Frequently Asked Questions
what is placement?
Placement is the term used when a new home needs to be found for someone who may need extra care or help. This may either be permanent or temporary (Respite care).
How long does the placement process take?
We have done emergency placements within a matter of hours. We evaluate each situation independently and work with the parties involved to accommodate whatever timeline our clients are faced with.
How much does it cost to use your services?
We do not charge for our services. It does not matter how much time we spend with you, including tours and phone consultations. It's always FREE of charge to clients. Our costs are covered by the care providers that are ultimately selected.
How do you know when to call About Seniors?
- If your loved one requires 24 hour care or supervision and you cannot provide this 24/7 help.
- If they need help with activities of daily living, like dressing, bathing, cooking, cleaning, taking medications, eating, walking, issues with toileting; and you cannot provide this help around the clock.
- If they are afraid to be alone and you cannot be with them everyday.
- If they cannot manage their finances or their judgement is impaired. Having past incidents or tendencies of senior fraud or personal hardships.
Other isolated signs
- Your loved one needs 24 hour care or supervision.
- Their short or long term memory is impaired.
- They have an increasing need for help with dressing, bathing and other personal care.
- They are afraid to be alone.
- Their ability to reason or judgment is impaired.
- They are increasingly becoming isolated from social activities.
- They have unsteady gait or fall often.
- They are no longer able to cook, clean or shop without assistance.
- They can no longer manage finances.
- Those needing temporary placement.
Does placement always mean a permanent change?
No. Actually placement is appropriate for many situations, and doesn't always mean a permanent change in living arrangements. It's determined by a number of factors but most often correlates to a change in someone's level of care. If the need for care is permanent then placement is planned for a long-term situation. However, many of our clients engage our services in a 'future planning' capacity or contingency situation (IE: something sudden happens to a primary caregiver). In addition, many clients seek 'respite' placement, which means temporary (typically under 30 days). This respite placement can allow for a patient to recover or rehabilitate, OR conversely, respite can give a primary caregiver a 'break' allowing them to tend to their own health issues or recoup from the stress associated with being a full-time caregiver.
Who regulates assisted living facilities in Arizona?
The Division of Licensing Services, Office of Assisted Living Licensing regulates and monitors assisted living facilities, homes and communities, STATE-WIDE. Most facilities are inspected once a year, and 'as needed' to ensure compliance and investigate complaints. If a facility receives a deficiency-free relicensing survey, it may receive a 2-year license. With the exception of initial licensing visits, all visits are unannounced.
How can I find information about a particular facility?
The Department of Health Services (DHS) maintains a public file for all licensed health care institutions. The files contain records of inspections, complaints and licensing history. The files are available for public viewing from 8am - 5pm, Monday through Friday. You can also visit their website at www.azcarecheck.com.
What questions would I ask of a new care home or community?
These questions are only intended as a guide. You will require many additional questions depending on your specific conditions and circumstances. Click HERE for a downloadable list of these general questions.
Assisted Living Homes / Group Homes and Foster Care Homes:
- Is the facility licensed?
- Who owns the facility and what is their experience?
- What are the admission requirements?
- What is the monthly cost of care?
- Do they require a deposit?
- Do we have to sign a contract?
- How long can a resident stay in the facility?
- Are there any added expenses, other than the cost of care?
- How many people is the facility licensed for?
- What is the resident to staff ratio?
- Does the facility have an awake staff?
- What are the qualifications of the owners, manager and care givers?
- How does the facility keep records of each resident? (food intake, medication log, etc.)
- How often are showers given?
- Are medications under lock and key?
- Are residents allowed to leave the facility with family or friends?
- What’s the typical resident profile? (alert versus confused)
- What are the visiting hours?
- How many people share one bathroom?
- Does the facility provide transportation?
- Is the bathroom handicapped equipped?
- Can a resident have their own telephone line in the room?
- Do they allow pets?
- Who does housekeeping/ laundry?
- Are the residents allowed to bring personal belongings?
- Are meals prepared in the home?
