Tips 2 Seniors | Meet the Author: Diane Masson
Speaker, Blogger & Senior Living Expert
Diane Twohy Masson shares her personal and professional experience to help seniors and their families navigate the Silver Tsunami.
The author spent two years exploring senior housing options with her mom before finding the ideal Continuing Care Retirement Community. After enjoying eight successful years in an independent living setting, her mom suffered a fall and the onset of dementia. This daughter helped transition her to assisted living — in the nick of time. Seven years later, even this expert struggled making the dramatic decision to move her mom long distance into a skilled nursing community.
Diane Twohy Masson has worked in Senior Housing since 1999 and is an award-winning Certified Aging Services Professional (CASP) with a B.S. in business management and a minor in marketing from Central Washington University. She can share behind the scenes insider tips and advice after mystery shopping 300 senior living communities. Diane and her teams have helped thousands of seniors move into multiple styles of senior living, but she learned the hardest move is helping your own parent.
Diane Twohy Masson is the best-selling author of “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” available at Amazon.com with a 5-star rating. The book is required reading at George Mason University as a part of its marketing curriculum. Within this book, the author developed a sales method with 12 keys to help senior living providers increase their occupancy.
She enjoys public speaking, golfing, traveling, Disneyland, bird watching, writing, hiking, camping, reading, scripture study, and spending time with her family.
My Personal Story…
Tips 2 Seniors Blog
Articles & Resources for Seniors by Diane Masson
Summary Video of “Your Senior Housing Options!”
Here’s a quick summary of “Your Senior Housing Options,” including the costs and consequences from tips2seniors.com. It walks you through a dementia scenario including all the choices for a vulnerable senior. This video can empower an independent senior to plan ahead or help an adult child put their parent in a quality senior...
Wanted: Seniors with Moderate Alzheimer’s for a Clinical Trial
Do you know a senior(s) who has mild to moderate Alzheimer’s? This article will share what a clinical trial is testing and how far along in the Alzheimer’s disease a senior can be to remain eligible to participate. There are about 60 study sites located around metropolitan areas in the United States. Nourish Ad clinical research study is testing an investigational treatment for Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss. “Investigational” means that this treatment is currently being tested and isn’t approved or available for use by the public. The investigational drug is called AC-1204. It is a double-blind study to improve thinking processes for people with Alzheimer’s disease. If a senior volunteers for this study, they either get the drug AC-1204 or not. Learn more about the company, the drug and eligibility for the trial HERE. My mother-in-law, Amy, has Alzheimer’s and I hope we can figure out this disease in her lifetime. I am not a doctor, but my simplified version of this trial is as follows: Seniors’ brains work on glucose. Seniors with Alzheimer’s brains do not process glucose normally. This trial will give a senior with Alzheimer’s a daily drink that provides an alternative energy source for the brain to improve memory. A total of 480 seniors can qualify for this 6-month study. Senior participants must be 66 to 90 years old with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s or memory loss. The senior must have a permanent caregiver or family member participate in the study as well. The study is designed to look at the safety and effectiveness of AC-1204. If a senior completes the first...
Sexually Aggressive in Memory Care?!!?
How do you keep your mom or dad safe in a memory care community or assisted living? A retired cop moved into my mother-in-law’s memory care community and has been demonstrating sexual and violent aggression against her, other residents, and staff. This is what my family is facing now. Read about the incidents in, “Violence in Memory Care,” HERE. This is a list of whom we have emphatically voiced our concerns: Caregivers The nurse The Administrator Two ombudsmen The State of Washington (surveyors of licensed assisted living) Adult Protective Services Our family requested a care conference to discuss the safety of my mother-in-law, Amy. Two ombudsmen, the administrator, three adult children and myself attended it. It was the worst care conference that I have ever experienced in my 17 years working as a professional in senior living. On a personal level, I have attended numerous care conferences for nine years as an advocate for my own mother who had dementia. There is always a conclusion at the end of the care conference that provides some sense of hope for improving care or concerns. Why was this care conference so bad? The administrator would only talk about Amy. She refused to discuss Amy’s safety in regards to the aggressive cop, because of HIPPA. She refused to share any measures or policies that the staff was following for Amy’s safety. Are you kidding me? I specifically asked, “What are you doing to protect her?” She said that she could not answer that question and kept talking in circles. The ombudsmen were no help either. They said they could only discuss Amy because...Learn how to have “The Talk,” with a senior, from author Diane Masson
Did you share a holiday dinner with a struggling senior? Have the basics become difficult for your senior parent? Is there a little dementia? Learn how to have “The Talk,” with a senior from author Diane Masson. Happy holidays from Diane Masson and...
