Welcome to Tips 2 Seniors. My name is Diane Masson and this site is for Seniors surfing the Silver Tsunami…
Tips 2 Seniors is a much needed resource for seniors selecting senior housing options and making smooth transitions later in life, for yourself or your aging parents. I am Diane Masson and I have helped my mom move through Independent Living, Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing through a Continuing Care Retirement Community.
I’ve taken my experience and inside secrets from working in the industry for 16 years and put on weekly seminars for seniors and now shared them all in a priceless and easy to understand book. This site is for you the Silver Tsunami. You can subscribe to my weekly newsletter to the right and take a look through the helpful articles below to help you navigate your senior housing options.
Tips 2 Seniors Blog
with Author: Diane Masson
Award Winning Retirement Blog
The People’s Choice Award for Best Retirement Blog goes to: Marketing2Seniors.net won best retirement blog! Thanks for your readership and votes! It was an exciting competition to watch as the votes started rolling in at seniorhomes.com. Special shout out to notable retirement blogs in the contest: Retire Fabulously and Retirement Income. The Beginning… Watching thousands of seniors struggle in crisis mode, over the last 19 years, made me groan. The Tips2Seniors.com blog was my answer to alter seniors procrastination to planning ahead. The blog uncovers aging related stories and outcomes… Tips2Seniors.com pilots seniors on how to pinpoint quality senior housing options and when to take the leap. It’s free advice that can save seniors from stumbling in unknown territory. In the last year, new video interviews were added to the blog… The publishing of “Your Senior Housing Options,” resulted in television and radio interviews. These interviews, along with hundreds of question and answer times during speaking engagements with seniors, contributed to the blog content. It has been my honor to serve seniors, family members and senior housing colleagues through my blog. Thank you seniorhomes.com for this recognition. Sincerely, Diane Twohy...
Please Vote for this Blog to Win a National Award!
This blog, Marketing 2 Seniors, is nominated for being one of the best national retirement blogs for seniors. Please support this blog with votes! How to vote: Click on the link below for seniorhomes.com, find Marketing2Seniors.com (its got a green box toward the top) and vote underneath the description. Marketing2Seniors is one of 41 blogs nominated nationally. Please vote and get a friend to vote too! Thank you in advance! This blog is currently in second place. One of the ways our site can advance is through your popular votes. There are just 4 days to vote for Marketing2Seniors.com. All your votes are appreciated. https://www.seniorhomes.com/wordpress/best-retirement-blogs-2017/ Diane Masson has empowered thousands of seniors to plan ahead and gives great tips for adult children whose parents are in a health care crisis. “Your Senior Housing Options,” is an award winning book that can answer all your questions and empower you to help any struggling senior. More free tips...
Medicare, Medicaid and VA Benefits for Seniors
The video interview below explains the differences between Medicare, Medicaid and VA Benefits for seniors. Understand which benefits can be used for different types of senior housing and health care such as: assisted living, skilled nursing, hospice, home health and hospital stays. Learn how Medicare can pay for a short-term stay in skilled nursing with a qualifying stay in the hospital. Seniors should educate themselves, plan ahead and have a power of attorney in case they suddenly cannot speak for themselves. Diane Masson has empowered thousands of seniors to plan ahead and gives great tips for adult children whose parents are in a health care crisis. “Your Senior Housing Options,” is an award winning book that can answer all your questions and empower you to help any struggling senior. More free tips...Can Home Care Wipe Out a Senior’s Assets?
Hear author Diane Masson articulate home care, assisted living and skilled nursing costs. Which one do you think costs the most? You might be surprised. Learn tips on comparing home care to assisted living and how Continuing Care Retirement Communities can offer financial security. She shares what happened when her mother ran out of assets in assisted living and how to plan ahead for future health care costs if you own a home. Diane shares how her mother-in-law is paying $8,000 a month for long-term care and may run out of assets. Be smart and educate yourself before a health care crisis. Diane Masson has empowered thousands of seniors to plan ahead and gives great tips for adult children whose parents are in a health care crisis. “Your Senior Housing Options,” can answer all your questions and empower you to help any struggling senior. More free tips at...Active Senior Couple Moving to a CCRC…Learn Why!
