[0:00] Welcome to Artful aging with your host Amy are you a senior or a caregiver of a
looking for support and Direction best selling author educator and expert in Senior Living Amy Friesen is here,
with the help you need while providing you with an important and valuable support network so now please welcome the host of Artful aging Amy Friesen.
[0:30] Good morning everyone welcome back to Artful aging with Amy were bold Brave live today after the break.
I'm so happy to see everyone I hope that you had a good New Year and happy d-22.
The question on top of my mind today for all of the caregivers out there is how did you find the holidays a lot of you are going home,
to see loved ones,
that may or may not be needing some extra assistance so I'm hoping that most of you are saying it was great and there was no issues but I wouldn't be surprised if some of you did fine.
[1:10] That there are some issues when you go home and see your loved ones most of the time,
what I hear is oh my God things were so much worse with my parents or my in-laws or my loved one than I ever knew
and we need to do something immediately to help them it happens so often in my line of work and our guest today Michelle she's in the same line of work as I am so we hear it so often.
People come home they visit good intentions to say hi to Mom and Dad or the loved one in their lives and some things hit the fan.
So sometimes people realize that their loved one is living in a rougher or more dangerous condition than they thought in their in their physical house.
Sometimes they realize that their loved one hasn't been eating properly or keeping up their personal hygiene or taking their medicine properly which is really tough and a lot of times we actually work with folks that figure
oh that their loved one has more of a decline in their cognition and it's way worse than I thought a lot of families
especially during covid have been away from their loved ones so to kind of come into
the same area as our loved ones and notice a stuff is really difficult on a lot of families.
[2:25] Our topic today is where my passion lies we're speaking today about the transition from living in one's home into a senior living building,
and whether it's a retirement home or a nursing home.
My guest today is Michelle would Brave who is joining us from Two Sisters Senior Living advisors and Massachusetts where her and her sister own and operate a business similar to Tian toast which all of you know of my business.
And we must specialize in navigating the senior living industry for families and most of all educating the community on the options when it comes to senior living.
Much like me Michelle has also began her career as an activity director where she opened a new Assisted Living building in Colorado.
After working in programming and in operation roles she found her passion in the sales process and guiding families.
From start to finish to find the right solution which is basically my story as well which is really interesting and probably why some of the reason Michelle and I have bonded over the last little bit.
[3:27] So after hearing that so many families say they should have done this earlier Michelle really wanted to help families understand how the right Senior Living could offer them a better quality of life.
Michelle and I have numerous conversations over the past year and we thought it would be a great idea to speak about Senior Living
both from our own point of view is as professional as well as geographically so welcome Michelle it's really nice to see you thanks for joining us thanks Amy thanks for having me.
[3:57] Today off by discussing why seniors make a move.
Two Senior Living in the first place and I thought Today's Show we would do more of a back-and-forth between Michelle and I because we have very similar experience we run a very similar business so Michelle one of the top reasons.
People move is,
you know me obviously I was about to say maybe not but is for care reasons would you also find that that's kind of the top reason people get into.
A crisis scenario and they need care right away and that's kind of what makes them move in the first place.
[4:32] Yeah I would say that it's very much still need driven there's a small segment of.
The population here who are choosing to downsize and take advantage of what like an independent living community has to offer but for the most part people wait to move in till.
Something triggers it.
[4:52] And I find that also you know a lot of people are misinformed about the industry which is what I'm hoping to shed light on today.
But people move for other reasons as well people and seniors tend to move if they're independent if there's issues with things like nutrition or upkeep of the home.
A lot of folks are feeling isolated especially now we're almost two years into covid so isolation has been a really big determinant factor for our independent clients.
And with that comes socialization do you find that although a lot of folks waited to move I found during covid now those folks are independent need that extra care and some extra love I would say it Michelle.
Yeah there there's the isolation itself has caused a decline in most people whether cognitive are otherwise but the the.
