Medfield Resident: Making Sense of Senior Living Options

The following was submitted by Chris McCue Potts.

Photo image, courtesy of Medfield Lions Chowderfest on PATCH 2015.

SENIOR LIVING OPTIONS!

For Medfield residents trying to figure out senior living and care options for themselves or a loved one, it can be incredibly confusing and overwhelming. From glossy brochures, to thousands of industry-sponsored websites and numerous subjective opinions, it can be difficult making sense of everything*

So where to begin? Local and state resources are invaluable, and our own Medfield Council on Aging is a great starting point for information and resources, including care referrals, educational and social programs, friendly visiting, individual and group support, and health services. http://www.thecenteratmedfield.com/. A big focus for the COA (and Medfield Housing Authority) is creating more economical and affordable senior housing options for Medfield seniors, such as one-floor apartments, condominiums and small homes. It was reported at a Board of Selectmen meeting last year, that after two 55-and-over housing developments were created in Norfolk, dozens of Medfield seniors have since moved to those communities.

For guidance or assistance on specific types of residential or senior care options, plus referrals to a range of statewide services and opportunities, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs is another great resource: http://www.mass.gov/elders/.

What about assisted living? According to Elder Affairs, the goal of assisted living is to help a senior maintain as much independence as possible in a residential setting, but with personalized assistance. The degree of assistance offered, residential options and overall cost varies widely, and non-profit and faith-based facilities are generally considered to be the most affordable. As a way to help consumers evaluate different assisted living options, the Office makes available two excellent resources: a Consumer Guide to Assisted Living and details on Massachusetts certification regulations:

http://www.mass.gov/elders/docs/assisted-consumer-guide.pdf

http://www.mass.gov/elders/regs-stats/housing/assisted-living-certification-regs.html

A PlaceforMom.com is another helpful resource for information about out-of-state government agencies that provide oversight for assisted living facilities. And while APlaceforMom refers seniors to specific facilities, it does receive a fee for those referrals (so beware of bias). However, its excellent licensing information is independent of any compensation: http://www.aplaceformom.com/assisted-living-state-licensing. (Sales and marketing directors at individual assisted living facilities also receive a commission on every new resident contract.)

According to the A Place for Mom legal/regulatory team, Massachusetts is the most difficult state from which to obtain assisted living records (ranked #51). Complicating matters is the two-year inspection cycle vs. annually as done in many states. A senior citizen’s assisted living needs can change significantly in a matter of months, so it’s difficult to determine how responsive a facility is being to those needs when inspections are only conducted every two years.

Complicating matters is lack of resources to stay on top of a rapidly expanding industry. Elder Affairs compliance officer and inspector Peter Antonellis noted in a 2014 Boston Globe article, “Most elders and their families think this (assisted living) is a regulated industry, but we don’t have the staff to regulate it.”

Even so, one way to gain more insight on how a particular multi-state assisted living company operates, you can glean helpful information outside of Massachusetts via other state regulatory agencies that have more accessible inspection records.

LCB Senior Living, for example, has two facilities in Vermont – a state that makes all of its assisted living inspection records available online. New Hampshire also provides some online records. In Vermont, the Residence at Shelburne Bay East and Residence at Otter Creek are both LCB facilities; in New Hampshire, the LCB facility is The Arbors in Bedford (when searching for The Arbors, use “Bedford” in city field vs. facility name):

http://www.dlp.vermont.gov/other/assisted

http://healthfacilitysearch.dhhs.nh.gov/HFLVerification/Search.aspx?Facility=Y&SubmitComplaint=Y

Over the past two years, Boston Globe reporter Kay Lazar has written extensively about issues related to quality of care at both nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Her piece from September 20, 2014 is especially helpful for providing insight and context on assisted living certification and safety issues:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/massachusetts/2014/09/20/assisted/Z1dzkfCG8MGydRPmpBr4kI/story.html

Two other helpful pieces come from MarketWatch.com – “10 Things Assisted Living Homes Won’t Tell You” and a PBS Frontline report on assisted living “Who’s Looking Out for Seniors”:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-things-assistedliving-homes-wont-tell-you-1344980948534

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/whos-looking-out-for-seniors/

*If you want to learn more about the LCB Senior Living proposal for Main Street in Medfield, we encourage you to attend the Zoning Board of Appeals Public Hearing at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 14 in the Medfield HS Auditorium.