Courtesy of Minding Our Elders

Dear Carol: My mother went into assisted living. I like the facility. She is making friends and eating well, but she needs help with medication. Her inability to keep her medication schedule straight was part of the reason that I liked her going into assisted living. Now I find I have to pay an extra fee to have an agency come in and set up the medications. What gives? —Florence

Dear Florence: The services provided by assisted living centers can vary a great deal, and centers aren’t as regulated as nursing homes. Some are small family ventures; others are large retirement-type villages. The problem is, many people expect more medical care than most centers offer.

People need to talk to administrators and then read the contract carefully. Most assisted living centers don’t offer any medical assistance other than a distress signal from the room. However, many centers contract with in-home health agencies that come in to provide needed services, such as help with bathing, nail care, and, yes, medication. However, there will be an extra charge. You are actually hiring another agency to provide this care.

When my mother and I toured assisted living centers, I found that she would need to continue her subscription to her personal alarm service because the emergency call alarms in the centers were not portable. Also, I would have to set up her medications for her. In the end, she stayed in her apartment, which was semi–retirement oriented, and I continued to run errands and take care of her other needs.

Assisted living centers have boomed lately, and many seniors love them, once they adjust. However, people need to know exactly what they are getting. What happens if your mother, because of a health emergency, needs to move to a nursing home? Is she responsible for the full month’s rent even if she only used a week? Does the home provide free transportation to clinics, or is there an extra fee? Are gym privileges included in the rent? Do they have staff licensed to handle medications, or do you need to hire an agency to do that?

The bottom line is this: read the contract. If the person making the move doesn’t feel able to carefully read the contract, someone else should. It’s good to get a second family member to read it over anyway. Some people even have an attorney assess it. The idea is to know what you are signing up for. Then you won’t be surprised by extra charges.