✨ Resident Life

Does your community have some sort of formal "Guide" for independent living residents who "check into" Health Care?  The move into health care may be temporary (say, for rehab or for a short stay due to illness) or permanent.  If yes, what is done? --- Is the resident and his/her family members provided any kind of guide or manual?

Here's why I ask:  one of my neighbors needed to spend a few days in skilled nursing following major surgery.  He's a retired PhD in Industrial & Organizational Psychology and fortunately left the hospital very lucid and observant.  He decided to take notes, not only documenting the things that went well but also the things that created challenges for both him and his wife.  The couple even had the foresight to visit the health care unit prior to the surgery to meet the staff and "get oriented."  When the admission actually happened, there were some glitches that surprised them.

Wow, are the rest of us ever fortunate ... this neighbor has been back home for several weeks and he's working on a Guide to Going into Health Care (I'm not sure of the title), something that will be a benefit for all.

Beyond his notes he's also doing some research into the practices of other CCRCs, probably where he and his wife have friends.  I told them I would ask this NaCCRA forum.  If you could share what your CCRC does to make the "move" into Health Care, whether temporary or permanent, go smoothly, that would be helpful.

Thanks.

You bring up some good points--a resident at our CCRC suggested a "Guide" for those who enter Healthcare and their families--so far "crickets". My theory is these CCRCs are so overwhelmed/understaffed, keeping Residents (customers) informed and educated are a low priority.

Yes, understaffed and overwhelmed … all the more reason to permit residents to help out and even do the work!!  I'd be willing to write the Residents Handbook, if they'd only allow it.   All they'd (management) would have to do is review the final product.  Without a good resident handbook they're shooting themselves in the foot by having question after question or workdays taken up by customers who feel the greasy wheels get the grease is the only way to find things out.

As a mentioned, it's a resident here who is interested in creating a product (a Transition from Independent Living to Health Care Guide) to serve a need he discovered right off the bat from his own experience.  We're not asking staff to create something from scratch.

I appreciate your reply.

On a different note Jennifer, I recalled you moved out of a Sears Methodist Community in Texas. The Sears Methodist Corporation was sued by the Texas AG for some financial shenanigans I believe.It ultimately went bankrupt. One of the Corporate Officers named in the AG suit was a VP of Financial Operations who is now the CFO for our CCRC/Life Plan Community. He maintains at his level,he was unaware of the financial abuses going on.

Based on your knowledge, were there officers of the Corporation that were victims of "higher level" illegal activity and should not have been named parties in the lawsuit? Or is this a "red flag" for our community?

Here's what happened …. we decided to move out of our Sears Methodist Community after our 2014 travels were behind us,, planning to give the required 90-day notice in November 2014.  However, Sears Methodist filed Chapter 11 in June, 2014 while we were on one of our trips.  At first I thought the Chapter 11 was "only" our community -- brand new, with ground being broken in 2009 and opening in 2011.  We were not part of Sears Methodist's Obligated Group, something I knew going in.  So I thought the recession had made us (Meadow Lake in Tyler, east Texas) the only casualty of the 11 communities Sears Methodist was involved with (ownership of 5 CCRCs included).  Wrong.  It was ALL of Sears Methodist.
Thanks to the advice of a fellow NaCCRA member, I got a small group to see the importance of getting a resident on the federal bankruptcy court's Unsecured Creditor Committee.  We drove 100 miles into Dallas for the committee formation meeting.  I was selected, but the court's trustee didn't want a second resident to be from the same community.  All meetings were telephonic.  I didn't want to give notice while serving.  The Unsecured Creditor Committee was dissolved in March, 2015.  All CCRCs went at auction to a For Profit new owner, a partnership out of Tennessee.
One of the court documents mentioned a large capital campaign for a wing of the care center, which was located on the campus of Texas Tech University.  The designated funds for this wing "disappeared" by being mixed into operating funds.  I believe it was close to $800,000.  I don't know how the "flow" into regular operations occurred --- a little at a time?  all at once?  I would be curious as to why a CFO wouldn't be aware of this movement of funds.
The Texas AG did file a case against the former CEO, some key executives, and the Board of Directors for fraud.  I can locate the court document with the names.... a friend emailed them to me.  I emailed the AG's office to ask if this legal action was required in order to get the insurance company with the D & O Liability coverage to pay off.  Since the trade vendors were pretty much left out in the cold and the secured lenders got about 34 cents on the dollar, the insurance policy was one of the few sources of funds.   The AG staffer's  reply back to me was this:  Respectfully, I am declining to respond to your questions regarding our litigation strategy. 
To answer the question you posed at the bottom of your post --- I do not know if anyone was erroneously charged.  The case was settled out of court.  I knew of someone who was planning to sit through the trial as a spectator (the one who found out about the AG action and sent me the court document).  That individual might be aware of an "AG mistake" -- having been around Sears Methodist in Abilene for years, and seemed very aware of the CEO's "shenanigans."  I'll ask.  Would you be willing to provide the name of your community?  What entity did the hiring for your CFO position, and what kind of background check did they do?

I live in the Army Residence Community in San Antonio, which is an Entrance Fee non profit single site community of about 650 Independent Living residents and about 100 long term health care residents. The CFO was hired by our Board of Directors (volunteers) after he served as a "temporary" CFO to fill the position of our former CFO who, after 17 years, departed the Management team under a "cloud".

The hiring authority knew of his involvement as a named party in the Texas AG suit--and I am sure he was vetted as to his background. He has served many years as a financial officer/executive director in numerous senior living facilities in Texas and California. I believe his lawyer got his name dropped from the suit but cannot verify that outcome.

I was on the Finance Committee for a while and I have been impressed with his performance here. So I have nothing to suspect that his integrity/honesty is not above reproach.

Just wanted to check your perspective as you appeared to have some inside knowledge on the circumstances/facts. So thanks.

I wish I could have provided you more information; however, the awareness that you and the hiring entity (volunteer Board) have of the candidate's past experience is an important factor.  Coupling that knowledge with your opinion about current performance should provide a degree of comfort.

I did not know about an Army community in San Antonio -- I was only aware of what is now Blue Sky. The Vietnam vets probably haven't entered your community in any great numbers yet, but if per chance there are a few there already,  could I ask you to convey the following message from me to them ---  "'Welcome Home' from a VN Donut Dollie, VN '68-'69."  Thanks.
  

Very helpful,

Our continuing care buildings do have handbooks for residents moving into assisted living or skilled nursing.

Ann MacKay

Charlestown, Catonsville, MD

Our resident handbook has moved online with no mention of the change history.

Kay Roberts

Medford Leas, Medford, New Jersey

Our resident handbook isn't on line yet, but with the last update, they swapped out all the contents of the old handbook with the new. Questions about how the changes to the handbook that we were given when we moved in are answered with "...This is the new policy....."

From now on, I will keep the old versions.

Glen Scott

Lakewood

Richmond, VA