What type of assisted living is preferable, privately owned or corporate?
While touring facilities, a head nurse who wasn’t scheduled to give the tour stepped in to give the tour due to the director tending to an emergency.
I actually liked the change in plans because it was nice meeting the head nurse, it also did not feel as staged as the tours at the other facilities. I did like all of the facilities and felt they all had pluses and minuses.
Anyway, this nurse told me when I asked her how long had she worked there and why had she choosen to work there gave me a lovely answer.
She said, “Well, I have been here for about 5 of years now. I worked at another AL before this one for a very brief time.” I interrupted her and asked why she had left that one. She said, “I did not feel comfortable there as a nurse that is supposed to give medical care. It was corporately run and it felt like a fancy hotel, not a residence with healthcare at it’s heart. It also seemed like a prison after 6:00pm and families were not welcome.” RED FLAG! She said, “Some of the residents were interested in the gourmet food and happy hour but many did not like the fancy food. Also, some were not supposed to be drinking and they allowed them to participate in happy hour.”
She felt they were all about the profit.
She said she went to work at the place she was in because it was a group of individuals who privately owned the facility and it felt like a home where family was always welcome, good food but not fancy frou frou stuff. No bar with happy hour. She liked the activity director and being encouraged to participate with other residents.
Any thoughts?
To see at night unannounced, good idea? They have a code thing to get in. Would they even open door for an unexpected guest?
I know but we don’t have a nonprofit AL here.
Not near me.
(an AL where my sis works has changed hands multiple times in the last decade, each new owner coming in with new ideas and causing staff and residents a lot of grief, then moving on when it became clear they couldn't wring enough profit from the place. Unfortunately this is becoming all to common as the big players buy up smaller facilities with their eye on the bottom line with little regard to services that need to be provided to provide a semi decent quality of life)
That is my concern. That is what one of the privately owned one said. She said they have been owned by the same people for 20 plus years and it has remained the same. Not all these ‘policy changes’ happening.
The AL was corporate owned. Lots of turnover. In the 8 months Mom was there they had 3 Rns, one LPN who left, and CNA turnover. This becomes confusing for residents. My daughter applied for RN and turned down the job because they didn't pay enough for the work expected.
If that RN had been there 5yrs she is being paid well and getting good benefits. I would ask about turnover in CNAs. If they have been there for years too, the staff is being treated fairly. I would go with that AL.
High turnovers bother me too.
Thanks. Appreciate your response.
True, we all have different needs, experiences and taste.
As long as the medical care is there, that is what is most important.
All facilities had codes to get in after dark. But apparently it was hard to visit in the previous place the nurse had worked even with a code after 6:00. That strikes me as odd. I want an open door policy to visit. Know what I mean?
The main reason I choose the one I did was because it had Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Assisted Living/Memory Care because I didn't want Dad to move to different complexes as he aged.
Yes, it was like a hotel setting but that is what Dad liked about it. It didn't feel like a senior living, more like a Victorian hotel. Numerous times I would ask Dad if he could change anything about the place, what would he change. He said the place was perfect, he had no complaints. He was happy as a clam.
In the Independent Living section, one could visit late into the evening. In the Assisted Living section, the exterior doors were locked after a certain time [no different than living at home], and Memory Care was on it's own floor and was secured after hours to keep those residents who wander at night to remain on their floor.
But that was just my experience. You need to go with your gut feeling about the place. If all the employees are smiling, then you know management is treating the employees well, and that is also very important :)