The lack of socialization and engagement with other people has definitely taken a toll.
[5:56] Yeah it's been very very difficult now some folks move to be closer to family I see that a lot we work
with folks outside of Ottawa where I'm at and one of the reasons also for doing the Today's Show is that Michelle's in the states and I'm in Canada and so sometimes we have caregivers
that are in the other country trying to care for a loved one in a system that they may not understand let alone you know
across province that I deal with families as well they you know Ontario system is different than BC system that's different than Saskatoon
and my and Montreal and different things like that obviously I know not all provinces but in the different cities and across the different provinces things differ so that's kind of what we're aiming to do is clear it up today and then the other reason a lot of folks move
are to move and so they can age in place so there.
Independent ish they need maybe a little bit of assistance but they want to make a move to a retirement home where they can then age in place as things change in their health.
Hey Michelle.
[7:03] Yeah it's interesting because age in place can mean a couple of different things here the way that our system is structured and people can either move into what's content considered a Continuing Care Retirement Community.
Where they do agent place and we have set up independent living communities and then assisted which is if
people need a more help but aren't quite ready for nursing home care and then they moves on to nursing homes but we also have assisted living communities that are designed to help people age in place without
them actually moving so they stay in the same apartment and the care that they need.
That changes comes to them as their needs change so we have a couple of different takes on that it's.
[7:53] I don't want to say it's a controversial word but it's a debated what age in place means because it can mean a couple different things here.
[8:02] And as the senior demographic.
Explodes I mean there's so many more seniors coming into this Market of Senior Living that we're talking about all these different care terms are going to start changing,
we're going to bring on my show in a couple of weeks somebody else is changing the market again right so.
[8:22] Consistently always moving and developing especially now that we've got so many more seniors coming into the market and then just to touch on can the Continuum of Care before our break Continuum of Care really means.
You know can you stay and get the care that you require in one location
or in that building and Continuum of Care does look different for each person sometimes my folks are looking for a Continuum of Care for physical care sometimes they're looking for memory care and sometimes it looking for both
and so Continuing Care is an individual process but definitely a lot
a lot of seniors that are looking to make a move now want to age in place and what they continue of care.
So after the break Michelle and I are going to give you an Insider look at the difference in Senior Living both in our own backyards and over the fence.
This will be helpful information for anyone looking to make a move
or for a caregiver needing to help their loved one make a move in the opposite country so you don't want to miss it grab a coffee come back in a couple of minutes and you're watching our fledging with Amy and we'll see you soon.
[9:32] Are you a native retirement living but unsure where to begin a retirement home advisors .c a we have brought Senior Living advisors together from all over Canada to help families navigate the senior living industry.
For more information book a call with one of our advisors today.
[9:50] Welcome back to Artful aging with Amy we've been joined today by my colleague Michelle and Michelle operates a senior living advisory Massachusetts called to seniors,
our to seniors oh Michelle two sisters it's early morning still we're just back from Rekha through conversations with Michelle we have discussed.
That although similar to Canada the US does have different options and some different aspects to consider so this is an important segment for caregivers who live in the opposite country as their aging loved one.
It's important to have a basic understanding of the two system both Michelle and I educate our clients.
In our own respective systems Canada and the US but we also do a lot of people in the opposite country which is even more confusing often.
So one of the main differences between both countries is terminology which is not unlike what I see here in Canada there's a lot of conflicting terms within the same system.
[10:52] Michelle let's start by looking at the terminology of both retirement homes and nursing homes so one of the most common terms in Senior Living is Assisted Living.
Here in Canada I like to look at that as a catch-all term or is it an umbrella term Michelle do you find the same in the US.
[11:10] No I think assisted living as a very specific type of care as a very specific care model
and then there's different types of assistive living but and and like you mentioned there are differences within Canada there are differences every state here in the United States operates,
little bit differently as well although with regard to terminology it's much the same across the United States.
