One Story: Helping in the Search for Assisted Living

This week’s Guest Blogger is Michelle Clopton-Davis who trained and worked as an RN during her career. It is fitting that we feature someone trained as a nursing professional this week as it is National Nurses Week. See our separate tribute to nurses blog. Michelle also developed skills in marketing and business development through her various positions within the health care community. In 2001 she started her own business, Assisted Living Referral and Placement Service. As a healthcare consultant, Michelle works with families to help them through the difficult assessment of when to provide alternatives to living at home for their loved ones. Michelle writes about one of those stories in her blog today. You can see more information about her business at www.assistedhomesconsulting.com.

I introduced Assisted Living Homes to the community in 2001 as a service free to families and individuals who may be seeking information and direction for alternative living to nursing homes and large assisted-living communities. I work as a referral/placement service to over 90 homes from Brighton/Arvada/Boulder to Colorado Springs that offer assisted living care in a residential setting. My goal is to help families and individuals process the option of residing in this setting whether it is short-term, respite, long-term, or for hospice care. I also try to increase the awareness of the home-like setting for assisted living care throughout Colorado. Here’s the story of just one of the families I have had the privilege of working with in our community.

When Ms. Judy took on the task of finding an alternative living for her mother, she had no idea where to begin. Ms. Judy asked to remain anonymous. She is the daughter of an 88-year-old lady who had recently injured her right wrist. Her mother needed assistance with activities of daily living – all those everyday things for grooming, eating, communicating that most of us take for granted – and was also having symptoms of short-term memory loss. Although Judy’s mother was pleasant, robust, charming, and kind, she needed supervision and could no longer reside in a traditional assisted living community. One major concern was that Judy’s mother had fallen 3 times in a year and now required stand by assistance with walking.

Ms. Judy contacted Assisted Living Homes and was surprised at the “helpful service” that was offered to her for FREE. She found Assisted Living Homes to be “helpful at a critical time” and a “life preserver”.
When Ms. Judy called Assisted Living Homes, she acknowledged her challenge in trying to locate another home for her mother that could provide her mother’s care needs and that was convenient for her to visit. Because of our extensive reach into Colorado communities from north to south, we were able to find just the right place with the right level of care that Ms. Judy’s mother required. We found a small home with very personalized care. The ability to provide one-on-one care is common in small assisted living homes. Ms. Judy’s mother has now resided in a small residential assisted living home for almost 4 months and she is very pleased with the care and setting. Assisted Living Homes was beneficial to her finding a place for her mother, “especially at a time of pressure and scrambling,” said Ms. Judy. “When individuals can no longer stay in their own homes or a traditional assisted living setting, your service is so needed.”

Assisted Living Homes represents over 95 small assisted living facilities that offer assisted living care in a residential setting. These homes are an alternative to large assisted living communities and nursing homes. The homes represented by Assisted Living Homes are licensed by the state of Colorado and regulated by the Colorado Department of Health to provide assisted living care. Assisted Living Homes works with families and individuals to introduce, assess, guide, and establish residency in this philosophy of care.