Assisted Living Utah Blog

If you are trying to find the best assisted living community in Utah for your situation, you need to know what your options are. You need to know what the criteria is for assisted living, you need to know what the different options cost so that you can determine if your financial resources are adequate for the time period you need the service, and you need to know which community is closest and/or has the service that you need and want. Too often, I have families come to me with questions that should have been answered months and years ago. For example, two days ago I received a call from a distressed lady who had been caring for her parents in her home. Her mom is “brittle diabetic” and her father’s dimentia is progressing rapidly. She is is stressed out and to the point that she is frustrated with her father’s behavior, her mom needs some peace and quiet in order to heal properly from a recent injury, and she (the daughter) is not enjoying her relationship with her parents as much as she was before having to care so much for their needs. She is becoming exhausted. Finances were definitely a concern although she still wanted to look into assisted living options. I put her in contact with a smaller community since they are inexpensive when compared to larger communities. I also spoke to her about a company that provides home health and hopsice. It’s a company that I’ve used as an administrator in my assisted living community and have had nothing but the best service and care for my residents. Because her mother is brittle diabetic and receiving insulin, she qualifies for home health and this allows a registered nurse to come to her their home, take the blood sugar as needed each day and then provide insulin as needed as well. They can potentially provide a C.N.A. to come in and help with showers a few times a week and offer other valuable services that are all covered by Medicare. Options were given, choices were made, and she is now able to get some relief and assistance in this stressful time her life. Prior to our conversation, she had no idea that these options were even available. At AssistedLivingUtah.com we are happy to share the years of experience in assisted living and in the healthcare industry with those that are in need of the information that will save time, money, and stress.

While the other companies are just salespeople, here at AssistedLivingUtah.com we have the hands on experience of actually being the executive director/administrator of both assisted living in Utah and in skilled nursing. We have personally helped over hundreds of people looking for the healthcare facility that meets their needs. With our personal experience here in Utah, we have contacts like nobody else that can help you get the VA benefit to help cover the costs of assisted living in Utah, point you in the right direction on how Medicaid works in assisted living. We are also the first website on assisted living in Utah that provides a very comprehensive listing on assisted living communities in Utah and it’s growing. You’re able to view photos, pricing, amenities, and services that each of these communities offer in the comfort of your home on your own time. Also, unlike other companies, not only do we not charge you, we actually give you a $200 Cash Card as a thank you for using our services. We are reimbursed by the facilities that we work with for providing this service to their future customers. We can answer questions by phone, email, meet in person, whatever is more convenient for you. We do have the answers, we do have the resources, and again we do have the experience that you’ll want from an advisor. Call us today at (801) 492-4115.

Assisted living is a great field to work in. If you enjoy being around your grandparents, you’ll love working in elder care field; especially assisted living. Is it hard work? Absolutely. Is it worth it? Every minute of it. I used to work at a bank going through college and it was great job, but if I had known that I could have worked in this industry as at the front desk or as a server in the kitchen, I would have done it in a heart beat. The residents in assisted living are so grateful for the smallest act of kindness shown to them.

The pay is not very lucrative as an employee in assisted living; however, the benefits outweigh this. Working in an assisted living community in Utah is the best because the local community is so involved and willing to serve the residents of all communities. Having worked outside of Utah, I can attest to the validity of this. The employees are more caring, harder workers, and better skilled at what they do. As an administrator, staffing has been much easier to deal with in Utah.

As a C.N.A. in assisted living within Utah, usually you work an 8 hour shift (whether it’s AM, PM, or NOC/Night). A.M. shifts run from 6:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. usually. The PM shift goes from roughly 2:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. and the NOC shift typically runs from 10:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. the next day. Assisted living communities are open 24/7 so yes, there are times that C.N.A.s have to work on a holiday (which is typically compensated very well) and yes, weekends are often required at least once to twice per month.

The days fly by and we laugh with the residents, we cry with the residents and their families, and yes, we do see residents that pass away in assisted living. In assisted living type II, we are usually able to care for all resident needs and rarely have to send them to a skilled nursing facility. So we grow attached to the residents and it’s hard for us when we lose someone that we’ve come to love and serve so much. For those that are good employees, you most likely have to pick up the slack for the "not-so-good-employees." Meaning, if someone calls in sick often, you’ll be asked to pitch in and cover the shift to make sure the residents get the care they need and deserve.

All in all, it’s a great industry to be in. The baby boomers are here and coming so there will always be plenty of work to go around. Life as an employee in assisted living in Utah is great.

Finding the right assisted living community in Sandy, Utah is a quest of hundreds of people living in Sandy. Either looking for themselves or more commonly, for their parents. In Sandy alone, there are six assisted living communities, i.e. Alta Ridge Alzheimer’s Community , Alta Ridge Assisted Living , The Stratford at Willow Creek , The Wentworth at Willow Creek , Atria Senior Living, and Sunrise of Sandy. Each of these assisted living faciliites is licensed as a type II facility which means they can care for residents who need assistance with all ADL’s (bathing, dressing, walking, etc). Right on the boarder (literally) of the city of Sandy are three other assisted living facilities (also known as communities), which are The Wentworth at Draper, The Wentworth at Cottonwood Heights, and Canyon Creek Senior Living. All but two of these facilities that I’ve mentioned so far offer alzheimer’s care for residents that have wandering behaviors and require a secured facility. So, if you live in Sandy Utah, Cottonwood Heights Utah, Draper Utah, Midvale Utah, or any other city in Salt Lake Valley or near Salt Lake City, you have several options when it comes to finding the best assisted living facility for you or your loved one. By using our free services, you can get better information to make the best decision. So call us today at (801) 492-4115. We’re here to help.

