Three Top Questions

I think these are three of the most important questions to ask when looking at housing:

1. What are the basic costs, what are the add on costs for extra services? This question is important because you can often start off at a low price or what seems affordable, nd then you find out the extra costs--for another meal, for medication reminders, for helping with bathing, for bringing Dad to the dining room. They can add up pretty quickly.

2. When will you kick my mother out? This is not a nice way of asking, under what circumstances will you tell me that you can no longer have my mother there? Related to that you can ask, do you give me a month's notice? or one day? I had a place give a client two days notice.

A sub-question to this is: Under what circumstances will you make my mother move to another floor/room/building?

3. How do you handle the needs of people with dementia and how do you handle them in relation to residents who do not have dementia? This includes things like recreational activities, dining room services, security, medical needs, and staffing ratios.