We’ve been there, too.
While you’re looking at facilities that meet your geographic needs, you’ll have a long list of questions tailored to what’s most important for your peace of mind, too. Make sure your list includes these must-ask questions (#7 will surprise you!).
What is the resident to caregiver ratio?
The answer to this question says a lot about safety and attention seniors receive at a facility. High caregiver to resident ratios ensure caregivers develop meaningful relationships with residents and notice even the smallest changes in health and behavior, leading to better long term outcomes for residents.
While state and national requirements are catching up to the needs of people in care facilities, The Restoracy prioritizes maintaining the highest caregiver to resident ratio. Our locations are in the top 3% of care providers across the state of Indiana and each of our cottage homes accommodates up to a maximum of 12 residents.
What options do I have for covering care costs?
Many care facilities offer Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, and individual pay options. At the Restoracy, Medicare (or Medicare replacement plans) can cover short-term rehabilitation care. Long-term care is typically covered through private pay options, long-term care insurance, or Medicaid.
If your loved one is using private pay with plans to transition to Medicaid, make sure to also ask if they’ll need to move beds as part of the transition. In most facilities, when a long-term care resident transitions from private pay to Medicaid, they often have to change to a Medicaid certified bed. This frequently means also moving from a private room to a shared room or even a different facility entirely. Our beds are dually certified and residents always have private rooms – regardless of how their care is paid for.
Navigating the financial aspects of care can feel daunting. That’s why the Restoracy supports families in learning about their current and future options by speaking with their trusted financial advisors and our senior care financial experts in-house.
How do you ensure safety?
Resident needs vary greatly in care facilities and safety should be a top priority. Meeting Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements should be the threshold, not the ceiling on facility safety.
Often the features of the Restoracy that support the feel of an inviting home for residents are also key parts of our commitment to their safety. Our cozy homes feature open floor plans where caregivers easily access and monitor residents. This avoids the safety concerns of larger facilities with long, dark corridors.
Can you keep mom and dad together?
Preserving the important relationships in the lives of seniors is part of providing top quality care. When couples enter a care facility, staying together can be a top concern. Couples who want to live together face hurdles at times. It’s a challenge at some facilities to balance the individual healthcare needs and important relationship connections for residents – especially when one partner has memory care needs.
The Restoracy’s model of senior care provides the flexibility families want to support couples in a single facility, even when their healthcare needs are different. Residents always have private bedrooms (yes, even couples!) and our homes specialize in the type of care residents need, while providing flexibility to spend time with friends, neighbors, and loved ones whenever they choose to.
How will you honor my loved one’s religious and cultural needs?
Moving to a senior care facility shouldn’t mean leaving behind the important religious and cultural aspects of life behind. Preserving the beliefs and traditions of residents provides opportunities for a smoother transition and allows people to adjust to their new settings with greater comfort and ease.
Our team gets to know each resident and focuses on providing the services and accommodations they need. Whether it’s bringing religious services on site or accommodating dietary needs, we support the cherished traditions of each person.
What are meals like at your facility?
Food is essential not only to nourish our bodies, but also in how we relate to family and community. While most senior care facilities strive to meet the dietary needs and requirements for healthy nutrition, serving a facility of 100 residents or more requires industrial scale meal preparation and little room for individualized preferences.
Resident meals at the Restoracy are prepared on-site for each home. Our caregivers connect with residents for input and feedback on meals because food is personal. We meet resident preferences, nutritional needs, and religious dietary requirements and work to make meals a time for community and connection. Residents can choose to eat in their rooms, too – we know that needs and preferences change and some days your social battery needs to recharge with a solo meal.
How is laundry handled?
This is a question many people DON’T ask. We’re all used to managing our own laundry so it doesn’t occur to us that communal laundry practices can create headaches for residents and families. If you’ve ever had a laundry service misplace a favorite item, you know the feeling.
Ask how individualized laundry management is and how facilities care for your loved one’s clothes. Our on-site facilities are nestled inside of each home and caregivers ensure a high level of care for our residents’ favorite things.
How much flexibility do residents have in their schedules?
Does mom like to eat a late breakfast? Will grandpa do better with early morning physical therapy or late afternoon? Asking about schedule flexibility and the autonomy residents have to choose how their days are spent says a lot about the quality of life (and about success with therapies) residents experience.
If you’re an early bird, a night owl, or something in between, the Restoracy’s flexible senior care model only aims for comfort and exceptional quality of life. Our team of caregivers can provide flexibility and accommodate individual schedules because they care for a small number of residents at one time. Residents can choose the times best for their personal needs. For example, physical therapy can be scheduled for a preferred time of day and visitors are welcome any time.
Will we need to change all of my parent’s current specialists and services?
Finding the right specialists to ensure excellent medical care and trusted relationships takes time. Depending on location, contracts, and company policies, some facilities may require care to be transferred to their facility only or to the physicians they collaborate with.
The Restoracy’s senior care philosophy centers people first. This means we’re focused on meeting residents’ needs in ways that work best for them. Our only requirement is that our Medical Director becomes the primary care physician for all residents, and they have the flexibility to keep their specialists or make a change any time.
If your parent LOVES their current specialists, we want them to continue receiving care from those providers. We’ll even provide transportation.
What if my parent’s needs change?
Sometimes short-term rehabilitation turns into long-term care. Other times long-term care needs change and require skilled memory care. Asking questions around the procedures for changing medical needs prepares you to know if you’ll need to move your loved one from one care facility to another and how well equipped the facility is to take care of increasing needs.
With rehabilitation, long term, and memory care on site, you can confidently choose the Restoracy once and know your loved one is cared for no matter their needs – without the transfer trauma that often accompanies the changes in living arrangements.
Does your facility provide hospice care?
It’s never an easy decision to enter into hospice. How facilities manage this care impacts the quality of life for your family member’s final years, months, and days. Ask if hospice care is provided on-site or requires a relocation. Inquire about the service providers, their experience, and relationships with caregiver staff.
Our priority is the warmth of home and experienced care for all residents. This extends to how residents receive hospice care. Families are welcome to arrange care with any provider and the Restoracy’s team can provide information about the hospice partners we know and trust. Hospice care providers with existing contracts speed up the delivery of services to residents and provide the same level of quality and service as our own caregivers.
We’re ready for your questions.
Senior care facilities make a quality of life impact on their residence and their families. We want you to feel confident in your choice. Our team will gladly answer any questions you and your loved ones have, so ask them all! Call or email us to set up a tour and see senior care, reimagined.