Medicare is the government plan to pay for someones stay in a hospital, skilled nursing facility, and some other medical expenses such as Home Health or Hospice. Usually the individual has to be at least 65 years old to be eligible for Medicare. Medicare will not pay for assisted living which is often news to someone looking for assisted living.

There is Medicare Part A, Medicare Part B, and Medicare Part D.

Medicare Part A is the one that will cover your stay in a hospital and your stay in a skilled nursing facility. It will usually cover 100% of your hospital stay and then if you go to a skilled nursing facility, it will cover 100% of your first 20 days and then 80% of the next 80 days (it will no longer pay anything after 100 days). Also, in order for your stay at a skilled nursing facility to be paid by Medicare Part A, you will usually have to have a “3-day qualifying stay” in the hospital. Ninety percent of the time, the way that someone will be able to use their Medicare Part A will be due to a major hip replacement, surgery from a broken hip/knee/or other major medical onset. This will usually cause the individual to stay in the hospital for 3 nights, thus qualifying them to have Medicare Part A pay for their stay in a skilled nursing facility while they rehabilitate.

Medicare Part B is the one that will pay for your home health (a company that might provide help with physical therapy in your home or in an assisted living facility). If you are still in a skilled nursing facility and have used up your 100 days of Medicare Part A, you could continue to receive the different therapies (Physical, Occupational, Speech, etc) as long as they assess you and you meet the guidelines and this will be covered by Medicare Part B.

Medicare Part D is the one that helps pay for medications.

For more detailed advice, visit us at AssistedLivingUtah.com. Don’t hesitate to call us either. We do not charge you anything for advice and we don’t try to sell anything to you. I guarantee it. Call (801) 492-4115 or toll free (866) 979-9989. You can also email us at Admin@AssistedLivingUtah.com.

There are close to 100 Nursing Homes (properly named Skilled Nursing Facilities) in the state of Utah. For a comlplete list of nursing homes in Utah, please visit the following link…

http://www.medicare.gov/NHCompare/Include/

DataSection/Questions/HomeSelect.asp

A Nursing home in Utah is a facility where someone would go to if they needed 24 hour care from a registered/licensed nurse and/or to receive rehabilitation from a licensed therapist. The way that most elderly people would enter in a nursing home is because of a fall that caused them to go to the hospital where they might stay for 3-5 days and then be discharged to a skilled nursing facility. The hospital will simply stabilize you and maybe do the knee or hip surgery and then send you to a nursing home where you would get rehab from a physical therapist, occupational therapist, or speech therapist onsite (depending on the need and doctor’s orders). The nursing home costs will most likely be covered by Medicare up to 100 days with a co-pay of 20% after the first 20 days of your stay. Then if you are still unsafe to go home alone, you would either move in with family, get someone to come into your home as needed (which can be very costly for someone to come 24/7), or move to an assisted living center (properly known as assisted living facility). You can usually continue to receive what is called Home Health either at home or at the assisted living facility. This is an agency that again, is paid by Medicare 100% but without a co-pay currently. Home Health will provide continued therapy as needed (usually up to 6 weeks). For a more detailed consultation, contact me at anytime. I get reimbursed by assisted living facilities for providing you with information regarding assisted living in Utah.

For more detailed advice, visit us at AssistedLivingUtah.com. Don’t hesitate to call us either. We do not charge you anything for advice and we don’t try to sell anything to you. I guarantee it. Call (801) 492-4115 or toll free (866) 979-9989. You can also email us at Admin@AssistedLivingUtah.com.

This is a very important question, especially when your loved one requires a lot of care. I actually used to work in a skilled nursing facility as the administrator and now I work in an assisted living community as an administrator, so I’ve seen how the two work. If your loved one is completely incontinent (unable to control his/her bowel and bladder) and is unable to self feed, this may seem like someone that needs to be in a skilled nursing facility; however, this is not always the case. A person with these needs can easily be in an assisted living community. At my assisted living community, we have a memory care unit where about 30% of the residents require assistance with eating and who are also incontinent (who we may change every 2-3 hours). The families of these residents highly prefer assisted living as compared to a skilled nursing facility because of the atmosphere, cost, etc. It is much more home-like as opposed to a hospital-like facility like many skilled nursing facilities are. The point where your loved one would need and the state would require them to be in skilled nursing would be if they require skilled care from an RN such as one or more of the following: regular injections (if it’s only occasionally, the assisted living community can often offer this with the Registered Nurse on staff), a feeding tube, IV, or other skilled need. Also, if the resident requires assistance from two or more people to evacuate in case of an emergency, then the state says they cannot be in an assisted living community and thus would require a skilled nursing facility.

If you’re looking for an assisted living facility in Utah, you’ll want to go through AssistedLivingUtah.com. It makes it much easier to choose the right facility for you and your loved one.

For more detailed advice, visit us at AssistedLivingUtah.com. Don’t hesitate to call us either. We do not charge you anything for advice and we don’t try to sell anything to you. I guarantee it. Call (801) 492-4115 or toll free (866) 979-9989. You can also email us at Admin@AssistedLivingUtah.com.