Transitional Care & Relocation Service
Many Older Adults Have Three Major Obstacles
Loss of Home
Seniors fear losing their home or the place that they have called home for a long time.
As people age, they often become overly attached to their homes and even though there may be compelling reasons to find other living arrangements, many people will go to extreme lengths to remain in their homes.
Lack of Support
Another obstacle is the lack of support or help from family members. In fact, some seniors have no children. For others, the children are living far away or are extremely busy with their jobs or their own families. And in some cases — because people are living so long — the children are elderly as well and find it difficult to help with the move.
Emotional Paralysis
This overwhelming pressure and stress relating to moving can often result in gridlock — a failure to make any decision at all. Typically, the thought of giving up a person’s residence, finding new accommodations, downsizing personal possessions and executing the move can seem overwhelming to many older people.
Because many elderly people face such a daunting task with moving, a growing number of transitional care and relocation specialists and consultants are needed.
Transitional Care Consultation
Transitional Care Consultation is a service that helps family members find and explore information, recommendations, options, answers and solutions when a loved one is going from one level of care or place of care to another. A daughter who lives out of state might use transitional care consultation when she needs to know if it is time for her 85 years old mother to move to an assisted living facility or if she wants to know how to find the right doctor or the right service provider for her loved one.
The providers listed on this platform provide or arrange for the following services:
- Advice and counseling,
- Coordinating level of care assessment to determine appropriate care setting
- Help with finding new accommodations.
- Help with onboarding into a new care setting
- Downsizing possessions through personal, caring assistance with discarding, donating or arranging estate sales,
- Selling the existing property,
- Organizing, arranging, and scheduling the move,
- Unpacking at the new location and removing boxes and other debris,
- Setting up and arranging furniture
And it isn’t just the elderly person, contemplating a move, who is hiring these specialists. Active senior communities, independent living facilities, nursing homes and assisted living often retain a relocation specialist to provide advice and arrange services to help seniors with a move.Family members of seniors have also found it more convenient to hire a specialist to help their loved ones with relocation.
The Specialist Listed on This Platform Include;
Professional or Geriatric Care Managers
Care managers help the elderly and their families deal with the issues of long-term care. Most care managers also help people, needing long term care, to find appropriate living arrangements. A natural outgrowth of finding new accommodations has resulted in many care managers specializing in relocation services as part of what they do.
Seniors Real Estate Specialists
A Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES) is a real estate agent who specializes in helping the elderly transition to a new location. The specialist has been trained to recognize the special needs of seniors and understand the various living arrangements available to older people. Most of these specialists concentrate on selling the property and do not directly provide relocation services but they will arrange for companies or individuals or advisors who can provide these other services.
Senior Move Managers
A Senior Move Manager is a member of the National Association of Senior Move Managers. These people often have a background in social work or case management and have experience working with the elderly. As such, they understand the needs and desires of seniors. Senior Move Managers can provide or arrange for any needed service such as counseling and advice, selling property, downsizing or relocating their clients.
Moving Companies
Many independent moving companies recognize the special needs of seniors and they will provide moving services, storage and other specialized programs for this unique group of customers. These companies will often work together with senior advisors and relocation specialists.
Specialists with Developers or Senior Communities
Active senior community developers, senior residences and care facilities have recognized that providing relocation services will help their clients or residents transition more quickly into the new living arrangements. This not only relieves the stress on the seniors but also results in less cost to the providers who might be holding open properties or rooms for a long period of time — while receiving no income — due to the difficulty of selling the old residence and relocating.
Professional Organizers
Professional organizers — many of whom are members of the National Association of Professional Organizers — have found a unique niche in helping people reduce clutter in their homes or provide a more efficient office or living environment. Because of extensive experience in reducing personal possessions, a professional organizer can be particularly useful in helping to downsize in anticipation of a move.