During National Assisted Living Week (September 11-17, 2022), we're reaching out all week to local experts to answer frequently asked questions about assisted living.
Join us for today's episode of Home Helpers Water Cooler Chat for a brief chat with owner and senior care advisor, Heather Cartright-Tetrault of My Care Finders. Thank you, Heather, for assisting us in providing helpful information to our community, especially seniors.
To reach out to Heather Cartright-Tetrault or to learn more about My Care Finders, get in touch via phone or the web:
Phone: (941) 666-0266
Website: mycarefinders.com
#NationalAssistedLivingWeek #FreeAdvocate #LevelofCare #AgeInPlace #SeniorCare #MyCareFinders
Transcript:
[Jonathan] It's National Assisted Living Week. And to celebrate this week, we checked in with local experts to answer some frequently asked questions about assisted living. In this episode of "Home Helpers Water Cooler Chat", I had the opportunity to chat with Heather Cartright-Tetrault, the owner and a senior care advisor with My Care Finders. Are you ready to learn more about assisted living? Let's go.
So, welcome, welcome, welcome. Thank you so much, Heather, for joining us today for "Home Helpers Water Cooler Chat". How are you doing today?
[Heather] I'm great. It's a beautiful day. How about yourself, Jonathan?
[Jonathan] I'm doing great. I'm doing great. Thank you so much. So, the question I have for you today is there are so many senior communities. How does one narrow down their options and make their selection?
[Heather] Sure. So, it is definitely something to really consider, and you need to think about because this is for you or your loved one's future. And so, whenever you're going through the process, sometimes it can seem like it's very overwhelming and daunting, and you don't want to make the wrong choice either. Especially when you're very overwhelmed as it is.
And just to give you a little bit of background. In this area, I would say between Sarasota County and the surrounding area, such as even Charlotte County and Manatee County, there's roughly around 200 communities. So, when you really look at that, you need to really start thinking about what is important to you or your loved one? And don't first think that you're going to wing it and go to a community and then decide, because you don't wanna be swayed either.
So, you need to really figure out what are your needs? What are your wants and desires? And, of course, we know care is going to be the top of the level. But there's also things that you need to think about, such as socially, geographically, financially. About being able to afford something now and also in the future. But along with all of those different key things you need to really think about, that's how you can start the process to really figure out, to narrow down your options.
And again, the top of the one is care. In the state of Florida, there's different licensure levels for assisted living itself. There's four different licensures. So with that said, it's very, very important to find out what your care needs are now. And granted, we don't have a crystal ball. We don't know what it's gonna look like in the future, but you may have an idea of potentially some history, family history, what that could look like. Meaning, do you think you're going to have to worry about maybe Parkinson's in the future? Or Alzheimer's or dementia? Because if that's the case, maybe you're going to look just as an example, look at assisted living with attached memory care. So, to me that's where it's super important to start thinking about now and what your wishes would be. Larger, homey, cozy. The one with the bells and whistles. There's so many things that can go into it. And having an advocate or having someone to help through the process may even be a better choice as well.
[Jonathan] Okay. Thank you so much for that information, Heather. So, tell me a little bit, and I think this is a good segue into what you do. Tell me a little bit more about My Care Finders.
[Heather] Sure. So, My Care Finders, we are a free advocate for families in this area, looking for senior living communities, whether it's independent living, assisted living, memory care, even private duty and home care, we can assist with. And so part of that, though, is as you're mentioning also, Jonathan, is that also comes to dealing with these communities. And we know them thoroughly and intimately in the ins and outs of all these communities.
So for us, when working with us, we can really help narrow down those options to just a select few just based on what your needs are, your preferences. And that's super, super important because you also have an advocate there with you through the entire process, from start to finish. And I'll also add to that is if it's your choice, of course, but if the families prefer it, we can also tour with the families at these communities so that way they have the advocate there with them knowing that they have someone looking out for their best interests. It's unbiased advice.
[Jonathan] Wow, I really like the idea that a family can have an advocate tour communities with them. That seems to be a benefit that you don't get with some of the national companies and a reason why you may go with a more local company like My Care Finders. That is great. Heather, can you tell me more about or tell me how someone would contact you if they need your services?
[Heather] Sure. So, definitely the biggest thing is either by phone or email because we actually, on our webpage, we have a contact us info box and you can also do a live chat. I'm always on the chat. So, if that's the easiest thing, just asking questions, we can do that for you. But the phone number is 941-666-0266. Again, 941-666-0266. And then, our web address is mycarefinders.com. And again, just so you can remember, mycarefinders.com. But please call us. We have a hundred percent satisfaction with every family in the last four years. And so, we really thoroughly know what we're doing with having a passion and we absolutely just love it. We love helping others, and that's our number one goal.
[Jonathan] Very good. Well, I wanna thank you, Heather, for coming to us and sharing that great information and telling us more about your company as well. Thank you again for coming. And to all of our viewers, I wanna thank you for watching this episode of "Home Helpers Water Cooler Chat", and until next time. We'll see you soon. Take care.
[Heather] Thanks for having me, Jonathan.
[Jonathan] No problem.
HOME HELPERS OF BRADENTON
Home Helpers of Bradenton is one of the region's leading home care franchises specializing in comprehensive services for seniors. Home Helpers' sole mission is to make life easier for clients and their families. Based in Bradenton, Florida, the company serves all of Manatee County, including the communities of Anna Maria, Bradenton, Bradenton Beach, Ellenton, Holmes Beach, Lakewood Ranch, Longboat Key, Palmetto, and Parrish. For more information or to request a free in-home care assessment, contact our office at (941) 499-5946 or visit our website atwww.homehelpershomecare.com/bradenton
