Selecting an Assisted Living Community

Los Angeles executive Jacob M. Graff guides a firm that acquires, develops, and manages eldercare facilities. Jacob M. Graff focuses on assisted living and skilled and sub-acute care and has worked to upgrade and expand facilities.

When selecting an assisted living community, a basic factor is location. Many people want the locations to be relatively close to where family members and friends live. One thing to be aware of is that some states limit the amount of medical assistance offered at assisted living residences.

Another consideration is size, with licensed facilities ranging from less than a dozen beds to more than 500. While a larger community allows for more social interactions and offers more amenities such as swimming pools, it may come at the expense of personalized care.

When deciding on a facility, consider the staff-to-resident ratio and the passion that staff members have for caring for an aging population. If one’s health and faculties are relatively intact, the larger facility may be a good option. If more intensive care is a priority, consider an adult foster care setup that limits resident numbers and offers a low staff-resident ratio.

Acute vs. Subacute Care - Rehabilitation

A renowned executive in the eldercare sector, Jacob M. Graff has provided personalized healthcare services and needs for the elderly over the last three decades. Jacob M. Graff currently leads an eldercare company as CEO. He is in charge of the day-to-day operations of the residential and healthcare facilities and the provision of skilled and sub-acute medical care.

After suffering debilitating health complications from underlying conditions or surviving a traumatic injury, seniors generally need rehabilitation programs to recover from those injuries fully. Still, care must be taken when deciding the type of rehabilitation program suitable for their condition.

Acute care is an intensive form of senior rehabilitation for less severe injuries that don't significantly hamper patients' strength. Examples of these injuries are minimal strokes, heart attacks, pneumonia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. Ideal patients for acute care are those who can withstand three or more hours of daily therapy in addition to other assessments and multidisciplinary treatment plans to help them regain their body function. The goal of acute care is mainly to prepare a senior for normal day-to-day activities.

Contrary to acute care, subacute care is designed to help survivors of more severe injuries. Care is provided less rapidly compared to acute care because subacute care patients can't withstand aggressive treatments. Survivors of terminal illnesses like cancer and ALS often need subacute care. The same applies to seniors with major strokes, gastrointestinal problems, eating disorders, malnutrition, and those who have sustained traumatic wounds.

Benefit of Agency-Appointed Eldercare

A Los Angeles-based business leader with a longstanding entrepreneurial career spanning more than three decades, Jacob M. Graff is experienced in all facets of healthcare facility acquisition, development, and administration, as well as the provision of skilled and subacute healthcare. For more than three decades, Jacob M. Graff has served as the CEO of an elder care company.

At some point in their lives, seniors become more dependent in the areas of self-care, housekeeping, medication, and health, among others. For some seniors, moving to an assisted living facility or a nursing home is ideal, but some don't necessarily require these and can benefit from residential care. In-home healthcare is provided to seniors at their residential apartments (which sometimes belong to another family member). The goal of these services is to ensure that they are rendered the assistance as mentioned above as per need and promptly.

In-home elder care requires an in-home health worker whose purpose is to dispense appropriate medication to a senior, analyze and report the senior's health status to their care provider, and sometimes assist the senior with personal care tasks. In-home health workers are sometimes contracted independently, but many prefer agency-appointed health workers assigned to seniors by eldercare organizations.

Agency-appointed health workers have a duty obligation to fulfill the services in the contract and report the health status of patients to their employer on a pre-specified basis. Most of them are certified professionals who attend continuing education programs to meet industry standards, ascertaining professional care.

One major problem with hiring independent health workers is that they can be absent sometimes, and their absence may make seniors vulnerable to health risks. Agency-appointed health workers can be replaced with another worker by their employer when absent.

Paying for Long-Term Eldercare

A healthcare executive in Los Angeles, Jacob M. Graff has served as chief executive officer of an eldercare company since 1986. In addition to acquiring and maintaining a variety of eldercare facilities, Jacob M. Graff has overseen renovations and the construction of new wings.

In the United States, nearly 70 percent of adults over age 65 will require long-term care at some point.

Depending on the level of care required, long-term care can cost anywhere from $20,000 to $100,000 per year, and it is typically not covered by health or disability insurance. On average, men require this care for approximately three years, while women average just under four years. To protect themselves from this financial burden, many families choose to purchase a long-term care insurance policy.

These policies can help broaden seniors’ options when they can no longer live at home. Most long-term-care policies can cover all levels of care, from skilled care to custodial care to in-home assistance. In the event of long-term illness, they allow seniors the ability to maintain their standard of living, preserve their retirement funds, and protect their families from substantial care costs and even debt. Individuals should work with a trusted advisor to ensure they choose an appropriate policy.

What Are Activities of Daily Living?

Jacob Graff holds decades of experience in the acquisition, development, and management of health care facilities for older adults. The CEO of a Los Angeles-based eldercare healthcare company, Jacob Graff oversees skilled care, sub-acute care, residential care, and assisted living facilities across California.

Although many seniors may be able to receive long-term services and assistance from their communities, some need the additional care and support available in a residential setting. For example, assisted living facilities provide a level of service that allows residents to maintain independence while receiving support with activities of daily living (ADLs).

The ADL methodology, first developed in 1963 by Sidney Katz, MD, encompasses a scale of six basic activities that support independent living. Assessing these activities, which include eating, bathing and hygiene, dressing, continence, toileting, and walking/transfering, define the functional abilities of solder adults and determine the need for long term care support. Today, ADL assessments are applied to determine eligibility for programs such as Medicaid and VA benefits as well.

 

Varying Levels of Care at Assisted Living Facilities and Nursing Homes

The CEO of a California-based eldercare company, Jacob Graff handles the development, acquisition, and management of different health care facilities for senior citizens. Facilities that Jacob Graff focuses on include assisted living and skilled nursing care facilities.

Skilled nursing and assisted living facilities may seem like the same thing, but there are actually several differences between the two. These differences primarily relate to the levels of care available at each place.

Of the two, assisted living facilities provide more basic care to older adults who cannot safely live at home, but do not require constant care. Residents at these communities largely live independently and receive assistance with daily activities, such as grooming, bathing, and medication management. In addition to this, assisted living facility residents are exposed to a vibrant social community of life enrichment activities and different hobbies.

Meanwhile, skilled nursing care facilities, or nursing homes, are considered a medical setting rather than a residential one. They provide 24/7 nursing assistance to residents who either have declining health or were recently released from the hospital. Often, these nursing services are accompanied by speech, physical, or occupational therapy services, depending on the resident’s need. Nursing homes also help residents with housekeeping, laundry, and other aspects of daily life.