The Truth About Advisors and How To Find A Good One

Posted by Donna Mae Scheib on August 28, 2016

The Truth About Advisors and How To Find A Good One

Have you ever researched for senior housing online, found a home you’re interested in, called the number provided, and was assigned to a care advisor?

Have you ever seen an advertisement on t.v. about getting help for your mom, called the number, and was assigned to a care advisor?

Have you ever seen a catalog for senior housing and care, called the number, and was assigned to a care advisor?

These are the three predominant ways you are funneled through to a care advisor during your search for senior housing either for yourself or a senior loved one.  All these content strategies have one goal in mind, to assign you to an advisor who will help you find that perfect senior living home.  Once you find that perfect new home, the referral agency who employs the advisor then receives their fee from the home you have selected.

It’s a straight forward practice and one that is well accepted in the industry. The problem lies with how you are guided after you become their client.

Some referral agencies take your information, put it in their form, fax this form to the senior housing providers who have contracted to pay their referral fees and ask them to reach out to you. (BAD)

Other referral agencies have advisors meet with you in person, design a day or days where you will be guided to senior homes that fit your care needs and guide you with making the best decision for you and your family.  (GOOD)

Two very different approaches but with one similar final result.  You find the home you are looking for, that particular senior living home pays the placement fee of the agency, the agency is paid for their services.

(Of note, be aware that advisors to these placement or referral agencies have different titles they call themselves as well.  Some may refer to themselves as a referral agent, care advisor, senior living advisor, senior care advisor, elder care advisor to name a few.  But the bottom line is, if the intention is to help you find a senior living home and charge a fee to your chosen senior living home, then they are considered a placement or referral agent no matter what they choose to call themselves.  Hope this simplifies it all for you.)

Are you being protected?  

As you can see, with this industry standard, you are left trusting this advisor whom you just met, to help guide you during your most vulnerable time. What laws and regulations are set in place to protect you and the senior housing providers?  NONE. 

Washington State is the first US State to sign into law HB 1494 in May 16, 2011.  It is commendable for Washington State to not only recognize that people like you are at risk for bad business and that standardizing the referral agency practices are required to protect the people. As for the other states in our beautiful country?  Please follow suit!

The “Edler and Vulnerable Adult Placement Referrals” law require some standardization among the referral agency practice.  Referral agencies in Washington State must comply with the standardization requirements related to fees and refunds, recordkeeping, disclosure, intake forms, and referral processes. Here are some examples:

• Employees must pass a criminal background check every 2 years.

• Full disclosure to client and provider of fees paid by the senior housing provider for the referral.

• A set of records (contact information of the client, type of care seeking, housing selected and cost and duration of stay, agency fees to the provider and other written contracts) must be archived for at least 6 years.

• Clients must be provided with a standardized disclosure statement including what services the agency is being rendered to the client.

• Agencies must have a standardized intake form for each vulnerable adult (client).  Some information includes medical history, known medications, assistance needed for daily living, an understanding of the client’s financial situation, client current living situation and preferences for example.

• Having a standardized referral process.

How does standardizing the referral process protect you?

The last point, standardizing the referral process is a biggie!  This portion of the law requires agencies to perform their due diligence and to step up their responsibility with protecting you, their client.  In this section, the law requires agencies to obtain the following information from the senior housing providers:

• Type of license held

• Proof of authority to care for individuals with mental illness

• Accepted payment source types

• Level of medication management services and personal care services provided

• Cultural accommodations

• Primary languages are spoken

• Activities provided

• Behaviors and conditions that cannot be met

• Food preference accommodations

And, MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, within 30 days BEFORE referring you to a senior housing provider, agencies must search to determine any existence of any enforcement actions against the provider.  The agency then decides to take provider off the list of options or disclose this to information to you.

What does all this mean to me?

So what does all this mean to you?  Well, for starters, now you are aware of what makes a good and bad elder care referral agency and advisor.  You’ve been empowered with information so you can protect yourself by increasing the standard you have for the advisors available to you. 

Secondly, should you decide not to hire an advisor and continue to use our site to perform your own due diligence and senior home researching, you are now powered with information to ask providers of your interest when you call them. 

How you can do your own due diligence:

To provide more assistance, I’m providing two checklists below.  The first one is a list of qualifying questions to ask senior care advisors or elder care referral agencies.  The second is a list of questions to ask when qualifying senior housing providers.

Questions you can ask Placement Referral Agencies and Advisors:

• Are you a referral placement agency?  How long have you been an advisor?  Do you have previous experience working with the elderly?

• Do your employees passed a criminal background check every 2 years?

• What fees do you charge for placement and who do you charge?

• How long will you keep my records for and what type of information do you document? Can I have a copy of it?

• Do you have a disclosure statement?  Can you explain it to me and can I have a copy?

• What does your intake form entail? What information do you need from me?  And who else can provide the information required of your intake form?  Who will receive this intake form? And how can I make sure it remains private information?

• What is your referral process?  How many communities will we tour together? 

• Do you qualify the senior homes you are referring to me?  What do you look for physically when you qualify communities?   How do you ensure they do not have any enforcement?  What do you do if they have enforcement?

Questions you can ask Senior Housing Providers and Senior Housing Communities:

• What type of license does your business have?

• What type of authority do you and your staff have to care for individuals with mental illness?

• What type of payment source do you accept?

• What level of medication management services and personal care services to provide?

• What cultural accommodations do you have?

• What are the primary languages spoken in your homes or communities?

• What activities are provided?

• What examples of behaviors and care conditions will you not be able to care for?

• What are the food preference accommodations?

• Do you have any infractions or enforcement against your senior home or community?  When was your last inspection and how did it go?

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