After extensive research studying Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC’s), learn why an active senior couple is moving to a Continuing Care Retirement Community in Orange County. It is called Freedom Village. Regional Marketing Director Diane Masson explains wait lists, the path to residency and shares a surprise for Karen. Diane Masson has helped thousands of seniors make educated decisions by planning ahead and gives great tips for adult children whose parents are in crisis mode. “Your Senior Housing Options,” has a 5-star rating on Amazon.com. This book can answer all your questions and empower you to help any struggling senior. Knowledge is power and this book gives a comprehensive overview of all senior housing...Tips to Help a Struggling Senior Evaluate Assisted Living Pricing
Is your aging parent or senior neighbor struggling? What should you do? Is it really supportive to buy them groceries and watch them struggle to stay home? Is it more caring to help them evaluate assisted living options, so they can thrive again? Learn assisted living pricing tips from an author and senior living expert. Diane Masson has helped thousands of seniors make educated decisions by planning ahead and gives great tips for adult children whose parents are in crisis mode. “Your Senior Housing Options,” can answer all your questions and empower you to help any struggling senior over the holidays. Find out if staying home with care or assisted living costs more in the...Video Interview with a Senior Living Expert
Learn free tips and advice from a senior living expert who has walked the journey with thousands of seniors in four states. Diane Masson’s professional and personal senior living experience includes: Identifying the important considerations of staying home versus moving to a retirement community. Helping her own mom plan ahead and move to a Continuing Care Retirement Community, before she had dementia. Supporting her in-laws when they were simultaneously in hospitals and had to be put into different facilities (assisted living and skilled nursing). More free tips about marketing senior living are available through the marketing 2 seniors blog. Diane Masson has authored two books about senior living: Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full for professionals and Your Senior Housing Options for seniors who want to plan ahead or family members scrambling when a parent is in crisis...
Tips for Positive PR in Senior Living and Alzheimer’s Wins
Here are some simple tips to create positive Public Relations for your senior living community by supporting your local Alzheimer’s Walk. First, Freedom Village in Lake Forest, California brainstormed on how to raise money for the Alzheimer’s OC Walk by involving residents and staff. Second, Freedom Village had two fundraisers: A staff talent show for the residents. The Human Resources Director organized the the talent show and the Activity Director invited the residents. The admission ticket was any donation to Alzheimer’s. Both the dress rehearsal at the all staff meeting and the main show for the residents were full houses. The Sunshine Group at Freedom Village had been making adult coloring placemats for skilled nursing resident’s food trays. Select drawings were shrunk down, shellacked onto tiles and sold in four packs with stickers notating the resident artist. Third, residents, staff and a Girl Scout troop proudly arrived at the walk wearing “Freedom to Thrive” T-shirts. PR results of Freedom Village participating in the Alzheimer’s OC Walk in Laguna Niguel: Raising $4,620 and becoming the top fundraising team. Winning the Spirit Award! Being featured on the front page of two local newspapers: Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel. The Community Relations Director was interviewed on local TV discussing the walk. This is a simple recipe for PR success, but it took a lot of teamwork. This project was overseen by a very creative community relations director, Stephanie Riggs. What are your ideas? More free tips about marketing senior living are available through the marketing 2 seniors blog. Diane Masson has authored two books about senior living: Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full...
Video Interview: Learn Senior Housing Answers
This video will explain the three levels of care in senior housing. It identifies health requirements to move into an independent retirement community. Learn what happens if a senior or couple qualify to move into a retirement community, then change their mind(s). Can the senior or couple still qualify one year later if their health worsens? When does a senior with memory loss or dementia bypass their opportunity to move into an independent setting at a retirement community? These are expert answers by award winning author Diane Masson. She has written two books about senior housing: “Your Senior Housing Options” for seniors and “Senior Housing Marketing” for professionals. Diane Masson is the regional marketing director of two Continuing Care Retirement Communities in Southern California, Freedom Village in Lake Forest and The Village in Hemet. Connect with her at...
Award Winning Book for Seniors
Your Senior Housing Options Wins Award in 2016 National Mature Media Awards. Your Senior Housing Options book was a winner in the 25th annual National Mature Media Awards Program. The program, presented by the Mature Market Resource Center, a national clearinghouse for the senior market, recognizes the nation’s best marketing, communications, educational materials, and programs designed and produced for older adults. Your Senior Housing Options written by Diane Masson received an award for the Book Category. Those involved with the design and production of “Your Senior Housing Options,” are author Diane Twohy Masson and illustrator Steve Hartley. Editors included Kim E. Kimmy, Jeannette Acheson, Suzanne Kaye, Stefan Moses, and Joyce Ball. “We were delighted to take part in the Mature Media Awards Program this year, and were honored to be selected as a winner,” says Diane Twohy Masson. The book was written to help seniors and adult children understand future housing needs, options and costs. Masson has worked in senior housing for 18 years and helped thousands of seniors plan ahead. She has also witnessed the negative consequences and costs of procrastinating until a crisis through her in-laws and other seniors in denial of needing future care. The entries were judged by a distinguished panel of mature market experts from across the United States for overall excellence of design, content, creativity and relevance to the senior...
How Will Self-driving Cars Impact Seniors and Senior Housing?
