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QUESTIONS Being Asked on ALFA Exchange. SHARE your feedback.

Assisted Living Keyword Cloud
As a senior living professional, I'm curious what words come to your mind when you think of "Assisted Living"? Off the top of my mind I think of "active", "happy", "independent", "secure" and "peace of mind"... When the general public discusses "assisted living", what terms and phrases do you think they are using? Is it the same or different?
-Jaclyn Allmon

Ageism in Fashion?
What unexpected encounters of ageism have you witnessed?
-Jaclyn Allmon

The Alzheimer's Generation
I just read with a lot of interest the new label for the Baby Boomer Generation by the National Alzheimer's Association , the nickname of the "Alzheimer's Generation." How does this strike any other Baby Boomers or members of the GI/Silent Generation or our Generation X and Y?
-Janice Dressander

Operational Data for Household Configured Communities
Today there are hundreds of "Green House Projects" and most if not all new Skilled Nursing Facilities are following the lead with household configurations in one form or another.  While there is a fair amount of data comparing the operational performance of "Green House" (households) to traditional Nursing Homes there is little or no data for its application to Assisted Living.  I am very interested to know if anyone has done a similar analysis for Assisted Living facilities? 
-James Warner

Marketing Mix: Choice Gone Too Far?
An Indiana nursing home resident had asked that only white caregivers serve her. Despite our own individual views on civil rights matters, the fact is this senior probably chose throughout life to avoid interactions with anyone not white.  Does she have the right to choose what race, religion, and/or sexual orientation her caregiver is?  Should the non-white caregivers have helped her when she was in need and violated her wishes?
-Jamison Gosselin

Can Facebook Revolutionize Healthcare and Senior Living?
More than half of adult women routinely participate on social networks at least weekly and healthcare-related activity is something 90-100% of people across every generation engage in on a regular basis. So, can Facebook, and other social networks and social media sites revolutionize healthcare? I would argue that the revolution has already begun.
-Brian Geyser

Marketing Mix: The Alzheimer's Elevator Speech
What can the government can do to champion quality of life for people living with Alzheimer's disease?
-Jamison Gosselin

Brookdale Senior Living and Social Media: One Year Later [INTERVIEW]
Have you been able to capture leads using social media? If so, provide some data and examples of how it works.
-Brian Geyser

Praying for Good Health?
A new study published in the journal Psychology of Religion and Spirituality indicates that almost half (49 percent) of all Americans are praying for their health. What do you think caused this increase? Do you pray for good health? What benefits or problems do you think will result from this trend?
-Jackie Kerin

Long-Term Care Insurance - When Should One Invest?
I heard Dave Ramsey, host of a nationally syndicated radio program on personal finance, recommend investing in long term care insurance starting at the age of 60. My colleague's financial adviser told him to invest at the age of 49, because at age 50 premiums go way up. I'm wondering what those in the long-term care industry would recommend?
-Jaclyn Allmon

Managing Private Aids
I am interested in hearing how communities manage private aids who are hired by residents.  Do you have a security, application or other type of process private aids must complete before they accompany seniors or are hired by a resident? My other question is whether you have a process or not what procedures do you have in place if the private aid is disruptive within the rest of the community? If you have alerted the family and they are not supportive in better management, what recourse do you have? 
-Julie Bolt

Offering private duty services?
I'm interested in getting the pulse on what the general opinion is on offering private duty services as part of the facility's range of services?  The mindset is already shifting from that of competition to complimentary services.  Is anyone currently offering or thinking of starting to offer private duty services on-site to remedy some of the private aid issues?
-Rick Morey

Money Talk... How Transparent Are You Willing to Be?!
What do you think the pros and cons are of addressing pricing/costs on your community websites? How would this negatively or positively affect the quality of your leads and/or website conversions to tours?
-Jaclyn Allmon

Merit Awards, Bonuses, Financial Incentives for Clinical Leaders
I am researching whether financial incentives (bonuses or merit awards) are commonly done in assisted living communities for nurse leaders.
-Julie Bolt

Improving Memory Care
I was excited to read that progress is being made in treating seniors with dementia and Alzheimer's. What does your community do to enhance the lives of residents with Alzheimer's and dementia?  
-Jackie Kerin

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Staying Connected

Please don't hesitate to reach out to ALFA to let us know if you are facing challenges using ALFA Exchange.To learn more about how to navigate ALFA Exchange, please contact:

Jaclyn Allmon 
Manager, Internet Marketing
703-562-1192
jallmon@alfa.org