, fed, dressed and ready for the day, then off to work and it starts all over again. On the weekends, she’s mine all day and night. It’s exhausting. When my husband and I made the decision to move her in with us, everyone said they would be there to help us, but where are they now that we need them? I understand that we are all busy, but come on, we need a break! If you are a caregiver, you know what I mean. I have caregivers for my mother 3 – 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, so my husband has her the rest of the day. Luckily, she doesn’t require a lot of care, she’s still somewhat self-sufficient, but you must be there to make sure she doesn’t fall, and she can’t prepare her own meals or get her own drinks. She cannot shower by herself, and she needs standby assist while dressing; these two things she will only let me handle. My only other option is having a caregiver come in on the weekend too, but that is pricey. And if I only want an hour or two it won’t work; most caregivers won’t come unless it’s 4 hours or more. I know I’m not alone out there; I know you are going through the same things I am. How are you coping with these issues? I’d really love to know; maybe your ideas can help me. Do you have to separate holidays like I do? I have spent many holidays with just my mom and myself because my husband goes to his brothers with his children and our grandchildren, but that is too much for my mom, so it ends up just the two of us. This is so hard because you feel torn between the two. How do you cope with a situation like this? I try to put it out of my mind and think I will have other holidays with the grandkids, and they will be even more special. This past Easter, my husband went to his brothers like usual, but my two nephews and their families came over and it was so nice; my mother was so happy to have her family there. We all ran around outside, while she sat there and watched us. She was so full of joy. After they left, which wasn’t until around 7:00 p.m., I gave mom her shower and got her settled down. I went to take my shower and when I came out, she was in her chair fast asleep; she was exhausted. She got up in the morning and couldn’t stop talking about what a great Easter she had. It really is the little things that make a difference.  If you are dealing with some of the same issues I am, please give me a call and let’s chat. I’d really like to understand how you cope. Maybe we can help each other. 386-847-2322.

You are getting older, and your children are saying you should move into an assisted living community. You don’t think you NEED that, you’re fine in your home. You feel assisted living is for old people and you’re not old, you can still get around fine. You don’t need someone to take care of you; you’re perfectly capable of caring for yourself. Did I take my medication with my breakfast this morning? Did I even eat breakfast this morning? I don’t seem to remember. It’s lunch time and I am not hungry so I must have eaten breakfast, but I have more pills to take at lunch time, don’t I? If you lived in an assisted living community, you would not have these worries. Three square meals a day are included in your monthly rent, so the worry about whether you ate or not isn’t there; you only need to remember to get up and get your meals. Also, medication management is something that can be added to your monthly fee should you need it. This means someone will be there to ensure you take your medications on time daily. Your plumbing is backing up in your house. Did you know that a house call for a plumber is around $150.00? That’s just for a plumber to come out and look at the problem; then you have the repair bill, which can be thousands of dollars. In an assisted living community, if you have a plumbing issue, you call maintenance. You do not shell out a dime, no worries. How about your weekly or monthly lawn service? How much does that run you? Some people pay more than $150 a month for lawn service. You don’t have that expense in an assisted living community either. They provide transportation to and from doctor’s appointments with advanced notice, so you don’t need the expense of your vehicle should you decide to give that up as well. How often are you able to get out and socialize? Probably not too often because you do not like to drive far, or you just plain don’t feel like having to go out somewhere and must drive home, get in the house, get ready for bed; it just seems like a lot. At an assisted living community, you have it all in one place. Most communities have a common area, they provide activities, socials, dances, movies, and so much more. The best part is you don’t have to drive anywhere. When everything is over, you just walk back to your room and get ready for bed. Oh, how nice is that? A lot of communities are age-in-place which means as your health declines you do not have to leave that community, you may just have to move to a different apartment within that community. This is very important for those who don’t do well with change, and we don’t like to move our seniors more than once. Change is hard for people and even harder for our elders.  These are just a few of the benefits of assisted living communities; there are too many to mention. Please do not wait until it’s too long and there is such a thing as too long. Call us today for your FREE consultation, 386-847-2322, to see if assisted living is right for you!

