What Do I Do Now????
John was in a rehabilitation facility after total knee replacement. Prior to the surgery he lived alone but was needing more and more help around the house. He was getting by, but barely. The knee surgery helped with his pain, but his family was concerned he wouldn’t be safe living alone anymore. All of a sudden, the COVID-19 virus became the headlines and the family realized being in a rehab wasn’t a safe place to live anymore.
The family decided to move John assisted living, so they called Liz Fischer, a Senior Living Advisor with Right Fit Senior Living Solutions. Liz helps people find senior living options when her clients can’t live at home safely anymore.
Normally Liz likes to tour with her clients so she can ask questions they may not know to ask and point out things that are important. Usually they visit at least three communities, so they get a good feel for what is available. The difficulty in John’s situation came as the Governor issued guidelines that restrict visitors to assisted living communities in order to limit residents’ exposure to the COVID-19 virus. In addition, many assisted living communities were not allowing people to move in until the situation improves.
How can John and his family visit his potential new home if they wouldn’t let him visit?
Liz was able to find an assisted living that was still accepting new residents. She had photos of the rooms that were available, floor plans and prices. She worked with the marketing person to do a virtual tour using Facebook Messenger. Not only did John and his family get to meet the marketing director, she was able to show him the community via a live feed and answer questions as they ‘toured’. It wasn’t a ‘normal’ tour but it was as close as they could get due to the current circumstances.
John moved into a furnished respite room and is now getting attention from caregivers, meals delivered to his room and his family knows he’s well cared for.
While visiting assisted living communities is more difficult now it is possible through technology and through the knowledge of and relationships with assisted living communities by an experienced Senior Living Advisor.
Written by Liz Fischer of Right Fit Senior Living Solutions