Elder Care Thought Leader: Cynthia Perthuis
Are you, or someone you care about, declining to the point of needing additional care outside the home?
Are you overwhelmed and need help getting started?
“A Senior Advisor can help families find a long-term care solution.”
Senior Advisor:
Let’s start with the first question – How Do You Eat an Elephant? You eat an elephant one bite at a time.
Next question – Why should my family work with a Senior Advisor? Because a Senior Advisor can help you work with bite-size pieces of the transition process of moving from a long-term home to an Assisted Living community when the time is right.
You probably have an additional question – What in the world is a Senior Advisor? A Senior Advisor can help families find a long-term care solution. Most of the time, any fees for the help will be covered by other entities. In other words, if your loved one moves into community living, the family probably will not be responsible for the cost of the search.
Proper Credentials:
There are numerous people like around the country who can help by educating, advising, counseling, mediating, and guiding families to make an informed decision about the next steps for a loved one that may need to transition into a more supportive manner of living.
“Ask the advisor for references. Speak with those references.”
Additionally, you must have one more question – How can I find a good Senior Advisor? First, make sure that your advisor has the proper credentials. Professional Senior Advisors are usually a Certified Senior Advisors (CSA) and a member of an industry professional group such as National Placement and Referral Alliance (NPRA). Additional important certification is a Certified Dementia Specialist (CDP).
Look at the website of the advisor and see what other services that they offer. A good website will include reviews and testimonials from past clients. Ask the advisor for references. Speak with those references.
Support Staff:
Many advisors make presentations about a variety of topics in this area. Watch and listen to those presentations. It will give you a feel about the personality of the advisor you are considering. This process is very personal and you want to make sure that you understand and trust the advisor.
Moreover, ask about support staff. You will want to know that when you have a question. You will be able to reach someone to answer it so that you are not worrying about things unnecessarily.
“When it comes to one of the most important decisions in your life, you should not do it yourself.”
In other words, make sure the advisor has the ability to work all over the country. We live in such a global society that our loved ones do not always live near us. Sometimes, they are across the country and we need to help them there.
A Good Advisor:
Sometimes, they want to move back to you and we need to help them make that move. A good advisor is familiar with most brands and can either get up to speed quickly with other locations or has an extensive network of like-minded advisors with which to work.
Remember, you probably do not do your own taxes. You certainly do not cut your own hair, nor do your own dental work. Most of you do not buy or sell real estate without a real estate agent. When it comes to one of the most important decisions in your life, you should not do it yourself. A Senior Advisor will guide you through the maze of senior living options and let you go about your life while a professional advises you.
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About the Author:
Cynthia Perthuis left her cushy life in Corporate America in 2018 to use her personal experience with her parents and her entrepreneurial background to help the 10,000 people a day turning 65 in the US. The stress of helping aging loved ones and working full-time and caring for her own family while living over 1500 miles apart was overwhelming at times. She often wished there was a non-conflicted industry professional to help when facing these life-changing decisions. She has created her team at Senior Care Authority (www.scanyfl.com) for that purpose. Her team supports over 300 families a year as they navigate these decisions.