Violence in Memory Care
A former cop moved into my mother-in-law’s memory care community. He was doing simulated punches to people including the administrator. The administrator was worried the punches might become real, because seniors with dementia do not have good depth perception. Then my sister-in-law witnessed him doing it to my mother-in-law, Amy. She was horrified. My sister-in-law was sitting across from her mom. The former cop came up from behind my sister-in-law and then she saw a fist heading for Amy’s face. The fist stopped six inches away. Here is the weird part. A caregiver witnessed the whole thing, but showed no concern, never said a word, or redirected him. He did walk away and the caregiver accompanied him down the hall. My sister-in-law shouted, “That was not cool,” after them. So the staff started locking residents’ rooms because they caught the former cop standing over sleeping residents. The doors were locked at night so residents could still wander out, but he could not wander in. Something combative must have happened between the former cop and a staff person. They would not say what but my sister-in-law observed that he was gone over a day and then came back drugged. All these situations have transpired over two weeks. My sister-in-law is very worried about Amy. What if she gets up in the night and leaves her room? What if the former cop is out too? Amy will have nowhere to go because every door is locked. A few days ago my sister-in-law discovered the doors to the residents rooms were locked during the day. She shared her disapproval with the administrator....
Musings of a Senior’s Fabulous Life
Meet Betty, a senior resident, who was born in 1926 as a child of the depression. Her life was different back then and every family was very frugal. When she grew up and went to work, ladies wore dresses, hats and girdles. It was just the way of the world back in the thirties and forties. According to Betty, the young people today have not experienced the depression nor the constant thought of frugalness. She said, “Your generation has a freedom that I never had. You have a choice of how to dress at work. It is more casual than in my day. Plus, I would never be able to keep up with the technology. I’m so impressed with the technology and all that you can get done in a short time span.” Betty admires what the workforce of today can accomplish. As she walked into the exercise room at her Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) with her walker, Betty said, “I can’t use all the fancy equipment in here, but I can keep walking. Even when I watch TV, I am walking in place and using my arms and staying active.” She proceeded to show off about four arm exercises that she utilizes. It was a very impressive demonstration. Here’s the best quote from spending time with wonderful Betty: She said, “I can’t stop the years from slipping by. I am just so happy to say that I have had a fabulous life.” What a delight during this time of the year to share a senior’s story. Betty is a senior who has been living at a CCRC...
7 Tips to have “The Talk” with a Senior
Last week the Tips2Seniors blog discussed: “Seniors in Denial, Relying on Friends and Family.” Every single one of us knows a senior who is struggling in their home. Some seniors silently suffer and others have a whole network of support from family and friends. Ultimately when a loved one or neighbor tries to have “The Talk” with the senior it can have five typical results: Denial: “I am not ready yet. I am just fine living in my own home.” Shutting down: “I don’t want to discuss this.” Anger: “Why are you questioning my ability to be independent? Leave me alone.” Confusion: “Don’t you want to come see me everyday? I don’t understand.” Acceptance: “I understand that I have become a burden. Maybe it’s time to look at what my senior housing options could be. Will you help me look?” In my 17-year senior housing career, sons, daughters and spouses have asked me the same question, how do I have “The Talk.” Here are my 7 Tips to have “The Talk.” Set the stage for “The Talk”. You know if it is better to have “The Talk” in public or private with your senior. Public talk: Take them out to eat in a public location (so they can’t yell at you or they can’t escape into their bedroom). Private talk: Buy or make your seniors their favorite cookies. Serve the favorite cookies with their special coffee or tea at their dining room table. Tell your senior how much you love them. Then share your concerns, be very factual. Such as: You have fallen twice. You missed your medications three...
