Monitoring Assisted Living Care Archives ⋆ Cathy Cress

Close the GCM or ALCA Sale to Assisted Living With Benefits not Features

June 23, 2021

Marketing Tactics – Use Benefits

ALCA members need to sell the benefits of Geriatric Care Management to assisted living. Care managers are perfect professionals to help assisted living residents if they have just moved in, are unhappy with the move, not participating in activities isolating or general when they are not thriving in the resident community.

Marketing care management to ALF’s takes some particular marketing tactics

Although it might seem counterintuitive, consumers rarely want to buy things for the sake of buying them – they want what they purchase to solve their problems.

To borrow from the example of an umbrella, features of this umbrella might be its unbreakable spokes or wind-resistant construction – but the benefit is staying dry even in strong winds that might break lesser umbrellas. The benefit of staying dry in strong winds that break other umbrellas – this make the sale.

Clients who purchase home care or care management want to buy benefits – what your product or service can do for them.

GCM Benefits To Assisted Living

Let’s take a third-party. Care Managers often market to Assisted Living. ALF Directors want to hear how your ALCA or GCM agency is going to help the Assisted Living site. Of course, you can describe your agency features, price, training of staff, gold standard service. However, benefits are what make the sale and keep the Assisted Living dry not flooded by the rain.

But here are some benefits you can offer to Assisted Living when you are seeking referrals and you have a service for residents that involves Quality Of Life

YOUR GCM ALCA AGENCIES BENEFITS

The problem: Assisted Living does not want residents to move out. Most facilities are strictly non-medical and do not have one to one companion and geriatric care management services. Your geriatric care management agency can solve that problem through the benefits of ALCA or geriatric care management.

The assisted living and retirement community population sometimes have clients with needs that cannot be met with their nonmedical, non-one-on-one support services, (usually just an activities director)

You will help facility with residents who are not adjusting to the facility or considering moving by engaging them in activities that will enhance the quality of their life, SO WHAT so they remain in the facility
You will help residents not engaging in activities to participate in the ALF’s activities program or outside activities and socialization program through a quality of life assessment & companion, SO WHAT so they do not want to move out of the facility
You will engage with new residents who are just adjusting both to the facility and their move, to engage in socialization and activity programs. You can help them make friends & engage in outside activities through a quality of life assessment and companion, SO WHAT so they do not consider moving out
You will make monthly monitoring visits to make sure Companion is meeting all the client’s needs, keep in touch with the family and facility with frequent e-mails, texts or telephone updates plus sending a monthly report SO WHAT so everyone is on the same page through your great communication skills.

So, selling the benefits to the third party, who will refer your agency to families of residents who are struggling, is a much more potent selling point that features of your agency.

Join me in my newest FREE Webinar

Sales – PR & Marketing to Find the VIP Client

When: Thursday, July 15th

Time: 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM PST

SIGN UP

YOU Will Learn

Who Are the 4 types of VIP Clients.
Understand how to find VIP Concierge Clients- hot mapping & Market Studies
Learn to create or revise a Concierge Geriatric Care Management Strategic
How to Sell Benefits Not Features to 5 Professional ALCA – GCM 3rd parties
How to Use Free PR to Use to Find Adult Children of VIP Clients

SIGN UP HERE

REGISTER NOW

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Close the GCM or ALCA Sale to Assisted Living With Benefits

February 19, 2020

Marketing Tactics -Use Benefits

ALCA members need to sell the benefits of Geriatric Care Management to assisted living. Care managers are perfect professionals to help assisted living residents if they have just moved in and are unhappy with the move if they are not participating in activities and withdrawing from friends and in general when they are nor thriving in the resident community.

But marketing care management to ALF’s takes some particular marketing tactics

Although it might seem counterintuitive, consumers rarely want to buy things for the sake of buying them – they want what they purchase to solve their problems.

To borrow from the example of an umbrella, a feature of this particular umbrella might be its unbreakable spokes or wind-resistant construction – the benefit of which is staying dry even in strong winds that might break lesser umbrellas. The benefit of staying dry in strong winds that break other umbrellas – make the sale.

Clients who purchase home care or care management want to buy benefits – what your product or service can do for them.

GCM Benefits To Assisted Living

Let’s take a third-party. Care Managers often market to Assisted Living. ALF Directors want to hear how your ALCA or GCM agency is going to help the Assisted Living site. Of course, you can describe your agency features, price, training of staff, gold standard service. However, benefits are what make the sale and keep the Assisted Living dry not flooded by the rain.

So here are some benefits you can offer to Assisted Living when you are seeking referrals and you have a service for residents that involves Quality Of Life

YOUR GCM ALCA AGENCIES BENEFITS

The problem: Assisted Living does not want residents to move out most facilities are strictly non-medical and do not have one to one companion and geriatric care management services. Your agency can solve that problem.

You will help facility with residents who are not adjusting to the facility or considering moving by engaging them in activities that will enhance the quality of their life, SO WHAT so they remain in the facility
You will help residents not engaging in activities to participate in the ALF’s activities program or outside activities and socialization program through a quality of life assessment & companion, SO WHAT so they do not want to move out of the facility
You will engage with new residents who are just adjusting both to the facility and their move, to engage in socialization and activity programs. You can help them make friends & engage in outside activities through a quality of life assessment and companion, SO WHAT so they do not consider moving out
You will make monthly monitoring visits to make sure Companion is meeting all the client’s needs, keep in touch with the family and facility with frequent e-mails, texts or telephone updates plus sending a monthly report SO WHAT so everyone is on the same page through your great communication skills.

