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
3 Chickens, 3 Cats, 2 Tanks of Fish and 1 Senior Moving In???
Would you build a chicken coop to have a senior move into your retirement community? Are chickens even allowed? What would your senior living community promise in order for a senior to move in? How many cats does your retirement community allow per senior resident? Would you increase it? Are you willing to take on two 100-gallon tanks of fish? One fish tank contains large koi and the other fresh water bala sharks. “I still have my wits about me and don’t want to leave my animals,” said a prospective senior resident. “The administrator has promised me that he will take all my pets and if I pass away, he will let all of my precious chickens live with him at his home. He loves my chickens.” This senior is waiting for a two-bedroom apartment to become available, but she has still not decided to actually move. Her family and friends (I am one of them) have been encouraging her to make a move for two years. She currently lives alone in a two-story home with a caregiver who helps several days a week. Who knows how many years my senior friend has left? I don’t know. What I do know is that my friend would thrive in a retirement community with live music and weekly entertainment. She used to be very active with dozens of friends and now she is isolated in her home with early dementia and a lack of mobility. My senior friend comes to life over a lunch or dinner conversation. I told her that she could have social connectivity everyday if she moved into...Rental Facilities Compared to Continuing Care Buy-ins, TV Interview
Discover key differences between rental facilities versus Continuing Care Retirement Communities. Do you have enough financial resources if you need to be in a higher level of care for an extended period of time? Always consider your future health care needs today. Who will provide your care and at what cost? Do you want 100% responsibility for your future health care costs or do you want to share the risk with a Continuing Care Retirement Community? Author, Diane Masson, shares her insights from her new book, “Your Senior Housing Options.” Enjoy my TV interview below and for weekly tips join at: Www.Tips2Seniors.com Your Senior Housing Options,” has a simplistic title, but what’s inside this new book can save a you months of research time. Hear Diane Masson’s interview of how her mother and in-law’s faced the pivotal decision to plan ahead or wait until a crisis. Learn the pitfalls from transitioning from your home to senior housing. Understand what questions to ask, insider tips and dirty secrets revealed. For weekly tips join at: Www.Tips2Seniors.com Diane Masson has worked in senior housing for 17 years and is the regional marketing director for two debt-free Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Southern CA (Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet). Her first book “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” is being utilized by senior housing professionals across the country. Both her first book and second book, “Your Senior Housing Options,” have a 5-star rating on...
What Happens When a Senior Falls at 2:00 AM in Assisted Living?
I asked the same question to four memory care communities that were licensed as assisted living. The responses might surprise you and help you determine where to place your own mom or dad. What happens if my mother-in-law wakes up disoriented at 2:00 AM and gets up to find the bathroom? Then she falls… Memory Care Community A – “When we find her, a med tech would evaluate her. If she hit her head or something major happened, then 911 is called. My husband asked about the med tech training. Is it like an emergency medical technician (EMT) with a minimum of 140 hours of medical training? She said, “No, it is like a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant). There are specific criteria that they are trained on.” Does someone go with the dementia resident if they go out 911? No! Diane’s opinion: In my experience, no CNA has the medical expertise to make a judgment call on a fall. My mother’s assisted living community always sent my mom out 911 from a fall in the middle of the night. It happened five times. It was highly traumatic for her. When someone arrives at the emergency room with dementia, it is scary and confusing. It would disorient her for days after each traumatic adventure. Memory Care Community B – “We have certain guidelines to know when to call 911. In the past month we have had two seniors go out 911. Eighty percent of the time falls do not require 911. We would call the family to meet the senior at the hospital.” Does someone go with the dementia resident...
“My Mom Has Parkinson’s, How Do VA Benefits Work?”