Okay yeah I feel like Assisted Living has been a term may be borrowed from the states and we kind of use it as a catch-all here but
many of our clients find it really really confusing because Assisted Living literally means anywhere from independent with housekeeping all the way up to extensive care so Michelle could you break down.
The physical buildings to start perhaps in the US and the services they can do for the viewers just so that kind of got you know.
A very basic idea of each type of blind.
Sure and again this is very specific more specific to Massachusetts where we operate out of although again I think that.
It would be similar in most of the other states there are a few options that don't exist here in Massachusetts that do in other parts of the country but we have.
[12:28] I mentioned earlier in the first segment Continuing Care retirement communities and those are typically campuses and usually you have to purchase
you buy into it or it's a what's considered an entry fee where you put a large sum up front and much of that is refundable,
when you move out but that in
clue words in independent living and independent living here in the states usually is an apartment that has services like housekeeping and meals available but there's not care.
So it's everything but but the care and people can bring care in from a Home Care Agency but then.
There's assisted living and assisted living again is different each state but typically is an apartment where somebody rents and
the care that they need with their activities of daily living comes into their apartment to support them throughout the day and night.
[13:26] Meals are provided utilities are included but if somebody has a skilled medical need that requires a nurse Around the Clock in almost every state that would require that that's what.
Preclude that they moved to a nursing home or a Skilled Nursing Facility where Medical
care can be delivered so the big difference between assisted living and nursing home care is that assisted living communities are not MediCal models of care and and so assistance with activities of daily living
custodial care if you will is provided an assisted living but if somebody needs medical care
or if they can't afford these other options then they go into what we call a nursing home.
[14:17] Interesting so here in Canada and specific.
I'm terrible at operate but I have called to tree we kind of work in.
Two main systems and then the third one that I'm not as familiar with I have talked to my colleagues about but generally speaking here we have.
Retirement home so we have.
Independent which could be your own home condos apartments what not you can bring care in from home care you can bring in care from you know your family whoever that is and then from there we have retirement homes
which I like to call a social model many retirement homes.
Are geared to be able to also offer independent care and in a home like this that would pretty much include your meals and your housekeeping and your social activities.
And then any Care on top of that would be extra so we have a couple of homes that do just independent but there are considered retirement homes as well still,
and then we have the majority of homes that offer Medical Care as well and they also range there's you know what I call somewhere between the mild to medium amount of care,
needing like a one-person assist which means getting up out of a bed you maybe need one person to help you out.
[15:36] All the way especially in Ottawa where I am and all the way up to two person transfers and lifts and hoyer's and things which is a lot of terminology I'm throwing at it would basically pretty extensive
care and are assisted living communities are not all the same either it's not a yes or no or a black-and-white,
there's many shades and so there are some assisted living communities that really only provide light assistance like you mentioned and then there are some that provide.
Two-person transfer assists and even using mechanical lifting devices and things like that so even within the Assisted Living,
term there's a wide range.
Well that's why it's so confusing right because one home will say assisted living and they only offer a small amount of care and one other home will say assisted living in the offer all of the Care.
[16:26] So it's pretty difficult for the community to navigate.
On top of which then you know in Ontario we have the nursing homes which are mandated by the country essentially the province.
And,
have there the medical model so you have to you can't really be independent in a nursing home you have to be a certain level of care and and you would go through
the system of the province and then in some provinces we also have Personal Care Homes which are kind of in between there so it can be very very difficult
to navigate and so again that's what we're trying to do is give you some terminology give you a base of reference.
In today's show so that you can then take that and either go to a professional or go online and have a look at your options.
So we'll continue this conversation after the break it's that time again I can't believe it already so when we come back Michelle and I'll be discussing family conflict and push back.
Should be very informative conversation you won't want to miss it get up stretch your legs you've been watching Artful aging with Amy on Bold Brave TV we'll see you in a few.
[17:34] Welcome back hope you had time to stretch a little bit.
