A Good Retirement Community Is Hard to Fine
So you’ve decided to join a retirement community. Many people do this and find it helps them a lot in their twilight years… as long as they find the right one. There are sometimes red flags that a retirement community might not be all that great. But there are often green flags too! Here’s a handy list of all the things you need to look out for.
RED FLAG: High Staff Turnover
Keep an eye on the staff of the retirement community. High staff turnover often signals poor management or low employee satisfaction, which may mean the residents of the community aren’t getting good enough care.
GREEN FLAG: Long-Term Staff
If people are staying employed at the facility for a long time, that’s a good sign. It means they know their jobs well and have formed bonds with the people who call the place a home.
RED FLAG: Poor Online Reviews
Before you make any big decisions in life, you should always do as much research as possible. And when choosing a retirement community, you should at the very least read the online reviews. If they’re bad, there’s probably a good reason for that.
GREEN FLAG: Engaged Residents
When you first look at the care facility, make sure to see if the people living there actually have a good quality of life. If you see people talking to each other and doing activities together, those are all good signs that the facility is a good place to live.
RED FLAG: Unclear Fees
Money should be one of the main things on your mind when you choose a retirement home. So if costs suddenly jump without explanation, it may indicate poor financial management or even that deceptive practices are going on.
GREEN FLAG: Clean Facilities
Before entering a retirement home, you should examine it to see how much it’s being cleaned. If the surfaces are spotless, that’s a good sign. Check out the garden as well – a well-maintained garden indicates the staff have pride in the building.
RED FLAG: Lack of Activities
One of the most important things about retirement homes is that they provide activities for older people. If the facility isn’t doing that, if it’s just full of people sitting around watching TV all day and not moving, it’s not worth your time.
GREEN FLAG: Clear and Transparent Pricing
If the people in charge explain all the fees to you with respect, that’s a good sign. It shows they’re professional… and crucially it also shows that there’s nothing dodgy going on.
RED FLAG: Bad Smells and Grime
Bad smells and dirty surfaces are inevitable in retirement facilities, but in a good one they’ll be cleaned up quickly. If the place is constantly smelly and no-one is doing much cleaning, that’s a sign of a poorly managed retirement home, and one where the staff just might not care.
GREEN FLAG: Lots of Activities
Your average retirement home should give options for movie nights, exercise classes, art classes – all things that simulate the body and brain. Always ask upfront what sort of activities a retirement home offers to residents.
RED FLAG: Rude or Dismissive Staff
It’s the staff who make a retirement home, but unfortunately in some cases the wrong people were hired for the job. If the staff are even a little bit rude or dismissive, that’s a very bad sign, and that retirement home should be avoided.
GREEN FLAG: Personalized Care
If the staff know each people well – their names, their family members, what sort of medications they take and so on – that’s a good sign. It means the staff actually care about the people they’re looking after and will go the extra mile for them.
RED FLAG: Unhappy Residents
One important thing you should be doing before moving into a new retirement home is interviewing the residents on how they’re finding it. If they’re unhappy, that’s a sign you should avoid the place like the plague.
GREEN FLAG: Good Reviews
Reviews are important and so is reputation. Ask around everywhere, including online, to find out what sort of a reputation the retirement facility has. It’s true that a company can buy good reviews these days, but a bad company will find it hard to hide the bad things coming out about it.
