FAQ

1. How long have you been in the business of providing senior care?
I started Caring Hearts in 2004 with the goal of creating a senior care facility around what I wanted for my own grandmother—home-like, warm, and engaging.

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2. What assisted living services do you provide?
We provide senior care assistance with personal hygiene, grooming, dressing, meals/snacks, medication management, pre-planned social activities, laundry, and housekeeping. Our care plan takes a proactive approach, monitoring hydration, continence, and effects of medications.

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3. What assisted living options are available?
Caring Hearts offers assistance with various daily living needs. We offer a shared room for women and private rooms for either gender. We have bedridden and hospice waivers in place to assist with those needs when the time comes.

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4. How do you handle when seniors get up on their own or don’t call/remember to call?
We provide each resident with their own wireless call button. When they press it, a signal goes to our central monitor letting us know they are calling. However, if they don’t remember to call us, we also provide a wireless bed mat alarm that is placed under the bed sheets. When a resident tries to get up without calling, the decreased pressure triggers our central monitor and alerts us without a blaring alarm at the actual bed site. During the day, with our low resident to staff ratio a staff member is also near by to assist.

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5. Do you manage medications for the elderly? Do I pick up?
We take over the management of the medications, from the ordering, refills, receiving, inventory tracking, dispensing at the ordered times, and observing the effects and reporting to family or to the doctor directly. We work with pharmacies that deliver and the cost of the medication co-pay is the same as the current pharmacy used, whether it is Kaiser or a non-Kaiser provider. No need to pick up unless it is a specialty item. Most medications and over-the-counters are delivered directly to our home.

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6. How do you handle senior incontinence and products?
We will gather initial information from the family to have an understanding of what the needs are. As we get to know the new resident and their patterns, we will incorporate that into their care plan. We have a vendor that we use who delivers directly to our home. We can order the products and add the cost on the next months invoice for what the resident needed. Pricing is comparable or better than if the family purchased on their own. This would remove one more task off your list.

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7. What is your staff to elderly resident ratio?
Our average ratio is one staff to 3 residents.

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8. Do you have nurses? Who gives the medications?
We are a non-medical facility and therefore do not employ medical nurses or doctors. However, we work closely with them as a team effort to enhance the care plan. We train a few medication aides per the guidelines of the State of California code of regulations, Title 22.

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9. What training does the senior care staff have?
We adhere to the state regulations under Title 22 to ensure that staff meet mandatory in-service training. Topics include dementia, activities of daily living, psycho social needs, and numerous other topics covering care and engagement.

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10. What is the cost for your residential care home?
There is a base price cost, plus additional fee depending on level of care. For current pricing, please see our current guide.

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11. What is included in the senior care home costs?
Cost includes a furnished or semi-furnished room (bed, night stand, closet/armoire, and dresser). Most residents bring in their own furniture to help the transition by having familiar items in their new surrounding. Also included is the care assistance, medication management, pre-planned group activities, meals/snacks, laundry, and housekeeping.

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12. Can we decorate the room as we’d like? Can we bring our own furnshings?
Rooms can be decorated to help the resident feel comfortable. Limits and required permissions would be for installing or drilling requirements that would alter the integrity of the walls, floors, room. The senior care resident can bring their own furnishings.

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13. Does the family provide linens and other amenities?
Linens, tooth paste, soaps, shampoo, towels are provided unless the resident requires a special brand, then the family would be responsible to provide that. Hair brushes, clips, electric shavers, etc are provided by the families. Other extras that are not included would be specific items for that elderly care resident, such as supplements like Ensure.

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14. What financial options are available?
Since we are a non-medical facility, medical insurances do not cover our services. We are a private pay facility. Other sources of payment can come from the Veteran’s Aid and Attendance program, long-term care insurance, pensions, savings, real estate.

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15. What type of retirement home activities do you offer?
Daily we generally have exercises in the morning and various engaging activities in the afternoon such as bingo, word puzzles, singing and music. We have several holiday events throughout the year to provide a setting that families can enjoy with their loved one. Our intent is to provide social nurturing and connections.

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16. What kind of food do you serve?
We serve American-based foods with a balance of the food groups.

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17. What if my loved one doesn’t like what’s being served?
With the guidance of the resident and their family, we can have an alternate on hand in these types of cases.

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18. What is the average age of residents in this community?
The average age of residents in our community is the 80s, with a range from early 70s to mid 90s.

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19. How many women and men make up the senior community?
The mix is about 50/50.

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20. Are there strict policies for visiting?
As this is our residents’ home, we welcome family and friends to visit their loved ones at a time that works best for them. Time restrictions are dependent on the resident and if there are any disturbances to the community (particularly late night visits).

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21. Do you allow pets? Can I bring my pet to visit?
Due to the size of our home, it is difficult for us to allow a resident to have a pet live with them since resident preferences vary. Family and friends can definitely bring pets to visit.

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22. Is there a long-term lease to be signed?
No, we do not require long-term lease commitments. However, we require a deposit/move-in fee upon signing the residency agreement. We also require 30 days written notice prior to moving out of the home.