It’s always difficult to know when the right time is to start transitioning an aging parent into assisted living. Most older Americans would prefer to stay in the comfort of their homes, but increasing health problems and lack of assistance often make that costly or impractical. Assisted living facilities are often the obvious choice for those needing additional assistance. Unfortunately, industry wide issues such as staffing shortages and lack of federal regulations may make family members take pause when considering long-term care communities. However, Milestone Senior Living (MSL) in the Chippewa Valley, hopes to put loved ones' minds at ease by addressing common concerns many families face when making these life changing decisions.
1. What kind of help will your loved one receive at Milestone Senior Living?
Our community offers specially tailored services to match the needs of our residents. Care staff provides a variety of life enrichment programming and events, a registered nurse, laundry and housekeeping services, as well as personal care assistance.
2. What makes your Community stand out above the rest?
From our “red carpet” hospitality and our focus on making our residents’ dreams come true, to our exceptional health care services and team members, our focus is always to embrace every moment. Our community offers a wide variety of activities to enrich the lives of those who live here including Live 2 Be Healthy and Dare to Dream program. With our Dare to Dream program our goal is to make at least one resident dream come true each month in our assisted living and memory care community. Additional features include: full-size appliances and walk out patios or balconies and any-time menus.
3. What will you really be paying for? Are there costs that aren’t so apparent, like transportation fees, medical fees, hygiene fees?
Our rates for memory care are all-inclusive. In assisted living, we start with a flat rate for the apartment which includes: 3 home cooked meals, all utilities paid, basic cable and Wi-Fi, housekeeping and personal laundry services, personal emergency call system, registered nurse available 24 hours/day, daily activities, therapy and wellness programs, walk-in showers with grab bars, individual climate control, indoor personal mailbox, on-site beauty and barber salon, snacks and refreshments always available and a secure building. Care fees are an additional cost in assisted living.
4. Could someone be kicked out? Why would this happen?
MSL alleviates difficult situations, making it difficult to get “kicked out” of our community. If Milestone cannot meet the needs of the individual after several attempts or the individual cannot pay for residence at the community after Milestone gives guidance and assistance, eviction may occur.
5. Does care change at night and how? What if there is an incident or emergency at night?
Milestone has staff on 24/7. If an incident or emergency happens, our highly trained staff will be there to assist and management is on-call. The registered nurse and appropriate management would also be notified to enter the community if needed.
6. What are visitor policies, especially during COVID?
SHM worked with experts in the field and identified resources to secure a variety of COVID test processes, including a rapid read test. The rapid read test allows us to use a blood test that is minimally invasive to our staff members and gives us results in 15 minutes. This allows us to capture many people who exhibit symptoms, or have been exposed to the virus. It also allows us to identify those who are asymptomatic and take that next step in identifying the people entering our communities who could be a risk to our residents. We are currently allowing family members to visit in-person on our patio while maintaining 6 feet distance and wearing a mask, and window visits are encouraged as well as video chats.