Best Accreditations for Senior & Assisted Living

Long term care facilities offer a range of services to those who aren’t able to live independently. Mostly, these are people aged 65+. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 1 to 3 million serious infections occur every year in nursing homes, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. That’s why the importance of working with an accredited facility can never be overstated. So what is accreditation, and what are the best accreditations for senior and assisted living facilities to obtain?

Accreditation helps determine if a senior living home meets or exceeds minimum quality standards. When a facility is accredited by a reputable organization, you can rest easy knowing your loved one will be safe and well-cared for. Without such systems in place, it would be impossible to tell the excellent facilities apart from the average ones.

Many accreditation bodies exist in the United States. But as with any other system, these bodies are not created equally. Some are certainly better than others. When it comes to your loved one’s level of care and safety, it’s always a good idea to go with the best. It is hard to imagine your loved one going into an understaffed, or outdated facility that didn’t offer high-quality senior care. This article will highlight the best accreditations for senior and assisted living facilities to guide you. But before that, let’s make sure we’re on the same page.

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Knowing the best accreditations for senior care and assisted living facilities can help your business stand-out, as one of the best in your field.

Senior living licensure vs. accreditation

Senior care providers may get three recognition levels: certification, licensure, and accreditation. Licensure is a type of recognition used in most government systems. It has set rules and directs providers to abide by specific local codes. Providers need to have a license before they can operate. But they must pass some basic licensure test that covers the regulations and rules for operation to get their license. The test also includes an inspection of the facility.

Certification recognizes personal achievements. It’s a proof that a person has attained certain education level or skill set by an institution. Certificates are given to those who successfully finish a specific training or work experience. It shows that the experts can offer nursing care or medical care to older adults.

On top of meeting all the certification and licensure requirements, some providers may voluntarily choose to go through the accreditation process. The main difference between licensure, certification and accreditation is that accreditation is given only after a provider is shown to conform to a set of specific standards. Certification and licensure are, however, needed upfront before services can be performed. Accreditation helps establish whether the provider’s processes produce positive results.

The conformance to standards is typically measured by a third-party body that goes to the senior living facility to review materials and talk to family members, nursing home residents, administration boards, and the staff members. So, accreditation is the recognition by experts that a senior living home meets the highest industry standards.

With that out of the way, here are some of the best accreditation for senior and assisted living.

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Accreditation Commission for Home Care, INC. (ACHC)

ACHC is a nonprofit accreditation body that has stood as a quality and excellence symbol for over three decades. The organization has CMS approval for hospice, home health, renal dialysis, and DMEPOS accreditation. Over the years, ACHC has created the best accreditations for senior and assisted living facilities, that have positively impacted countless organizations. Its standards are built by experts and promote quality services, enhance organizational operations and ensure optimal care. ACHC:

Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) Accreditation

CARF is a nonprofit that sets very high standards for care and service. It is a well-known independent accreditation body for human and health care services providers across the United States and Western Europe. CARF accredits continuing care retirement communities and related services that offer hospital, community, and home-based care. The accreditation process starts with a range of steps that include:

CARF has one of the most stringent peer-review processes, making it an admirable accreditation for senior and assisted living facilities. In fact, its standards were set over five decades ago by global partners of policymakers, service providers, and family members. These standards have been subjected to public review to verify the applicability and ensure all stakeholders contribute.

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO)

JCAHO is an independent, nonprofit body that accredits skilled nursing facilities and some continuing care retirement communities. But it does assess assisted living homes. The nonprofit tries to consistently enhance care homes by:

JCAHO is a respected body in the health care industry. It has a reputation for its high standards in grading long-term care facilities, hospitals, and service providers.

Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP)

CHAP standards are specific to the community and home-based care. They offer a practical, straightforward guide as per the facility’s specific model. The organization has deeming authority issued by the CMS to determine whether it meets their quality standards and Medicare Conditions of Participation. CHAP:

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Benefits of accreditation

Long-term care facilities use accreditation to improve their performance and display their commitment to safety and quality to external stakeholders. The latest studies show that long-term care accreditation is a risk reduction activity that minimizes the chances of adverse resident outcomes and incrementally enhances a facility’s performance. Besides, accreditation improves community confidence, supports staff education and recruitment, and offers a structure for organizing business and care processes. But most importantly, it enables facilities to set themselves apart in the market of more than different 15,000 nursing homes in the US.

 

Caring for Someone with Alzheimer’s in Assisted Living

Alzheimer’s is a disease of the brain. It causes large numbers of cells in the brain to die. This impacts an individual’s ability to think clearly and remember things. People with Alzheimer’s disease are forgetful and easily confused. They behave in odd ways and may have difficulties concentrating. These issues worsen as the illness progresses, making your job as a caregiver harder.