The topic often comes up for Michelle and I about family pushback either a parent.
Or a sibling or basically anyone else in their life usually the question that we get asked is how do we get everybody on the same page which is.
[17:55] Super difficult in some families easier and others it just depends and again it's a personal situation.
Michelle if you're working with a family and the siblings are divided on what to do what suggestions can you give our viewers about possible ways around this tricky situation.
[18:13] Our first our first objective would be to help the family.
[18:20] Find the seniors aging goal what do they want to see for themselves.
How do they Envision if they need care and they need support how do they Envision that happening if there's Dementia or cognitive impairment involved obviously that can't always happen but ideally once we identify what.
What the senior wants to have happen there family can fall in line with what they want.
Or not but if they are their own decision maker then it's relatively easy to identify a
a power of attorney hopefully they already have in place and a house and a health care proxy which is what's needed here in Massachusetts for medical decisions and then we can put plans in place
geared towards what the senior wants and then
that's the easiest way is a lot of times families come to us and they really haven't had the conversation about what mom or dad or whomever it is might want for themselves so that's always where we start.
I find it really difficult on the same wavelength but often I got an independent senior
super cognitively well making a decision that they want to move to a retirement living
because of whatever reason because of you know they don't like cooking anymore they need help with their medication or they want to be social or the other reasons we named in the kind of the first part of the show.
[19:45] And often people in the family or their friends say oh no Mildred you don't need to do that.
And you know Mildred is looking at everything like oh well maybe they're right and so often we have to talk to our seniors about the fact that this is their decision.
They know what's happening day-in-day-out they know what they're struggling with.
They do you know all of those things and so it's really difficult because often our folks make a decision that they want to do this and then the the pure pressure
or family pressure gets in the way and say oh you're not old enough for doing that you're not sick enough to do that and most of it comes down to.
[20:23] Fear that the family or those or the.
Friends have because of their own care perhaps or of what that might look like for their parent and it comes down to a more fear basis for the extended family and friends more so than what you know Mildred's up to over there and so.
Sometimes my team also deals with pushback from.
The parents that have cognitive issues as well right so I don't want to.
Not address that because cognitive impairment it's a it's a big deal as well and so so and one hand we're dealing with if it's pushed back from the senior themselves.
Sometimes they're not ready they're misinformed about their options that you know don't do the you know homework to have you know an eye they just kind of take what other people's experiences are and say oh I'm not ready for that.
[21:16] Instead of looking into it themselves and then,
on the other side we get pushed back when we're not dealing with family specifically these are the two senior pushbacks I find is someone who has diminished capacity and they actually can't make a sound decision for themselves and so it's really difficult.
To negotiate in that scenario and if you happen to have catched our episode 5 which is about power of attorney from our estate lawyers and stuff that gives you some answers if you're a loved one dealing with that as well but.
For today Michelle and I are going to look at this from a senior living advisor point of view
so let's look at pushback from a senior who is either not ready to move or as misinformed Michelle I'm sure that you've come across as how do you work with these seniors.
[22:03] Well it's interesting I want to comment first on that that that I
I we don't run into that often that other scenario that you mentioned where the
family is convincing or trying to convince a senior not to make a move that does not actually happen that often around here it's almost always the senior themselves is resistant to making a move and the truth is.
[22:29] It's a fear of the unknown when.
When people think about senior care they oftentimes have in mind what their what their parents are their grandparents,
experienced and what a nursing home looks like or used to look like and they don't know that it's actually a get to,
most of the communities around here are a huge opportunity and it's a huge Improvement in their quality of life and we can talk until we're blue in the face and try to get them to come around to understand that but in our experience
best easiest,
way is to get them to experience it themselves so the sooner we can get somebody to get in and tour to agree even just to look at it as a back-up plan
if that's what if that's what they're open to just so something happens this they know where they want to go once they begin to tour and and see what's available.
[23:24] It actually becomes quite a bit easier if somebody is Kang it does have.
