Is Your Retirement Home Scamming Residents?

“One of the benefits we expect for elders in retirement homes is protection. But, sometimes, the homes that should protect elders scam them out of thousands of dollars every year,” says Phyllis Staff, Ph. D. “It happens more often than most of us realize.

Small fees tacked on to monthly bills add thousands of dollars in unnecessary charges.” Dr. Staff, the author of How to Find Great Senior Housing: A Roadmap for Elders and Those Who Love Them, says that some retirement homes use physical assessments to drain elders’ bank accounts.

“Retirement homes usually require assessments of elders’ physical conditions before they join a residential community, after an illness, and during an annual assessment,” she says. “However, some retirement homes delay performing assessments until an elder has been a community resident for a month or more.
At that point, assessments often result in diagnoses requiring increased services and increased monthly fees not mentioned in the original monthly rental.”

Dr. Staff suggests avoiding homes that delay initial assessments. She also recommends being alert for hefty assessment fees.

“A nurse usually performs such assessments, spending between one-half and two hours in the procedure, so this should be a fairly inexpensive procedure,” says Dr. Staff. “Assessment fees in the range of $100-$300 are not unreasonable, but,” says Dr. Staff, “fees approaching and even exceeding $1000 are not unusual.”

Dr. Staff discusses more ways retirement homes scam residents in her new book, How to Find Great Senior Housing: A Roadmap for Elders and Those Who Love Them. Boxed text highlights critical issues so they are not overlooked. Sixteen worksheets and checklists, found at the ends of most chapters, lead caregivers through their search for trustworthy care, ensuring that no essential questions remain unanswered. Four appendices list contact information helpful to caregivers during their search for care and afterward.

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Don’t miss the launch of the 2nd edition of How to Find Great Senior Housing. Buy a copy and receive bonus gifts worth more than $230.00. Full details on our website (http://www.thebestisyet.net) April 14th.





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