Seniors in Denial, Relying on Friends and Family
Every single one of us knows a senior who is struggling in their home. Some seniors silently suffer and others have a whole network of support from family and friends. Daughters may call their mom once a day to inquire if her senior parent is okay OR no answer could mean they fell again and need help. Result: Senior falls often lead to fractured hips, 911 calls, skilled nursing care with physically therapy and needing 24/7 care. A son may set his senior parent up with medications in a pillbox and then call two or three times a day to make sure his parent has taken them. Result: This can be effective until the senior says, “What are these pills for? I don’t want to take them.” Most family members are not there in person twice a day to make sure the senior ingests the pills. Kind neighbors may make an extra plate of dinner every night and take it to their senior neighbor. Result: Neighbors get frustrated and burned out, spending every single night away from their own family for one year or more. This type of support can’t go on and on. Daughters may spend every other Saturday cleaning mom’s house, grocery shopping and setting up her senior parent to survive for another two weeks. Result: Even if the daughter lives two hours away, this type of help eventually turns into every Saturday. If the daughter works full time, it can never be daily help, then what? What is the answer to a senior struggling to manage in their home? Result: It’s time to talk turkey with...
Seniors Getting Squeezed
What should this senior couple do? They sold their home that they could not manage any more and decided to move into an independent rental retirement community in Orange County, California. The couple has an income of $3,600 a month, but their monthly rent is $5,200. (The senior couple’s rent includes three meals a day, wellness classes, entertainment, housekeeping, transportation and etc.) So $1,600 is taken out of their savings for rent on a monthly basis, plus they still have to pay for telephone, Internet, hair styling, car bills, pharmaceuticals, insurances and possibly even gifts and travel. This senior couple is just one example. Their plight is not uncommon. Thousands of seniors are concerned that their meager savings are eroding too quickly. What happens when a senior needs assisted living? How will they afford it? What if one of them has a debilitating stroke and needs long-term skilled nursing? On a nationwide basis, it averages $80,000 a year. Are you aware that board and care homes in Orange County California recently went up $1,000 to $1,500 a month because of the increase to minimum wage? Board and cares are the least expensive options for seniors needing assisted living type care. How will seniors afford the care now? Social security is not increasing for seniors in 2016. Costs for independent living, assisted living, memory care and Continuing Care Retirement Communities will continue to rise as food, utilities and minimum wage goes up. Most of these retirement communities are saddled with a 50 to 100 million mortgage. The residents will be making those interest payments too. Here’s a tip: Ask what the history...
Is For-profit or Non-profit Better in Senior Housing?
What’s better? What’s the senior housing spin? My mother moved into a not-for-profit Continuing Care Retirement Community. That’s where I started my senior housing career. I sold the not-for-profit status as better and more mission driven than the money grubby for-profits, because that was what all the not-for-profits said and did. I was naive for three reasons, because later I learned: A non-profit board that did not understand seniors or senior housing made financial decisions for the entire senior living community. Most of the profits at the non-profit went towards other ministry work instead of being reinvesting back into the senior community. A resident was sexual abused by a non-profit staff member, even though every employee professed to be Christian. Then my senior housing career switched to for-profit. It can be pretty dog-eat-dog aggressive at some companies. It really varies in the senior living industry if the resident is number one or the stockholders are the primary concern. So you better find out before you consider moving there or working there. If a sales person can’t hit the required sales numbers, you are simply fired at some for-profits. Maybe that’s why so many sales people are impersonal and just want to know if you are ready now? If a senior is not ready now, the sales person has no interest in calling a senior back after they have toured. This is sad, because most seniors need to come back several times before making a decision to move. A relationship needs to be built. At for-profit senior living communities, most financial decisions go towards the benefit of the stockholders. But...Learn More About Senior Housing…
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