[23:30] Is an experiencing a lot of cognitive decline it's it's oftentimes easier once we get them to tour or even do a respite stay or a short-term stay for like a month and try it out
those are very successful here most people don't return home after they try a trial stay or rest would stay in Assisted Living
the conversation is a very different one if we are working with someone who has cognitive impairment so we can I'll let you weigh in on that but I can certainly.
Talk about that but that's a very different process.
[24:01] For sure and I'm actually surprised that you said that you don't have people being convinced by their there's their loved ones to not move because.
We actually deal with a quite a lot in Ottawa that we have these independent seniors who do want to make a move who educated themselves and then they get pushed back from their loved ones which is.
It's disheartening to me to see that happens but it's not it's not that often and lately you know because of covid there has been more but in general that isn't.
[24:28] That we have faced quite as much yeah and we you know on the other hand like you said with someone who has cognitive.
Decline one of the things that happens a lot that we see is that their short-term memory goes and so.
They we've got this parenting the parent situation where they see their children and for instance as
younger I was younger adults are as children and so they have an issue with being parented by their children which I totally understand,
and it's just something that you have to work around a little bit and I find also for both scenarios that you know often if I can
you know speak with the senior often we you know work with the family and then we also work with the senior but if I can have a good conversation with the senior who's moving whether or not they have cognitive decline or not.
Talking to them directly it's their choice making sure that they understand that and giving them options and trying to plan that they so we don't get in a crisis scenario usually goes.
Quite a far away when you see Michelle.
[25:32] Yeah it does and then you know when we are dealing with somebody who has short term memory impairment it's important to come up with some systems to have things written down perhaps,
or make sure that everybody's on the same page about.
What we are using to remind them or queue them back into the conversation,
because you can get somewhere and then then they won't they won't remember a little while later and it's it can be difficult but.
[26:02] I think you're spot on yeah it's really difficult even on tour I tell I coach the families you know let's.
When we can physically to our right now we're actually not resumed touring again but when we physically too I always tell the families to watch the body language while we're touring,
because if they don't remember then in that moment you can see how they feel about the building and just to kind of make note of that so a lot of our families tend to do that.
[26:27] We're going to take another break Michelle I'm going to just after the break we're going to discuss money which is usually the top of everybody's list.
Definitely one of the number one is a we get it's a big misunderstanding and,
and a lot again kind of take from their friends and family who have gone through the process and there.
You know relating to my situation must be like their situation therefore the cost is the same and it usually isn't so really it's just about informing you of where we're starting so let's see if Michelle and I can help clear it up for you you're watching Artful aging with Amy will be right back.
[27:03] Are you trying to navigate the Ontario long-term care system but could use a little bit more assistance roadmap to long-term care in Ontario is an online course dedicated to teaching you the ins and outs of the entire industry.
Sign up today at tea and toast. Ca4it / course.
[27:22] Welcome back we're speaking with Michelle of Two Sisters in Massachusetts and we're trying.
Unlock some of the misconceptions and give you some extra education because that's what Michelle and I do for a living we help people find Senior Living options and so.
What we're going to talk about right now is cost because just like terminology there's a lot of misconceptions about cost you know private sector versus public sector and all of that so it gets very very confusing.
Hello we will dive a little deeper in a minute one thing that often leads to an increase or decrease in cost in the private sector.
[28:05] Latinos often works with families who are not wanting to move or wanting to wait for a crisis however often that situation the cost Rises because.
[28:17] Eyes are waiting for the move or not wanting to move their health care needs increase.
And usually if they were in a residence or retirement home here for instance as an independent,
you know they have bills they have extra people around and socialization so a lot of people's Health tends to stay up.
As opposed to decreased when they move into independent living and retirement living and so the longer they wait and the more often they're waiting for a crisis.
More often the next time I see them or next time I have a conversation with them they're in full bloom Kristen's need a lumber care which means it's a lot more money
and so that often tends to be one of the determinants of course care is also another determinant just as as it is you know when folks are ready to make a move.
