Meet the Experts: Find the right fit in an assisted living home with Megan Steimle, Andy Blagg and Kim Wilcox

Capetown and Auburn Creek are all-inclusive, pet-friendly senior living homes in Cape Girardeau locally-owned out of Sikeston, Mo. Capetown, a larger environment, and Auburn Creek, a smaller environment, focus on family values and resident choice.

They cultivate this feeling through efforts like serving breakfast made-to-order at whatever time a resident wakes up and decides it’s time for breakfast. Residents order lunch and supper from a menu restaurant-style.

“[This acknowledges each resident’s] dignity to be able to do what they want,” says Megan Steimle, Capetown Independent Living coordinator. “It’s not what works for us. It’s what works for the individual.”

Capetown offers an independent living community, assisted living community and memory care community. Auburn Creek offers an assisted living community and memory care community. The communities at each home are next to each other, so spouses living in separate communities can visit each other. They also have their own pharmacy, therapy department and home health company.

In their memory care units, they use the Best Friends approach, talking with residents to learn their life histories and redirecting them when they exhibit negative behaviors, working to find the underlying cause and using medication as a last resort.

All of this creates a safe environment for friendships to grow amongst residents.

“A lot of them, they’ll say, ‘We’re all friends here, and we like to do such and such together,’” says Kim Wilcox, Auburn Creek and The Arbors Auburn Creek administrator.

The homes offer Adult Day Light services to give family member caregivers a break during the day. In addition, they offer short-term overnight Respite Stays. There are no contracts associated with these options.

“It’s all person-centered residential care, so whatever best fits that need for that resident,” says Andy Blagg, Capetown Independent Assisted Living and Memory Care executive director. “Sometimes, that need isn’t with us. Sometimes, that need is somewhere else, and we gladly help them find where they need to go.”

Here, Steimle, Blagg and Wilcox offer three tips for finding the right fit in an assisted living home for yourself or your loved one.

__1. Drop in for an unscheduled tour.__

Although it might feel rude to drop in unexpectedly, Wilcox recommends not scheduling the tour when you visit a home. Instead, stop in at random and ask for a tour, so you can see the home as it is, without staff members having time to prepare for it. Blagg also recommends visiting when management isn’t there, for the same reasons.

__2. Tour as many care facilities as possible.__

Blagg recommends touring all of the assisted living facilities in your area, so you can get a feel of what you want and don’t want in a living environment.

__3. Ask questions.__

While you’re touring, be sure to ask questions about finances, the number of residents a care facility is licensed to care for, and where the ownership is from, which Steimle says will often determine their level of involvement in maintenance and care for the facility.