Do you know a friend, family member or a senior neighbor who is struggling in their home? Have the day-to-day basics become too much? This video shares some tips on discovering the right time to start exploring senior housing.
Diane provides encouragement to plan ahead and instruction on how to navigate retirement living options. Her personal trials and breadth of experience in the field allows her to identify pitfalls to watch out for and questions to ask. I found this a very readable book that is extremely helpful for retirees and their loved ones with the desire to chart the course for retirement living success.
“Your Senior Housing Options,” is designed to help seniors and their boomer children to navigate choices quickly in crisis mode or preferably while planning ahead. Learn more tips at: Tips2Seniors.com
Most seniors want to stay in their own home. Learn five keys in this TV interview to differentiate a reputable home care company from a fly-by-night company. Paying a caregiver under the table may end up being your most expensive option. Can you afford 24-hour home care? If not, learn the costs of your other options before you deplete your resources. Learn more insider tips in a new resource book, “Your Senior Housing Options” or get weekly advice for free at WWW.tips2seniors.com.
“Your Senior Housing Options,” has a simplistic title, but what’s inside this new book can save you months of research time. Hear Diane Masson’s interview of how her mother and in-law’s faced the pivotal decision to plan ahead or wait until a crisis. Learn the pitfalls from transitioning from your home to senior housing. Understand what questions to ask, insider tips and dirty secrets revealed. The decision to stay home requires caregivers. Prevent elder abuse by determining if a home care agency is reputable, before they move into your home. You are just not looking for today’s needs, but for your future care. Discover key differences between rental facilities vs Continuing Care Retirement Communities. Do you have enough financial resources if you need to be in a higher level of care for an extended period of time? For weekly tips join at: Www.Tips2Seniors.com
Diane Masson has worked in senior housing for 17 years and is the regional marketing director for two debt-free Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Southern CA (Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet). Her first book “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” is being utilized by senior housing professionals across the country. Both her first book and second book, “Your Senior Housing Options,” have a 5-star rating on Amazon.com.
We’ve all been at a party when a new acquaintance asks, “What do you do?” What is your response? Is it engaging and interesting? Or does your heart drop, because you have to talk about work and you end up sharing a boring list of your duties or mumble your exact job title?
Every one of us can improve our 30-second commercial and make it captivating to the listener.
Here are a couple of tips of what not to do:
No laundry list of duties
Don’t just give your job title and company name
At Seattle’s Pike Place Market, a company that sold fish seven days a week decided to make it interesting. They were determined to have fun and engage the customers. So the motivated employees started throwing the fish that customers were purchasing. Now they are a huge tourist attraction and sell lots of fish.
If you work for a senior living company and simply state you work at an assisted living or skilled nursing community, it sounds boring. Saying, “We improve the quality of seniors lives everyday,” – makes your acquaintance ask a secondary questions of – how? Everyone typically knows an aging parent, grandparent or senior neighbor. In the remote possibility that you do not, you probably know a friend who is dealing with an aging senior who needs help. Ninety-nine percent of the time, people need advice for an aging relative and you can end up helping them or suggest they consider your senior living community (which is wonderful for them, your company and you).
Maybe you already use your 30-second commercial on a daily basis? Or you use it occasionally when you attend chamber of commerce or networking events. Each of us can improve our commercial and make it more appealing to the listener. Your fellow networkers and social acquaintances will appreciate you making an effort.
So what is your 30-second commercial? Is it interesting enough that someone asks you a follow up question?
If you share your 30-second commercial in the comment section on my blog page, you will automatically be entered to win a copy of my new book, “Your Senior Housing Options.” The best commercial will win and be announced in the comment section of my blog on Saturday, June 13th.
Everyone of us knows at least one senior that needs to move now. Here is a resource to help you or them make an informed decision. Diane Twohy Masson’s new guide book for seniors, “Your Senior Housing Options,” is available on Amazon.com with a 5-star rating. It reveals a proactive approach to navigating the complex maze of senior housing options. It will help you understand the costs and consequences of planning ahead or waiting too long. Learn firsthand tips from someone who is currently advocating for two aging parents.
Among the thousands of seniors she and her teams have assisted in finding the right senior living community, the most difficult case has been helping her own parent. Masson spent two years exploring senior housing options with her mother before finding the ideal Continuing Care Retirement Community for her. After eight years in this independent living setting, she helped her mother transition into an assisted living community. Seven years later, even as a senior housing expert, Masson struggled with the decision to move her mother into a skilled nursing community.
More related articles by Diane can be found at Tips2Seniors.comor like Tips 2 Seniors on Facebook.
Diane’s Mom Driving -Illustration from the new resource guide “Your Senior Housing Options.”