And if they need a lot of care then it definitely goes up so I find that a lot of families get frustrated with retirement homes because you know on the websites it's ballpark pricing,
and people think that you know retirement homes are hiding things but in true,
style they're not really they're they're trying to give folks an idea without quoting these costs that they don't know because they never know what they care is actually going to be so
here I'm going to give you a bit of a ballpark cost where I am and I'm going to kind of lend it to Michelle afterwards to talk about so that you guys get an idea of what the cost situation might look like so.
[29:41] A ballpark for an independent residence in the studio here in Ottawa
we're going so sorry to backtrack for a minute for independent we're going to look at you know having housekeeping involves having your meals and your social right so and sometimes you know a drive to medical appointments and things that's independent retirement where I'm at and generally in a studio you're looking at somewhere between 2500 and 3500 dollars a month without care so remember
cares always on top for a one-bedroom for contrast around four thousand to seven thousand dollars a month for a one bedroom.
And so on top of that are things like s occupant which is your partner and that's usually around a thousand dollars a month and if they need care
and just so you know care can be as little as a hundred dollars a month if you need you know a back a week or something like that all the way up I've seen it up to round two thousand dollars a month so
it can be quite extensive the long-term care system in Canada
on the other end is regulated so in Ontario were anywhere from eighteen hundred dollars a month for a shared room with all of your care included.
Up to about three thousand dollars for a private room all York are included and again that's in our nursing home system so Michelle let's look at the cost of the state's can you give us a ballpark idea of what independent might look like for a cost.
[31:04] I can I can't speak for the entire United States unfortunately on this because the cost varies it there it's affected by
the similar factors is real estate like where are the building is as well as the the apartment inside of the building and some other factors even within Massachusetts.
There's a huge variance in.
[31:27] Different counties and different areas so on the low end there's independent living and I would say around 2,500 or 3,000 dollars like you mentioned.
That doesn't include care that would include a meal and utilities and that would be in a smaller style apartment.
Um but that that there are independent living communities that start at 11 or 12 thousand dollars.
Not that far away from those other communities here in Massachusetts as well Assisted Living,
where services are available and often times,
five minutes to an hour of care is included we have a few different Assisted Living models some it's all-inclusive which includes a lot more care and some does it doesn't include any care.
But there are packages and additional care is available but even those Community start higher usually around four thousand dollars on the low end for an assisted living.
[32:30] Here in the United States sometimes people will do companion style apartments and share an apartment with another Resident of the same sex and that will help keep the cost down.
With regard to nursing homes if somebody is unable to pay for their care privately either at home,
in an assisted living or in other parts of the country and group and group adult homes or a group foster homes or called sometimes.
[32:58] Then they go on to Medicaid which is the government Health Care system that provides for people that can't afford,
for their care and then they go into a Skilled Nursing Facility or nursing home and in order to qualify for Medicaid somebody has to have under 2000 dollars in assets and so
there is kind of a it's a confusing.
Process and part of a lot of people stress and planning for long-term care here in the United States is there is Medicaid Eligibility and that's a whole other show
but when somebody does qualify
for Medicaid they can go into a nursing home they need to require care they can't be at you can't be independent you have to have the Need For assistance with
three skilled needs or activities of daily living then they can live in the nursing home just paying their,
social security income or whatever their their monthly income is - currently at 70 72 dollars and eighty cents
is what somebody can
keep if they're in a nursing home on on Medicaid but all of their other needs everything is met all of their medications are paid for all of their doctor's visits their food utilities.
Everything is included at that point.