My seatmate flying up to Seattle shared that his mom can no longer prepare her own meals. She was diagnosed with Parkinson’s about one year ago. She is currently living in Washington State and can no longer drive. The local family needs to bring her meals to sustain her. Is it fair to rely on your family to keep you at home? The mom refused to move to California to live with one of her sons. He specifically bought a home with a “mother-in-law apartment” for her. But she did not want to leave her home or local friends. Another adult child comes monthly to take her to doctor appointments. My seatmate, her son, visits her about every six months because he lives 1000 miles away. The family is getting together from all over the country to celebrate her milestone birthday. They are going to discuss future care options, because she is not safe living alone. I suggested he read my new book to help him with his dilemma. He learned that the assisted living community under consideration is about $5,000 a month. He didn’t know that transitioning to skilled nursing care at some point could cost the family around $90,000 a year on a national basis. The family figured all the children could chip in to support mom to live in a higher level of care. So they want to check out her possible VA Benefits as the spouse of a deceased Veteran. So I shared with him that for VA Benefits to begin, three keys need to happen: The mom needs to spend down her assets. She...
Finding Love at 70 Plus Years Old
Last week we had 24 new residents at our new resident reception. Out of 24 new senior residents: Two senior couples had met online. One senior couple had met by each placing an ad in the local paper. Wow! How exciting is that? Seniors are finding love after losing a spouse of 30 or 40 years. One of these couples met through E-harmony. We had dinner together and they shared their exciting journey. They each filled out a lengthy questionnaire to find the perfect mate. Each was looking for someone who loved to travel. The gentleman rejected a potential date with a senior who only loved cruising, another lady only wanted to travel to Europe and a third potential senior woman was a retired stewardess. This senior man was patiently waiting for a senior woman who wanted to travel by RV or motorhome around the country. After finding that potential senior woman online, they only corresponded through the dating website for next three months. Then they exchanged emails and phone numbers. They both proceeded cautiously. Well their relationship bloomed into marriage and traveling the country by RV for four years. You can see a glow on each of their faces when they speak of the other. They decided to settle at The Village in Hemet, CA. They wanted to create a plan for their future and not be a burden to their families in a health care crisis. They are trying every community activity together, such as exercising in the health club, enjoying live performances and swimming three days a week. Both of them love life and are enthusiastic...
More Hospice at Home OR Less at Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing?
Let’s hear from professionals around the world to see if this assumption is correct! Do seniors need fewer days of hospice in assisted living and skilled nursing than at home? It makes sense to me. An article by the Philly Voice stated, “At hospice enrollment, between 2008 and 2012, 78,130 of the patients in the study lived at home and 7,451 were in assisted living.” My own mom with vascular dementia, living in skilled nursing care, only needed 4 days of hospice care. While my mom was actively dying with hospice care, I read about all the signs people show approaching death. In a great little book called, “Gone from my Sight, The Dying Experience,” by Barbara Karnes, RN, I learned how seniors start to withdraw one to three months prior to death. The desire for food decreases while sleep dramatically increases. A senior can become more disoriented, agitated and talk with the unseen one or two weeks before death. As I held my mom’s nonresponsive hand a few days before her death, I realized that most of what the book predicted had happened to my mom in the previous few months. Yet she was completely supported in her skilled nursing environment. What a gift that community gave her. When she could not feed herself (she forgot how because of her dementia), the caregivers or I would feed her. At every meal she was given an opportunity to feed herself. The staff never gave up on her improving. If my mom had been home, I would have fretted and taken her to the doctor to learn why she was...
$48,000 a Month for my Father-in-law to Die?