- Do they have a well balanced menu?
- Do they have substitute meals for residents who don’t like what’s being served?
- Are the residents dressed appropriately?
- What time do residents go to bed and get up in the morning?
- Does the facility have a house-call physician?
- What kind of activities does the facility provide?
- Is there an on-call beautician?
- Can residents receive personal mail?
Assisted Living Facilities, Memory Care and Skilled Nursing Facilities:
- Is the facility licensed?
- What are the admission requirements?
- What is the monthly cost of care?
- Do they require a deposit?
- Are there any added expenses, other than the cost of care?
- How many people is the facility licensed for?
- Do we have to sign a contract?
- What is the resident to staff ratio?
- Is there a nurse on staff?
- Does the facility have a house-call physician?
- How does the facility keep records of each resident? (food intake, medication log, etc.)
- Are residents allowed to leave the facility with family or friends?
- What are the visiting hours?
- Does the facility provide transportation?
- Do they allow pets?
- Do they have substitute meals for residents who don’t like what’s being served?
- What kind of activities does the facility provide?
- Does the facility have a beauty salon/ barber shop?
- How does a resident get personal mail?
- Can a resident bring a vehicle, where do they park?
- How long can a resident stay in the facility?
- How often does housekeeping clean?
- Are there laundry facilities?
- How often are showers given?
- Is there any medical equipment that is not allowed in the facility?
- Is the facility secure for memory care patients (i.e. wanderers)? (if applicable)
can you tell me what some of these terms mean?:
Source: Arizona Department of Health Services
Definitions:
"Assisted living home" means an assisted living facility that provides resident rooms to ten or fewer residents. A health care institution other than a hospital or a nursing care institution that provides resident beds or residential units, supervisory care services, personal care services, directed care services or health-related services for persons who do not need continuous nursing services.
“Adult foster care home" means a residential setting that provides room and board and adult foster care services for at least one and no more than four adults who are participants in the Arizona long-term care system and in which the sponsor or the manager resides with the residents and integrates the residents who are receiving adult foster care into that person's family.
"Adult foster care services" means supervision, assistance with eating, bathing, toileting, dressing, self-medication and other routines of daily living or services.
"Assisted living center" means an assisted living facility that provides resident rooms or residential units to eleven or more residents.
"Assisted living facility" means a residential care institution, including an adult foster care home, that provides or contracts to provide supervisory care services, personal care services or directed care services on a continuous basis.
"Assessment" means a written analysis of a resident's abilities; preferences; and need for supervisory care services, personal care services, or directed care services.
"Activities of daily living" means bathing, dressing, grooming, eating, mobility, transfer, and toileting.
"Health care institution" means every place, institution, building or agency, whether organized for profit or not, which provides facilities with medical services, nursing services, health screening services, other health-related services, supervisory care services, personal care services, directed care services and includes home health agencies.
"Nursing care institution" means a health care institution that provides inpatient beds or resident beds and nursing services to persons who need continuous nursing services but who do not require hospital care or direct daily care from a physician. Nursing care institution does not include an institution for the care and treatment of the sick that is operated only for those who rely solely on treatment by prayer or spiritual means in accordance with the tenets of a recognized religious denomination.
"Nursing services" means those services that pertain to the curative, restorative and preventive aspects of nursing care and that are performed at the direction of a physician by or under the supervision of a registered nurse licensed in this state.
"Residential unit" means a private apartment, unless otherwise requested by a resident, that includes a living and sleeping space, kitchen area, private bathroom and storage area.
Levels of Care:
"Directed care services" means programs and services, including supervisory and personal care services, that are provided to persons who are incapable of recognizing danger, summoning assistance, expressing need or making basic care decisions.
"Supervisory care services" means general supervision, including daily awareness of resident functioning and continuing needs, the ability to intervene in a crisis and assistance in the self-administration of prescribed medications.
"Personal care services" means assistance with activities of daily living that can be performed by persons without professional skills or professional training and includes the coordination or provision of intermittent nursing services and the administration of medications and treatments by a nurse.