Over the past week, we’ve looked at the questions one should consider when researching an assisted living facility for a loved one. Today, we finish our five-part series with Question number five: What if it doesn’t work out?

“A second move is emotionally trying on the family and the resident, particularly if the resident has Alzheimer’s Disease. They may be facing behavioral problems down the road,” said Andrea Donovan, Senior Housing Placement Consultant and founder of Andrea Donovan Senior Living Advisors. “Will the community be able to accommodate the resident’s change in level of care, or will it involve a move to another community? Not all nursing homes are equipped to handle the later stages of the disease, particularly if a person develops unacceptable behaviors.” Donovan recalled one situation where she had placed a client with Alzheimer’s in an Assisted Living Facility with a “memory unit,” only to have to move them to a facility with a specific Alzheimer’s special care unit, which requires more specific training to become licensed, after the resident began slapping other residents.

Mitch Feigenberg once faced a situation that many adult children run into: what to do when one parent needs more extensive care than their spouse? One way to handle this would be choosing a facility that allows residents to transition between different levels of care while staying in the same building or on the same campus.

Feigenberg’s father, who was afflicted with dementia, needed to transition into assisted living at a time when his mother felt she could stay at home. “My mom moved into independent living in the same facility out of her sense of duty as a wife,” Feigenberg said. “The question, in our case, was more about what my wife, sister and I thought would be in his and their best interest. Knowing that the facility had all levels of care (independent, assisted, memory care, skilled nursing) reduced our stress level about the inevitable transitions that were to come.”

When touring a facility, make sure to meet with the person who would be helping you through any possible future transitions, advises Dr. Robert F. Bornstein, Professor of Psychology at the Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies at Adelphi University and co-author of When Someone You Love Needs Nursing Home, Assisted Living, or In-Home Care: The Complete Guide. “They should be able to explain the process, the steps involved, which skilled care facilities (nursing homes) they work with most frequently, and what sorts of problems they encounter during transitions,” he explained. “Then you may want to speak with representatives of the nursing homes which work most closely with the facility, and ask about their experience as residents transition to them.”

What do you think? Are there other questions that should be considered when choosing an assisted living facility? If you or a loved one have already moved, do you look back and wish you had asked other questions? Let us know in the comments!