[34:23] Perfect I should also piggyback on that to say in our nursing homes as well there is in the basic sweet there is availability for the government to cover
as well so we do have a subsidized care system here as well and playing in a nursing home here can be as it can be
four or five hundred dollars a day yeah yeah it can be quite expensive
but yeah so and and Michelle and I spoke at length about Medicaid and it's for me and it's complicated system and she's right with could be a whole other segment of maybe we'll do that
if our viewers would like that so let's take a little bit of a break again we'll let that simmer
will may come back we're going to let you know what you need to know about working with advisers and how to navigate the industry as a whole so we will see you in a few minutes.
[35:16] Artful aging with Amy is currently looking for gas and show ideas for our next season,
drop us a line at hello at Artful aging with a me.com and let us know what you would like to learn about in our upcoming season.
[35:31] Welcome back to Artful aging with Amy and if you've been following us for the last little bit.
You know that I'm all about making plans most of my guests are all about making plans I'm sure that you're tired of hearing it but it's true you know the more.
Plan that you can make in any facet of your life
hopefully things will go smoother making move to Senior Living Community is no different though and although Michelle and I work with a lot of families in crisis we also work with families that are at the beginning of their Journey.
So in my humble opinion a senior living advisor shines in both a crisis scenario when they know and have the contacts and the relationships to get things done arranged
quickly they can actually make it work within a matter of days usually as well as in a planning scenario which is what we're going to touch on now.
[36:23] My opinion Senior Living advisor is your direct link into the senior living industry whether you're looking at Retirement Home Solutions or direction to find assistance in the public sector
most of us concentrate on retirement assisted living homes and educate families on the difference between each as well as the options.
For families who are looking for future scenarios so that continued of care you're going to get educated
when you work with an advisor of kind of all of your options so that it's the best best way for your family let's look at how families.
Can choose the right advisor for them and Michelle these are my top three and so feel free to jump in firstly.
You should be looking for an advisor has a good reputation as well as some experience either as a business or on the team and I say either or or both.
So if the business has been established for a while,
or if there's people on the team that have that can bring that experience in the states it's a little bit different because advisors have been around for a lot longer than in Canada
Canada we haven't had advisors very long tea and toast is going to be eight years old we're probably a 10-year Market at this point
Michelle would you agree that you know having a good reputation and having some experience that's my top number one what do you think,
yeah I agree I think that you know here in the United States.
[37:46] There are different types of Senior Living advisors some of us come into this having worked in senior care and there are others that identify
that there is a good business opportunity to be had because the fastest growing segment of the population are,
I believe still those that are 85 Plus.
And so there's there's a big difference I like the expression of our I'm going to probably screw it up now to my TV but don't ask directly to someone where they've never been.
And I think that as an important
analogy because you don't want to ask someone how to get somewhere if they've never been there before and so finding an advisor who has the experience that you mentioned even personally as well as professionally,
I think is important for a place to start for sure and then so my number two would be find an advisor that understands your local market.
[38:47] Because there's definitely advisors that are only
virtual right and so have they toured the buildings in your area do they have relationships with the marketers and the homes in your area because those relationships make your experience with an advisor much better
and advisors also differentiate between how they're paid and none of us are that shy about it and actually get asked about it all the time so some advisors were complimentary.
Some advisors.
[39:21] And usually it comes down to the location what the market will retain and things like that.
[39:29] A lot of different models none of them are you know more right or more wrong than other they're just different but what the point of this part is is to explain that you should know what the model is you should be informed of how your advisor works so that
again you have the most education around your search wouldn't you agree Michelle
yeah I think transparency is really important making sure you understand how the advisor you're working with is compensated and from whom in some cases if a
company is completely complimentary they aren't necessarily.
Partnered with all of the options and so somebody may not be aware of some of the options that could work for them and that is where transparency I think is really important.
[40:17] Yeah that's really difficult because we've definitely had folks that thought they had the options until they came to us and we said you know here's.
Five more options although we don't normally get five options but there's definitely more myself I work on a hybrid model here because this is what our area does but my colleagues oh
West work
mostly on commission so I like a Consulting so it does differ and but knowing that you're going with someone local like knowing point one
also help so if you combine the two you're in a better situation my third point would be
the your advisor should be able to educate you on options for current care knees as well as Future Care needs.
