Why should I work with a senior placement advisor?

In Contra Costa County alone, there are over 400 licensed senior living communities, including assisted living, board and care, memory care, and others. The process of researching, visiting, and selecting a community can be very overwhelming, especially during a time of considerable emotion and stress. A senior placement advisor is a valued partner who can provide education, consultation, and advocacy to streamline the process, making it as efficient and stress-free as possible. This, in turn, saves the senior and family time and money, while increasing their confidence in their senior living decisions.

Can I just use an online senior community referral service?

There are two to three large national online referral companies and people have used these services with good results. However, there are several things one should be aware of before using an online referral service. (1) These companies are not local area experts and do not have insider knowledge beyond what is in publicly accessible community licensing reports; (2) When you enter your information to these sites, they may share your data with up to 20 different senior communities. In turn, you can then become inundated by phone calls from well-meaning sales representatives of those communities responding to the online inquiry; (3) Once you enter information on those sites, those companies then have exclusive referral rights with the communities they share your information to. As a consequence, if you then decide to work with an in-person agent (even several years later) to receive more personalized consultation they may not be able to work with the communities where your referral information has already been registered.

How is a senior placement advisor compensated for their services?

A senior placement advisor is compensated by the community (e.g. assisted living facility) where a senior is placed. This placement fee is established via a written contract between the placement consultant and the community. At We Care, we believe it is very important to be transparent and open about our relationships with the communities and full disclosures will be made about each potential referral to our clients.

As a client, won’t I then be limited to only the communities the agent has a contract with?

It is estimated that up to 80-90% of all senior communities work with outside senior placement advisors. Many senior communities have limited resources for outreach and utilize placement advisors as a means of connecting with potential residents. However, in the rare event that a community does not utilize placement professionals, we will still provide recommendations and facilitate referrals for our clients if we feel that it is an appropriate option for the senior.

What if we are working with a senior placement advisor but find a residence on our own?

When you are working with a placement advisor, you are under no obligation to only consider or view communities based on their recommendations. In the event that you may find a facility that we do not contract with (e.g. a referral from a friend), you are free to consider and select that community and we will still support and provide consultation for you during your selection process.