So, selling the benefits to the third party, who will refer your agency to families of residents who are struggling, is a much more potent selling point that features of your agency.

Free Webinar –

Join me in my new FREE Webinar
Learn to Sell Benefits not Features to Third Parties to Grow Your Care Management Bottom Line

When: February,20th 2020
2 PM-3:30 PM PST
Learn

What is a benefit vs features and how to find benefits for each 3rd party you market to?

What specific problems you solve for wealth managers, elderlaw attorneys and concierge physicians

What specific problems to solve for upscale Assisted Living, accountants, financial planners, MD’s

Step by Step how to set up meetings with 3rd parties to make the sale

Do You Have a Job Description for a Concierge Companion in Assisted Living?

April 4, 2019

If you are considering beginning a program for concierge companions in your geriatric care management practice here are some suggestions to consider when putting a job description for employees

Older generations, especially entitled clients, can be likely to be less trustful of an individual with numerous visible tattoos and a Mohawk. Most would rather have a clean-cut employee. This depends on the culture of your area of service. You want to background check employee and call references on their resume.

QUALIFICATIONS

Recreational Therapy background ideal preferred
College background or college student in, psychology, social sciences, pre-med, recreational therapy, Nursing, Social work, arts/crafts, games
Retiree with interest to be trained or some prior recreational background or aging background
Background in music, dance, recreational therapy, reminiscence and storytelling, rehab, sports, arts, crafts gardening, board games, recreational activities, writing or ability to help senior use their former interests at their present level of functioning

The care providers for concierge clients should be

Well groomed
Dress appropriately for the activity

For COMPANION CARE hire an applicant who can

Plan and implement individualized activity sessions for a diverse range of clients, conducting sessions one-on-one with clients in their places of residence or in community
Accompany to events like theater, musical event, recital, baseball game or venue of clients ‘choice
Follow care plan designed by GCM
Exhibits excellent communication and people skills
Has the ability to connect and engage with a wide range of individuals.
Has understanding and compassion for the care needs of aging clients including those with cognitive impairment or mild mental illness
Has the ability to work independently as well as under supervision.
Has a driver’s license with agency automobile insurance as required by the State
Has a car available for daily work and client transportation and automobile insurance as required by the State
Has the ability to learn and use designated software programs for the workflow process

Concierge Companion Cannot

write checks, do any banking
Handle finances,
open mail unless all checks are mailed to the person who pays the bills

GCM has To

Supervise. direct, monitor and train on the job
Design original care plan and do intake with both quality of life and psychosocial and functional
Monitor concierge companions care by reading charting and visiting on a regular basis
Set boundaries with concierge companion
To find out more about getting the entire Concierge Companion Program and /or a class to deliver it go

How Can Geriatric Care Managers Help Stem the Rising Tide of Crisis in US Assisted Living Facilities?

March 29, 2019

Assisted Living has faced a metastasizing crisis for the past 20 years. Geriatric Care Managers can help. This calamity in care has been dramatically documented in Pro Publica’s Elderly at Risk and Haphazardly Protected

In 2013 CANR ( California Advocates for Nursing Homes Residents ) released a report “ Residential Care in California,” Unsafe, Unregulated and Unaccountable Among other staggering findings, they documented infrequent and inadequate state inspections to ensure safe or good care CANR also found that weak penalties for poor or dangerous care- left zero incentive to the facilities to improve care. They kept delivering the same sometimes life-threatening care to elders.

A 2019 American Society on Aging report, cited the perfect storm that brought this accelerating crisis toAssisted Living residents. Americans desire to age in place and not die in a nursing home coupled with a huge increase in private sector expansion in Assisted Living all over the US were both a big factor. These two causes were amplified, according to ASA, by facilities not being covered by Medicare, thus not having the federal oversight and requirements of the feds.

Among the major complaints that families themselves face is poor or no medications management, patients not being encouraged to participate in activities or not enough activities or both, residents not being bathed as often as is needed, and animosity between families and staff members for family members showing up unannounced or being micromanagers

How can geriatric care management help this crisis?

GCM can monitor the care of an older person frequently (every week, every other week-) compensating for the long intervals between state inspectors visits already cited as a problem. This is especially helpful for long distance care providers.
GCM can monitor personal care like bathing grooming getting to necessary Dr.s appointments and work with facility and family to make sure this happens.
Geriatric care managers will do a one to one assessment of the care of the older person in the Assisted Living then find a solution to any problems they find and implement it making sure that problems are solved before a crisis
If they find poor care of patients in the Assisted living they are mandated reporters and will immediately report the abusive problems to Adult Protective Services.
Geriatric Care Management can set up or monitor medications.
Geriatric Care managers will do a Quality of Life assessment for elders who are not engaging in activities and find what activity within the Assisted Living or in the community if the facility has a poor activity program. They can engage the older person by hiring a Concierge Companion to engage the older person in the activity.

If you want to implement a Concierge Companion service/ product in your care management practice check out my GCM Operations Manual with step by step Concierge Companion procedures and marketing, in addition to 13 other innovative geriatric care management products/services.

Contact

Connect with Cathy

Get Cathy’s “10 Critical Success Steps to a Profitable Aging Life or GCM Business”