Choosing a senior care or senior housing option can be a "life or death" decision. The transfer shock form moving out of a family home into a care facility can play havoc with some seniors mental ability and this is made worse if the senior is entering a facility after a stroke, aneurysm or serious fall. That is why it is critical that you have unbiased information to make your senior care decision. As you are searching for information about senior care options, it is important to know the source of the information and thier business model so you know who you can trust. You need to ask yourself these questions:

  • Are they trying to help me or are they trying to make a buck?
  • Where did this information originate?
  • Whom can I trust?

Considering that many seniors live in an assisted living, nursing home or other care facility for 10 years or more at a cost of up to $100,000/year. Is it any surprise that some groups want to "Help You" spend what could be over a million dollars?

Here is how some of the major information sources compare.

Your State Ombudsmen And Medicare

The absolute best source for reliable information is your state ombudsmen. They are paid by the state so their primary goal is to find good care for your family. They are not trying to make money on this process. They are totally independent and they are there just to serve you. You can find the number of your local ombudsmen on the state senior services page on this site (right menu bar). If you are searching for a nursing home, the Medicare.gov site has current information about the safety of all nusring homes across the country. The only downside of these sources are that they may not have associated information like photos, reviews, maps, costs and other facts that can help you make your decision.

Assisted Senior Living (This site)

One of the major goals of this site is to be independent and unbiased. By using Google adsense and not paid inclusion into the directory, we remain independent while generating enough money to cover expenses. Our data source is the state government. This means we have 98% of the senior care options, not just the ones that have paid to be in the directory. Unfortunately, many state sites only include the most basic information (like phone number) requiring you to user other sources for more complete information. To save time, we have merged data from governmental sources with public data so you have more information in one location. If we have any paid advertising on our site, it is marked to make sure you are not being manipulated into making a decision based on behind-the-scenes payments.

Free Referral Services (WARNING)

There are many so called "free referral services" on the web that claim to want to help you select a senior care option. These services make a profit by partnering with the services as an extension of thier marketing. They make a contract so they get paid for every new customer or they get paid on the revenue stream generated by a senior during their lifetime. This puts them in an awkward position. They claim to be helping you, the customer, but they are really helping the businesses land lucrative long-term revenue streams. There is even a "free referral service" that was funded with $9.5 million in startup capitol. Most venture capitol firms expect to triple their money in a few years on successful investment so that they can cover their investments that fail. If a business needs to repay $30 million dollars in profit (requiring maybe $60 million in revenue), it puts a lot of pressure on a business to send customer to the highest paying service, not the best service for you. Think about this as you selection a source for your families care.

Paid Inclusion Sites (WARNING)

"Paid inclusion" sites list only include the facilities that are willing to pay to be in the directory. In many some areas, this can be less than 5% of the total options available for care. These directories often donā??t include critical options like non-profit institutions that may have special programs to help your family member. To see the difference, compare the number of options between Assisted Senior Living with a competitor like Assisted Living Info.

  Assisted Senior Living Assisted Living Info
Atlanta
2335
118
Dallas
1745
45

 

Which source would you want to use in selecting a care option for a family member?

If you want the best for your family, you need the best source for your information. We hope you will agree that Assisted Senior Living is the most comprehensive and unbiased source of nationwide senior care options. Period.