Assisted Living Made Simple is not just a placement company. We are a team of Senior Advisors and advocates for you and your loved one(s). We are here to serve your communities with our knowledge and expertise in healthcare, insurance benefits, free medical equipment, VA knowledge, and so much more! Rose Traub - The founder of ALMS has an extensive background in hospitality, business community and hospice services. She is also the co-author of A Guiding Light for Seniors and Their Families, a comprehensive manual to walk you through the stages of aging. Rose is also a certified Alzheimer’s support group facilitator. She conducts four monthly meetings with caregivers and others dealing with the disease at two locations in Volusia County. The group allows those dealing with all types of dementia to share their concerns and support each other. Meet our Volusia/Flagler team: • Shar Barron – Over 40 years management/hospitality, community fundraising, skilled nursing facilities, and involvement in multiple church communities. Outside of her work with Assisted Living Made Simple, Shar works with Daytona Outreach assisting with the needs of our homeless population and the Veterans at Barracks of Hope (HUM). Shar is active in her church and feels God put her on this earth to help others. “I feel Assisted Living Made Simple is a good place to further this life plan,” she said. • Jen Betti, R.N. – Experience includes hospital case management, home health care, skilled nursing facilities and bedside nursing. She has been in healthcare since she was eighteen years old when she started as a certified nursing assistant, then a licensed practical nurse, and progressed to a registered nurse. This journey has reached 33 years in healthcare. Caring and being an advocate for people is her passion. • George Blalock, R.N. – Years as a hospice nurse and very involved with assisting VA clients. His reason for working for Assisted Living Made Simple is to maintain contact with people and help our seniors. • Bobbi Lynch – Our legal guardian with years of experience as an executive director of assisted livings. Given her longtime admiration of seniors, she feels blessed to continue to help them and their families through her position with Assisted Living Made Simple. • Donna Nichols – City of Edgewater administrative assistant for over 20 years. “I love the ability to help people, especially our seniors. My passion for our seniors comes from my own 95-year-old mother who, thankfully, is still with me.” • Estelle Pecchio – Worked with durable medical companies, assisted living communities and 16 years hospital business administration. Estelle is a certified Alzheimer’s caregiver support group facilitator and is on the Board of Directors for a breast cancer survivors’ group. She is highly passionate about our seniors and takes pride in advocating for them and their needs. • Bev Robinson – Years of assisted living knowledge, including being an executive director and community liaison. Starting her career in Pennsylvania, Bev relocated to Florida and is extremely well versed in senior living options and many other facets of senior care. Rose has built her team from compassion and her love for the community. The purpose of ALMS is to guide families through the struggles of navigating through healthcare, life choices and what to do next.  Now that you know the team at ALMS, please give us a call for your FREE consultation and let any one of our advisors assist you in your next chapter of life. 386-847-2322.

When searching the internet for a local assisted living, independent living, or memory care community, how do you know you are clicking on the link for THAT community? You don’t; truth is, you have no idea where your click is taking you. 99% of the time that click is taking you to a national placement company that isn’t even located in the same state you live. They capture your information and pass it along to all the communities within a 50-mile radius who then bombard you with phone calls and emails. As if you aren’t overwhelmed enough, now you have all these places constantly calling and emailing you. What can you do about this? The best thing you can do is pick up the phone and make that call and call the local number! Do not trust the internet! Have you ever searched for anything and clicked on a link and the next thing you know you have all kinds of ads for whatever it is you clicked on? That’s what the internet does; it sells through advertisements, and you get so many unwanted solicitations. The larger placement companies have never been to the local communities; they don’t know the ins and outs of them, they don’t know how long the staff has been there, they don’t know which community has the best care, and they don’t know what kind of license the communities have, we do. Assisted Living Made Simple takes many factors into consideration when you call for your FREE consultation. We want to know what your care needs are. Do you only need medication management, or do you need a higher level of care? Knowing this helps us determine if you need a community with a specialized license. What type of person are you or your loved one? If you are a socialite and like to be around other people, we don’t want to put you in a community with only three other residents. We want to make sure the community we choose together is close to your friends and family so they can visit regularly. We want to know how much money you have available monthly so we don’t place you into a community you cannot afford. We look to see if there is more money available for you; do you have long-term care insurance? Do you qualify for VA Aid and Attendance? What kind of activities do you like? Are you active? We wouldn’t want to place you in a community that doesn’t have activities if you enjoy gardening, working out, walking, swimming, or even cooking.  A senior advisor takes all the above into consideration when you need assistance. When you click a link on the internet, wherever you end up doesn’t take those things into consideration; they are only out to make the most money they can off the leads they send out. Call YOUR local advisors today at 386-847-2322.