09/05/2025
This is going to be a long post but it’s important information. And we may “ruffle some feathers”with this information. Over the years, we have had many families move from other homes or facilities to Garden Terrace and they tell us that they wished they had researched some of these things first. When looking for a place for your loved one, there are a few things you should look for:
1. Is the home/facility licensed? There are many “room and board” homes posing as licensed homes and unfortunately, many hospital social workers are sending people to these homes when they are discharged from the hospital. Most of these homes are way over capacity and they do not have caregivers. And some of them are charging as much or more as a licensed home. These homes are illegal. The license should be displayed on a wall somewhere in the home. If the home is not licensed, walk away.
2. How long has the home/facility been licensed? This is important to know because it will determine how much knowledge and experience the facility has
3. What kind of “record” does the home/facility have? Do they have a lot of citations? If so, what were the circumstances? (Here’s a little industry secret-many large facilities get “re-licensed” every couple of years if they have too many citations in order to “clean the slate”)
All the above mentioned licensing information can be found on the Department of social services community care licensing website
https://cdss.ca.gov
4. How is the home staffed? Do they have “live-in” staff? If a home tells you that they always have 2 caregivers, that probably means those caregivers live there. Many people are fine with this but if your loved one needs assistance at night, these homes are not a good fit. Some of these homes put their residents to bed in the evening (sometimes as early as 7pm) and they are left there until the next morning because the caregivers are asleep. These caregivers are not allowed to get up to help residents at night because of labor laws. And many of these caregivers are severely underpayed. Always ask how many employees a home has. Or visit multiple times at different times of day. If you see the same caregiver every time, they probably have “live-in” staff.
5. Does the home offer activities for the residents? This, of course, does not apply to large facilities who have dedicated activity directors.
That being said…
6. Bigger is not always better. Is your loved one very social and active? Then there are many wonderful large facilities that might be good for them. But if they are not very social or if they have dementia, a large facility may not be a good fit and in fact may be traumatic for them. Most dementia residents do not do well in large settings. Think of your first day of high school or college in a new town. You don’t know anyone and you don’t know where any of your classes are. This is what life is like for someone with dementia. So a large facility with long hallways and many rooms can often be overwhelming for them. And back to staffing, many large facilities do not have very many caregivers as there is actually no requirement about caregiver to resident ratios. In fact, many large facilities may only have 2 or 3 caregivers at night to care for hundreds of residents. So if your loved one has dementia or needs more assistance, a large facilty may not be a good fit
As I said, we have had many families tell us that they wished they had thought of these things when they were first looking for a home for their loved ones. If you have any questions, I would love to talk to you. Feel free to call Julie at
(559) 439-2980
Local Advocates for Seniors LAFS
Assured Senior Living & Nursing Solutions
AAA Senior Placement and Resources
Senior Care Placement Services, LLCis
California is offering support for communities experiencing federal immigration raids, sharing new “know your rights” resources with the community. The Governor’s Office has released new fact sheets in English and Spanish.