They should also be able to tell you about what's happening in the retirement living Market if there's any issues with any specific homes.
You know when the high and low markets are and the demands as well hey Michelle.
[41:11] Yeah yeah absolutely I think that not just looking at what is the right fit for you right now
but how long will that work for and if that doesn't work anymore what's the plan for after that and I think it's important to look at the whole picture and not just what the the immediate or the next need is,
for sure yeah for sure and and not to mention you know the landscape is in constant flux even covid made it more in flux and then there's more seniors coming in,
for the first time in my almost 20 years we're getting weightless in our area for retirement living which is not usually a thing so
everybody is moving and we're moving with the system but.
How is someone supposed to know that right if you're just you know in the community so working with a visor certainly helps Michelle and I have been talking on break we could have done six shows with all this material but we've come to an end so if you're interested in more shows please give me an email at hello at artfully aging with a me.com and we'll see what we can do
Michelle for now thanks so much for coming on I really appreciate it thank you thanks for having me.
[42:18] For more information on Michelle and two sisters Senior Living advisors head over again to my site Artful aging with a me.com where you'll find her bio
as well as the links to two sisters after the break we're going to look at today's top tips
and I'm going to narrow it down for those folks again who love the Coles notes version you're watching I replace aging with Amy live on Bold Brave TV.
[42:41] Welcome back
you're watching Artful aging with Amy we're live on Bold Brave TV thanks so much for joining us today I hope that you found today's chat informative again if you need some more information please feel free to head over to Artful aging with a me.com reach out to myself or Michelle,
or there's extra printables and things like that for your senior living Journey all of its on the site and you can reach out as well directly by email
at hello aging with a me.com for now let's do my top tips for today tip 1 is let's get educated.
Find out what's available in your area find out if your look working with a adviser educate yourself on how they work
understand what care is needed now for you and your loved ones.
Well maybe a future need that's easier to do if there's something that's Progressive like Dementia or Parkinson's or Ms or things like that that that move ahead you can plan easier if you're an independent senior it's a little bit trickier so
do your best but at least try to think about it so that you can educate yourself as well.
[43:54] I have a lot of families that you know when we discuss what they should be doing they're very very overwhelmed and they want that feeling to stop as soon as possible so they pick.
What's going to fit right in that moment but little do they know and what I'd like to you know let you know as my viewers is that if you only give it just a small a bit more of training our training sorry a small amount more of planning.
Then the initial decision that you made can actually be for the future as well you only need to tweak it a little bit so get to the part where you're not overwhelmed but then no that just that extra little bit will make things so much smoother going down the way
tip 2 is make a plan I know that you know this already but start early allow it to be flexible consider things like Mobility AIDS
renovations to the home Home Care retirement homes long-term care
just you know be flexible in your plan but think about these things so that you're not caught in a pinch and you're not caught in crisis scenario and number three
work with a professional when you can when it's an option again in Canada for Senior Living there's not very many of us but we have a network of advisors in Canada again if you go over to our site or fully G with a me.com there is a link there for retirement homeadvisor.com as well.
[45:11] They can we can speed up the process and take down the overwhelm that you and your family might be feeling not to mention educate
you on all of the choices that are available to you and your family so there you have it.
That is all for today I hope again that you found it informative Our Guest next week is Lisa Flanders and we are going to be flushing the stigma on.
So you definitely want to tune in next week we have some really good points if you liked Today's Show and you listening to us live or
Brandy tube
comment that will help other families find us a lot easier and thank you again for joining me on our play aging with Amy on Bold Brave TV today for me to all of you I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday.
[46:02] You've been listening to Artful aging with host Amy
many folks just like you feel they're alone in their journey and helping a loved one or.
So tune in each week and let a me show you that help is around the corner and it's just one conversation way here on Artful Aging with Amy.
