Trust and Assisted Living

Trust and Assisted Living

trust

: to believe that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective, etc. : to have confidence in (someone or something)

: to believe that something is true or correct

: to hope or expect that something is true or will happen

You might say entrusting an assisted living community with the care of your parents or loved one is the ultimate act of trust. 

It's common for the adult children of assisted living residents to live hundreds or thousands of miles away. It may have taken months or years to convince mother to make the move into an assisted living community. She isn't completely sold on the idea but is willing to give it a chance. It still sounds too good to be true; a community filled with loving people that will meet her every need and always have a smile on their face. It better be, because mom trusted your advice. 

The key to building a family "trust account" Imagine this scenario: 

The staff of Perfect Place for Mom Assisted Living worked hard to develop a trust relationship with one or more of the adult children. Family members were always greeted warmly, everyone knew moms name, each visit felt more like home, the staff asked all the right questions, meals were wonderful, the apartment was perfect and any concerns were remedied without delay. The community team was successful creating a number of "trust account" deposits. 

Deposits and withdrawals can be made in the  "trust account" much like a bank account. Let's focus on deposits. 

Imagine as part of the move-in process mom and family members participated in a series of orientations to help mom and the children with the transition. 

The initial orientation would be comprehensive and paint a picture of her typical day, including details of mom's plan of care, meal times, use of the emergency call system; pretty much an overview of the resident handbook. Mom and family meet each department manager, the new resident welcoming committee member assigned to help mom adjust and as many of her care managers as possible. The initial orientation includes lunch or dinner with the Executive Director; a great opportunity to earn more "trust account" deposits.

A second orientation would be scheduled 7 to 15 days later to give mom and her family the opportunity to review her experience, ask questions, and for the staff to update family members on moms progress. Let's don't forget to review the billing cycles and walk through a bill.

A third orientation would take place about 30 to 45 days after the move-in and would include more Q&A, updates on mom's progress and potentially a party for moms closest friends. By now the community has had several opportunities to generate a healthy "trust account" balance and the foundation for a healthy long-term relationship.

Sure, doing a series of orientations/meetings is a major investment of time. However let's be real, poop happens and when it does you will need a healthy "trust account" balance.




Rick D Watkins