Our service is provided free to you because Facilities* pay a referral fee to ALZCARE whenever a new resident referred to them by us moves in. From the perspective of the Facilities, referral agencies are simply part of the overall marketing cost. But unlike most other placement and referral services and websites, with ALZCARE this does NOT mean that you are limited to a short list of Facilities which have contracts with us or who advertise on our site (we do not accept advertisements). Working with the Facilities We start with each state's list of all licensed Assisted Living* Facilities in good standing in that state. As an information based service, ALZCARE engages in a constant process of gathering information about all of these Facilities. Through phone interviews and questionnaires ALZCARE screens the homes, identifying those that provide the various levels of Alzheimer's and dementia care that our Clients* need. ALZCARE does not (cannot) mandate Facilities to provide services in any specific manner. This is the responsibility of the Facility within the context of their state's laws, regulations and supervising agency(s). Each Facility that receives referrals from ALZCARE agrees to charge our Clients and Prospective Residents* in the same way they charge other Clients and Prospective Residents at the same level of care. We have found over the years that nearly 95% of licensed Facilities are willing to participate in referral programs such as ours. ALZCARE takes the unusual step of even including these facilities when considering the options available to our Clients (see below for more on this). Working with Our Clients ALZCARE assists our Clients in establishing the criteria for the care needed by the Prospective Resident*. These criteria will normally include timeline, location, budget, care needs and special needs. Once these criteria are established, ALZCARE goes through a process of screening all of the Facilities that potentially meet your criteria. Our goal is to get you a manageable list (usually 6-12 Facilities, depending on circumstances). If, in making the finally cut, there are homes that refuse to work with referral agencies in the running, we include them on your list if they offer a quality of life and of care that is equal to or greater than the rest of the homes under consideration. The names and contact information of those Facilities are provided to the Client. We also forward the Client's name and contact information to the Facilities along with instructions to contact the Client in order to explain the services offered and invite them for a tour of the Facility. In this way ALZCARE does the informational screening--the "legwork" for you, the Client. And ALZCARE then provides information and resources you need to help you do the "Touch and Feel" assessment when you visit the Facilities. ALZCARE Independence *Definitions: We refer to the people who contact us about a possible move as our "Clients" (family members, legal guardians, care managers, etc.) and the person who will move as the "Prospective Resident". All licensed Assisted Living care homes or communities are referred to as "Facilities", regardless of what they are called in that state (for example, Personal Care Homes, Assisted Living Centers, Residential Care Facilities, etc.). "Assisted Living" refers to the level of care at which assistance is provided for the Activities of Daily Living (ADL). Please see our page on the Types of Care for more information. If you have any questions about our policies and procedures do not hesitate to call us toll free at 1-866-ALZCARE.
|