End of life decisions are so difficult for an advocate to make for his or her’s senior parent. A few months ago, I had to make tough choices for my mom before she passed. A month ago, my husband and his family faced difficult choices for his dad. My father-in-law, Bill, had been on home hospice with 24/7 care for about three months. He was frail (worn out from being a caregiver for his wife who had Alzheimer’s), had inoperable blockages in his heart, had four small strokes that my sister-in-law witnessed and was frustrated with early dementia. He was reaching for the cat when he fell. The hospital determined that his pelvis was fractured in multiple locations and his femur (thigh bone) was broken. So Bill would be bed ridden the rest of his life. Sigh…he was in so much pain. They were turning Bill every two hours to prevent bedsores. He could only be on his back and the side without the broken femur. He was a two-person transfer. The fall that sent him to the hospital was a non-hospice related incident so it was covered by insurance. With no hope of improvement the hospital determined that he was once again comfort care. So according to the hospital, he was a hospice patent who needed to move out of the hospital or pay privately. The only skilled nursing care facility in the area was not an option (bad reputation). There were no hospice facilities in the local area. So the only two choices were: Stay in the hospital for a cost of $48,000 a month. Go home...Cost of Home Care vs Assisted Living, Channel 6 TV Interview with Diane Masson
Most seniors want to stay in their own home. Learn five keys in this TV interview to differentiate a reputable home care company from a fly-by-night company. Paying a caregiver under the table may end up being your most expensive option. Can you afford 24-hour home care? If not, learn the costs of your other options before you deplete your resources. Learn more insider tips in a new resource book, “Your Senior Housing Options” or get weekly advice for free at WWW.tips2seniors.com. “Your Senior Housing Options,” has a simplistic title, but what’s inside this new book can save you months of research time. Hear Diane Masson’s interview of how her mother and in-law’s faced the pivotal decision to plan ahead or wait until a crisis. Learn the pitfalls from transitioning from your home to senior housing. Understand what questions to ask, insider tips and dirty secrets revealed. The decision to stay home requires caregivers. Prevent elder abuse by determining if a home care agency is reputable, before they move into your home. You are just not looking for today’s needs, but for your future care. Discover key differences between rental facilities vs Continuing Care Retirement Communities. Do you have enough financial resources if you need to be in a higher level of care for an extended period of time? For weekly tips join at: Www.Tips2Seniors.com Diane Masson has worked in senior housing for 17 years and is the regional marketing director for two debt-free Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Southern CA (Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet). Her first book “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full,” is...
Can Mom Progress from Stage 2 Dementia to Stage 4 Dementia in Weeks?
Professionals have told me that a trauma could have caused Amy’s dementia (my favorite mother-in-law) to escalate rapidly. Is this true? Can all the dementia professionals and family members weigh in with their experiences? My mother-in-law’s dementia was progressing slowly like my mom’s vascular dementia. There are four stages of memory loss and Amy was in stage 2, before the trauma. She repeated herself a lot, needed cueing for personal hygiene, medication management and had little desire to leave the home. Amy talked about not being able to remember stuff, but she could still read the paper, dress, bathe, toilet and feed herself. Then Bill, my favorite father-in-law and Amy’s 24-7 caretaker, had a heart attack and went to the hospital. Amy could not understand where her rock and husband of 65 years had gone. She ended up having a psychotic break and eloping (The police had to find her and bring her back home.). A whole series of dramas happened and she hit a nurse. Then she too was hospitalized and put on psychotropic medications. Amy was in the hospital for three weeks in the psych ward. By the time she got out of the hospital, the Amy I had seen months earlier was gone. The first time my husband and I saw her after the hospitalization (we live three states away) was so sad. The vivacious and sarcastic Amy was gone. It was like seeing a shell of her former self. Her lip trembled, her arm shook and she was so sleepy from the Haldol drugs. We immediately got the psychotropic medication reduced by half. It took...
Does MOVING to a Senior Living Community Feel Like a STORM?
We all have storms in our lives. Maybe the storm is a death, sickness, or major life crisis. It could even be one of Mother Nature’s storms such as hurricane, tornado or earthquake. You or a senior you know may be going through a storm at this moment. At some point the storm always ends. There is peace and calmness again. No one is the same after one of life’s storms. The length of the storm will most likely determine the amount of wisdom gained. One of my best friends is a breast cancer survivor. Now she uses the knowledge of her successful treatments and faith to help others. She can make someone elses cancer journey less scary. What a gift! As retirement counselors in senior living and housing, we can provide that gift of knowledge to a senior considering a move. A senior may feel like they are in a storm processing a major life move to your community. Being pulled toward the benefits of living in a retirement community and simultaneously being drawn back to the security of their home can create conflict for a senior. Here are a few tips: First, a retirement counselor needs to acknowledge that a senior is facing an emotional decision (the storm). The decision is to plan ahead or wait until a health care crisis. Second, if a senior chooses to wait until a health crisis they will be forcing their adult children to eventually “put them someplace” (bigger storm). Many seniors don’t realize this truth. Seniors are typically shocked to learn they will have a 66% chance of needing a...Learn More About Senior Housing…
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