An estimated 5.8 million Americans 65 years and older lived with Alzheimer’s dementia in 2020. According to the CDC, Alzheimer’s disease is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States. It affects the part of the brain that controls thought, language, and memory. Over time, the disease impacts one’s ability to execute daily activities. Sometimes, it makes them aggressive, incontinent, or wander a lot. Families that cannot meet all the needs of an Alzheimer’s patient often consider long-term care facilities like an assisted living home.

What is Alzheimer’s disease?

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Alzheimer’s is a progressive and irreversible brain disorder that gradually destroys a person’s thinking and memory skills. In later stages of the disease, patients lose the ability to execute even the simplest tasks. Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia among older people, ages 65+. But it can still affect people between ages 30 and 60.

This article will highlight some of the things to keep in mind when caring for someone with Alzheimer’s. But before we do that, let’s look at the different stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

Stages of Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease can be mild, moderate, or severe. The symptoms worsen as the disease progresses, bringing new challenges to you as a caregiver. Knowing the stages and their associated symptoms can help you plan ahead.

Mild (preclinical)

Patients with early-stage or mild Alzheimer’s disease can still function independently. They can participate in social and professional activities. But they’ll have a hard time focusing or remembering recent events. Most will also forget certain names or words and have difficulties writing and solving problems.

Moderate (mild cognitive impairment MCI)

At this stage, the patient experiences significant confusion, memory loss, and physical symptoms. They will have a hard time recognizing close friends and family.  Organizing, following instructions, and performing regular tasks will become very difficult. Patients may also wander or get lost, become restless, or have trouble falling asleep. Other symptoms of moderate Alzheimer’s include personality changes and fecal or urinary incontinence.

Severe (Alzheimer’s dementia)

Patients with severe Alzheimer’s lose the ability to carry out most or all of their basic activities. So they’ll need help with daily life activities like walking, eating, and sitting up. At this stage, they may not be able to engage in conversation or recognize their family members. Chewing and swallowing become a problem too.

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Things to bear in mind when caring for an Alzheimer’s patient in assisted living

Today, more than 50% of residents in assisted living facilities have some form of cognitive impairment or dementia, including Alzheimer’s. If you are a caregiver in one of such facilities, you should always remember that the disease is what causes the changes, and not the person. Here are a few things to keep in mind when caring for someone with Alzheimer’s in assisted living.

 

Your patience and sensitivity go along way

Dressing, eating, and grooming will become challenging as the disease progresses. The loss of privacy and independence that comes with the condition can be a hard transition for the resident with dementia. Your sensitivity, patience and understanding will help him or her through it. Once you are done helping with the daily tasks, you may want to think about the patient’s abilities. Then encourage them to do as much as they can – and be ready to help when the need arises.

Meltdowns are common

As the disease progresses, it becomes harder for the patient to communicate. He or she may want you to warm the food or turn down the volume. But because they cannot express their needs, they may end up lashing out in anger. In some cases, these residents experience pain and discomfort, lack of sleep, or they’re just not in sync with their routines. So you should understand this and handle any meltdown situation with professionalism and positivity. You can lower the occurrence of such issues by keeping the resident on a regular routine and ensuring they’re comfortable. Try to:

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Reminders and logic may not work

When caring for a resident with Alzheimer’s, you may find yourself trying to help them act as they would normally. For instance, you may want to remind them of facts or a conversation when they say something that’s off and so on. But this will only make things worse. Alzheimer’s is confusing and scary for the patient. Trying to use reason or logic to explain why they’re wrong will likely make them defensive, agitated, angry, or difficult. So it’s best to respect and join them in their new reality – and focus more on their emotions as opposed to words.

Nutrition is essential

People with Alzheimer’s may not need a special diet in the initial stages. But as the disease progresses, weight loss and loss of appetite may become concerns. Experts recommend serving finger foods, high-calorie healthy meals, and multivitamins. In the later stages, the patient may have difficulty chewing and swallowing. This is a big problem because if he or she chokes, the food might go into the lung, causing pneumonia. So, it’s best to prepare foods that are not hard to chew and swallow. Also, provide drinks with high water content, like smoothies, soups, and fruits.

How to Know When Assisted Living Homes are Well-Run?

Assisted living homes are a great choice for older adults who need help with some or most of their daily activities. These facilities have professionals to help with things like getting to the bathroom, housekeeping, cooking meals, laundry, and transport to appointments. They also offer round-the-clock safety and security to ensure all residents are okay. But not all homes are created equal. How can you tell when assisted living homes are well-run?

