Pierce County Communities with Kelley Smith

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

The following podcast is provided by care partners living and answers for elders radio, and welcome everyone back to answers for elders radio and we are here again with our wonderful Kelly smiths from care partners livingcom. I’m going to put that there because we’re going to talk a little bit about this segment, about the different communities that care partners has, because for our listeners that are all over western Washington Care Partners, I would say chances are you have a care partners community in your neighborhood, because you guys go, Kelly, all the way up from snahomish county all the way down to Thurston County. Isn’t that correct? Yes, we do, we sure do. And the thing that I love about your communities, Kelly, is that you guys specialize in different types of care and and you do think do it so well in so many different ways. And of course we’ve talked a lot about memory care, which I love. Your cottage is concept and of course you’ve got memory care communities from Marysville all the way down to lacy. Correct, I’m just trying to think of you know again, from there there’s no down to lazy. And then we’ve got we also have to lovely communities over in spok on. But yeah, we’ve got some memory care, assisted living in independent, like I said, all the way from color up north, all the way to lacy. But that is awesome. And then you guys have been doing some amazing expansion in eastern Pierce County and I think I would love to talk a little bit because you’ve got like, isn’t it like two communities that are in the pull up area or tell us a little bit about your n I think I was renting is where you did. I was trying to remember your new communities in the you know, in that area. I’m sorry, I didn’t I don’t quite understand the question. Okay, do you’ve got some new communities in Pierce County? Correct and sorry, yes, I’m saying why? I must have heard you wrong, but yes, I do. We’ve got our quel up community and pull up. Not Real sure. A still think that’s Pierce County, that that particular community renting was fairly new. It’s coming alongste they just opened their third cottage and they’re almost I mean they’re taking up for maazing. So that’s doing really well well up has been license now for about two and a half months and we’re starting to see an influx here. But again, this was this is also puls best kept secret and I’m trying to get the word out because I don’t thin people realize how great this community is. And then Covington. The COVINGTON cottages are finished. I just got a chance to see the main building last week. I’m over the moon. That building is gorgeous on I mean gorgeous, but they really lifeful for that first week in April. So you guys right now, you I know you have like fifteen communities and it seems like you’re opening up a new one every every month. It’s crazy how you’re expanding. And and I think one of the things that’s really amazing about care partners, and why I love you guys to pieces, is that so many senior living communities, you know, a senior may move in and then all of a sudden they run out of money and then they have to move. And you know, I know that my mom had had to face that and if I would have known then what I know now, care partners you never have to move, and that’s the thing that I think is so important. That once you you know, you pay for if it’s whatever, your your assets will give you a you know, a year or whatever. You don’t have to worry about moving because you guys automatically accept what’s called Cope, which we’ve talked a lot about, which is a Medicaid type program and I think that’s such a piece of mind to our families as well as to, you know, to our seniors that lived there, I’m sure. Isn’t that correct? Help? Well, what it is, and this is the thing that I think people miss out on, and that’s why I’m running a special right now, because I want people to know what they’re missing out on. For example, know I’m running a special right now that it’s they move in in the month of March, I will waive their move intend. Their first one’s weren’t. Now I’m not their care from just but run. Wow, people are missing out on how great this community is and we’re the only place in town that guarantees to spend down and and a lot of places it will say, we’ll do it, yeah, we’ll do a two year, will do this and that. But a lot of them her senses, but on the shame. You and I both know that you have to be as a family member. You almost have to play detective because you’ve got a really fine tooth, you know, find tooth comb that contract and make sure you’re not missing something that says we only license ten bits. Well, okay, that’s a problem for me, because you want true financial security, you need to go to a building that is going to float that license every month to cover every room they have as necessary to guarantee that when your mom runs out of money, she’s not fighting for one of those ten rooms. The cost of CARE is astronomical. I know my mom ran out of money, even though we thought she had plenty of money for the rest of her life, as her care needs increased in assisted living, even though she was guaranteed Medicaid. One of the things that happened to her, which I think is crazy, is the fact that she got she got ill, she had to have some surgeries, she was off premises in the hospital and in Rehab for more than two weeks and, as a result, Medicaid stopped paying for her apartment and the company which is where she lived that the community. They would not then re grandfather her into Medicaid. They had to go put her on private pay and I was I couldn’t even believe what had happened. Here she