What about you? Does one of your loved ones have dementia and still drive? Dementia drivers are jeopardizing other citizens walking in crosswalks and driving.
My father-in-law was driving with a diagnosis of macular degeneration. He justified his actions by only driving in the daytime and limiting himself to a 5-mile radius to run errands and go the doctor. As his dementia progressed he got lost driving home within this radius. He chose to give up driving on his own.
A friend told me about my mother driving several years ago. They said, “I saw your mom driving today, she can’t even see over the steering wheel. She is looking through the steering wheel in order to see the road.” I was horrified. This was completely unsafe. I still vividly remember the last time I drove with my mom. She was straddling two lanes (on the same side of the road). She said, “Diane, I know this looks bad, but I know exactly what I am doing.” I was terrified. It was the beginning of her dementia.
A resident of a senior living community drove into another resident’s balcony. As he was parking the car, the senior hit the gas instead of the brake. After backing up, he made the same mistake again and rammed the balcony a second time. Afterwards, he was disoriented and could not remember how the accident happened or why he hit the gas twice. He did not give up his car keys after this incident. The resident whose balcony was destroyed requested to have the parking place right outside his apartment home, because he did not want a repeat performance.
All these senior driving circumstances have made me a better defensive driver. Many people are concerned about teenage drivers, but what about seniors with dementia? No senior wants to give up the keys to the car and lose their independence. Senior housing choices that provide transportation can be a good choice for a senior who should not be driving.
Do you feel that a son or daughter should make a mom or dad give up the car keys if they are putting others at risk? What will be the trigger event to make the decision of no more driving – hitting a curb, a fender bender, or a fatal car accident?
What should the doctor’s role be in this process? Have you had the “car talk conversation” with yourself, your spouse, or your parent? How did it go? What about senior living providers who have residents that are driving unsafely in their parking lots? What did you do?
Seniors, Boomer children, spouses, family members and caregivers are desperate to learn how to truly differentiate good senior housing from mediocre at best. Diane Masson’s new book will answer these heart-wrenching issues in an easy, simple, story telling format with humorous illustrations. She has represented multiple styles of senior housing for 16 years and has sought all levels of senior housing care for her mother and stubborn German in-laws.
“Your Senior Housing Options” is a new resource book available on Amazon.com with a 5-star rating. It offers a step-by-step guide to the options, including staying home. Don’t wait until you’re in a health care crisis like author Diane Masson’s in-laws. Learn how to plan ahead like Masson’s mom. Research your future choices NOW to avoid being “put” somewhere, or having decisions made for you by others.
For weekly tips and advice go to www.Tips2Seniors.com and learn more from author and senior housing expert Diane Twohy Masson.
My sister-in-law witnessed my father-in-law, Bill, having a mini-stroke (TIA) this week. What a heartbreaking story. She was sitting with him in the living room and noticed his face droop on one side. Then his speech became garbled. It was over in two minutes and he could talk fine again. He had no idea it happened.
She was understandable traumatized and wanted to talk about it. My husband and I are 1000 miles away and applaud her efforts to care for my father-in-law in her own home till he passes. We both think she is a saint.
Through my Internet research it says a TIA is a mini-stroke. TIA’s can be warnings that a bigger stroke can be coming. In my mom’s case, she has had so many TIA’s that she has been diagnosed with vascular dementia. I have never personally witnessed a TIA with my mom.
I guess you could say we were lucky it was only a TIA with Bill. Unfortunately, my father-in-law is now on hospice. Hospice is comfort care, so the goal is no hospitals or ambulances if at all possible.
Every caregiver, family member and senior living professional should know the signs of a stroke and what to do. Stokes can cause permanent damage. If you get someone to a hospital in time, it can reverse the affects of the stroke. Go to www.strokeassociation.orgto learn more. They say you should act FAST! FAST stands for: face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty and time to call 911.
Have any of you encountered or witnessed a TIA or stroke?
Diane Twohy Masson’s new guide book for seniors, “Your Senior Housing Options,” is available on Amazon.com with a 5-star rating. It reveals a proactive approach to navigating the complex maze of senior housing options. It will help you understand the costs and consequences of planning ahead or waiting too long. Learn firsthand tips from someone who is currently advocating for three aging parents.
Among the thousands of seniors she and her teams have assisted in finding the right senior living community, the most difficult case has been helping her own parent. Masson spent two years exploring senior housing options with her mother before finding the ideal Continuing Care Retirement Community for her. After eight years in this independent living setting, she helped her mother transition into an assisted living community. Seven years later, even as a senior housing expert, Masson struggled with the decision to move her mother into a skilled nursing community.
More related articles by Diane can be found at Tips2Seniors.comor like Tips 2 Seniors on Facebook.