There are approximately 28,900 assisted living homes in America, but no two facilities have the same level of service as the other. Some are clearly better than others. So, it is completely understandable to worry about whether the one you've enrolled your loved one in is efficient or not. In this article, we'll tell you how to know when assisted living homes are well run, to help put your mind at ease, knowing your loved one will be well taken care of.

The residents have a better quality of life

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The decision to transition to an assisted living home is often based on a need for additional care and support with daily activities. However, finding a facility that meets the basic needs is only the first step. A well-run facility also pays more attention to the overall quality of life of every resident. It doesn't compromise on aspects that improve the quality of life. These include encouraging physical activity, inspiring social interaction, fostering independence and a sense of purpose and nurturing spirituality. While it might be hard to measure, these aspects are critical in determining if an assisted living facility is well planned.

The facility exceeds the minimum requirement

You may be pleased with the fact that an assisted living amenity provides round-the-clock staffing, grocery shopping, health care support, transportation, laundry, and housekeeping services. But these are only minimum requirements. The best-assisted living environment goes beyond the basics. As mentioned above, they offer opportunities to chase new hobbies and creativity and promote social interaction. Most importantly, they evaluate and adjust the residents’ needs from time to time.

It hires a qualified and passionate team of caregivers

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One of the best ways to tell a well-run assisted living home apart is by looking at its staff's quality. A well-run facility will invest in quality staff. It will only hire qualified personal care assistants, nurses, administrators, directors, and coordinators who are passionate about their jobs. A qualified team can maintain senior independence, provide companionship, decrease senior loneliness, offer insight and detect changes in a senior's condition.

The facility has adequate staff

A well-run home should have a reasonable staff-to-resident ratio. It should also have registered nurses on-campus, as opposed to simply on-call. Adequate nurse staffing is essential when it comes to the quality of assisted living care. Unless a facility has sufficient staff to offer high-level quality care, your senior loved one may not get the attention he or she needs and deserves. Luckily, you can easily tell when an assisted living home is understaffed. It will feel chaotic each time you visit. There will be little-to-no coordination and the staff may always seem to have bad attitudes. You may also notice that the staff only talks among themselves as opposed to mingling with residents. Or that information gets lost between shift changes. All these are red flags of bad care.

It has a low staff turnover

Staff turnover is an unfortunate reality that many senior care facilities face from time to time. But a good facility will have only a few people leaving at any given point. In most cases, you'll still find a staff that truly knows your loved one. Bad facilities tend to have high staff turnover, to the extent you may notice that no one on staff even knows who your loved one is. Unfortunately, your elderly family member won't get quality care when the staff-resident pairing is not consistent.

The facility is determined to answer all your questions

In addition to staffing, you can tell a well-run facility by looking at how well they respond to your questions and concerns. The fact that they are responsible for the older adults means they are better placed to answer questions about their care. A well-managed facility will always have the right answers for things that happen within their premise; answers that put your mind to rest. They shouldn't say things like, "Old people do this all the time" when you ask why your mom is losing weight. Or “I don't know, but I'll find out,” when you’re concerned about the state of her personal hygiene.

It tailors services to meet the needs of an individual

Although assisted living homes must be suited for a resident's specific health status – like physical therapy for individuals with walking problems or medications for chronic conditions – residents are more than just their health status. They are your family members, mothers, fathers, siblings. A truly well-run facility will consider a person's interests, physical and mental health, need for social interactions, etc. So they'll hire mental health experts and also include social clubs and other support groups. A well-run facility tailors solutions to the resident's unique needs. And since these needs might change, the facility should also have structures in place to adjust to the emotional, physical, and social needs that arise.

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They answers calls

Well-run assisted living homes will always pick up the phone. So, in most cases, your loved one won't have to wait a long time after pushing the call button. You can easily know how fast they are by putting the light on and watching out for delay. See if it happens all the time or at a specific time of day – like during mealtime or shift change. Then bring up your concern to staff and observe how they handle it. It should be concerning if your loved one has to wait for a long time before getting help. And it's even worse if they have to do things by themselves because they couldn't wait any longer.

It is keen on nurturing relationships

Most residents in assisted living homes seek long-term care. Unfortunately, this might mean spending less time with friends and family members. Well-run facilities understand how hard this can be. So, a good home will go all-out promoting social activities. They also strive to build bonds between residents and their loved ones. They not only have amazing visitation policies but vast communication options. On top of that, they include vast social activities, like gardening, exercise, art or cooking classes, bridge league, and weekly game nights. Anything that gets the seniors to interact is a big plus.

Assisted living is like home health care as it covers activities of daily living. The only difference is that the senior relocates from his or her home to a new place. Ensuring that the facility is well-run is the best way to ascertain that your loved one is as comfortable as they’d be if they were home.