was, you know, recovering in a Rehab Center and you know she was already on Medicaid because she ran out of money because by the time we were writing chexts for Ninezero dollars a month for system living because she had those. You know, that level of care needs it. Your money will burn out pretty quickly and that’s exactly what happened with my mom and certainly for you guys. Had she lived at care partners, it would have been a totally different story. And I think about a trauma that she went through, is just no unbelievable. And See, and this is I got to be honest with you, we do what we do because we do care about our seniors. It’s shown in the design of our buildings. But if you’re going to say you’re going to take care of people, right, and this is this is not just my personal philosophy, is my business philosophy and I really believe this. If you say I’m going to take you, then do it, do it holes wordedly and do it all the way. You don’t get to do it just because it’s convenient for you. You don’t need to do it based on whatever little policies you want to hide in the corner on. You don’t get to do that. This was doming beings. I don’t sell condos and I don’t sell cars. I feel peace of mind and peace of mind needs to not just be in that first few minutes. You got to know me and go hey, I like this gallon man, I love her communities, I think I’m going to do this. No, mind needs to continue all the way until your love one parts for hopefully a better place. That’s what we want. So I don’t think it’s fair, but these see years that middle class, let’s be honest, that’s that’s majority of people who put their loved ones in and assisted living or that middle class right. They have available are not what they used to be. So now you’re dealing with limited funds, with somebody who needs a high acuity care and people are not going to assisted living because they’re thinking what within what happens then? What do I do? What if my money runs out? Now now I’m homeless and I’m eighty two. What am I supposed to do? Well, it’s not going to happen like that. But again, it’s true process and it’s like making it’s also making sure that that families understand what the differences in as far as theyll spend downs to copes and how that really looks. Absolutely true. And and the trauma that families go through. When I think about, you know what, when I had to all of a sudden scramble to find another place for my mother to live and she was losing her home and everything that she knew. That was familiar and she had a little bit of dementia, which made it even more scary for her. And you know, families shouldn’t have to go through that either. It’s like, the thing is, we all, as families that are out there, we’re trying to do the very best we can for our loved ones and we want to have peace of mind every day that they’re well taking care of and that they have the best quality of life possible, and when we have to uproot them like that, it’s traumatic for everybody. I take what we do serious. Would take myself too seriously, but I took what we do very seriously because then we’ve been entrusted with somebody’s love. This is somebody, someone they mattered to, somebody so damn it, they’re going to matter to us, and what that means is is that that last thing a family should worry about. Yes, is my mom being well taken care of in your community. Actually is the compliments we on the skin care and and just the people picking up. All of a sudden they went from not so good doing really well. Well, I’d like to say we had something to do with that and and all of the good things that you see. But then there’s out other flip side. But the family’s got stressed. They’re not stressed out because, Oh, good Lord, mom might not outlive her savings. Really I think she should get too. I think that when we need life quality and life expectancy on our funds. We’ve done sideways as a community, we’ve done sideways as a society, and I think part of taking care of our loved ones is making sure that not just physically, emotionally, spiritually and all that stuff is covered. What are we doing for them financially? And that’s the one thing I’m one of the things I’m extremely proud about with care partners is we honor what we say we’re going to do and I would hope that that gives families that extra that extra layer of security. M I hope it’s absolutely and and peace of mind for everybody. And you know, life is tough enough as it is without having all these little, you know, these little got to things happen when you’re trying to do the best thing for your parent, and you know that’s is why we are here. You know, we’re here on answer for elders, to help empower families and help those that are in, you know, in this world of taking care of a loved one to make that path a little less daunting. And certainly, Kelly, you have been such a great resource for us and you know, in our next segment I would love to just zero in on your new communities, and I know you’re we’re really focused on Pierce County right now and and just talk about a little bit of the about the amenities and what we have to you know, what is available for our loved ones here. And so, Kelly, in the meantime, how do we reach you? The best place to reachos is could check us out online, and that’s www care partners livingcom. And there you can check out virtual tools and testimonials and all kind of cool stuff. Well, and you guys have a special promotion going on that we’ll talk about in the next segment. So in the meantime everyone. Kelly Smith will be right back right after this. The preceding podcast was provided by care partners living and answers for elders radio. To contact care partners living, go to care partners livingcom