Self-driving cars are here. The first self-driving taxi was launched in Singapore, only navigating in a limited portion of the city. Google has logged more than 1.5 million miles in self-driving cars in four states here in America. The Ford Company announced its plan to have a driverless car by 2021. USA Today, stated experts believe that driverless cars will be available to the public in 2020. We are just a few years away – wow! Seniors who have vision or other health challenges can become independent again with these state-of-the-art cars. But with 50% of seniors having dementia at age 85, a driverless car may strand disoriented seniors who can’t remember the make and model of their car or where they parked it. Some seniors base their decision to move into a retirement community on when they can’t pass the driver’s license exam. At first glance, it seems that retirement communities that offer transportation will be able to eliminate the driving staff. Right? Wrong!! Don’t be so fast to downsize these crucial senior assistants. Can a driverless car at a retirement community help seniors: In and out of the cars and buses as a senior becomes more frail? Load and unload groceries? Locate their doctor’s office in the medical building if the senior has dementia? Make sure he/she can return safely to their home after an appointment? Only drivers at retirement communities can help with all of the above scenarios. Join the conversation and share your Tips2Seniors here through comments. Diane Masson is an award winning author who passionately educates seniors about senior housing options through television, radio, a Tips2seniors.com blog and Southern California seminars (at 55-plus retirement communities,...Video: Tips to Select Senior Housing Options
Learn valuable tips to differentiate quality retirement communities from mediocre ones in an interview with author and senior housing expert, Diane Masson. Answers for seniors, adult children and family members in “Your Senior Housing Options,”authored by Diane Masson. It’s available on Amazon.com with a 5-star...Active Senior Moves to a Continuing Care Retirement Community
A Freedom Village independent resident shares why she chose to move to a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) from a 55 plus retirement community (Laguna Woods), Three months later she was blessed with a quick rehab recovery at Freedom Village Skilled Nursing Care after breaking her hip. Author Diane Masson shares a tip from her book, “Your Senior Housing Options.” Answers for seniors, adult children and family members in “Your Senior Housing Options,”authored by Diane Masson. It’s available on...Senior Stay or Go – TV Interview in San Diego
Learn when is the right time to move and 5 Tips on how to explore senior housing options. Shout out to Ron Greenwald and Patti Gerke for providing educational resources for seniors and their adult children. Learn everything you need to know in “Your Senior Housing Options,”authored by Diane Masson. It’s available on...When is the Ideal Time to Move to Senior Housing?
Do you know a friend, family member or a senior neighbor who is struggling in their home? Have the day-to-day basics become too much? This video shares some tips on discovering the right time to start exploring senior housing. Amazon review for: “Your Senior Housing Options.” 5.0 out of 5 stars A true compass for selecting senior housing By Mark Ibsen Diane provides encouragement to plan ahead and instruction on how to navigate retirement living options. Her personal trials and breadth of experience in the field allows her to identify pitfalls to watch out for and questions to ask. I found this a very readable book that is extremely helpful for retirees and their loved ones with the desire to chart the course for retirement living success. “Your Senior Housing Options,” is designed to help seniors and their boomer children to navigate choices quickly in crisis mode or preferably while planning ahead. Learn more tips...Proactive Senior Plans Ahead at 73 Years Old
Learn the reasons why a 73 year old senior would plan ahead. After living in a 55-plus retirement community for 15 years and watching neighbors struggle as they age, she and her husband wanted to live in a supportive environment that offers future health...
Over Medicated by Your HMO or Doctor?
Have you felt like a number instead of a person at your HMO or heath provider? What happened? Frustration? What about vulnerable seniors who may or may not have an advocate at their doctor and hospital appointments? If sane adults can’t advocate for themselves, how can a senior with dementia? A few weeks ago, I went to my HMO (Kaiser) for a simple endoscopy procedure. It was a 5-minute procedure that required me to be under anesthesia in a twilight state. Anesthesia has not always been my friend. So I came armed with all my previous anesthesia experiences (the good and the bad). The doctor was informed of my concern through the nurse. The doctor acknowledged my concern (relief on my part) and said she would give me the same twilight anesthesia as a recent colonoscopy. I agreed to this, because it had been a good anesthesia experience for me. Well, I awoke after the procedure to a nightmare of nausea and another bad anesthesia experience. A week later, my husband compared the anesthesia of the colonoscopy with the anesthesia of the endoscopy. Low and behold, they had given me 25 extra milligrams of Demerol for my endoscopy. That was not what I agreed to with my doctor. Why would they give me more than necessary? Was it because I was on a conveyor belt of medical procedures for that day? When I shared this experience with others, a couple of friends shared more stories. A coworker was given anesthesia during a colonoscopy and felt them begin the procedure. The medical team jumped when she said that she was...
Divulge to Mom with Dementia her Spouse or Child Has Died?
This can be a controversial and personal question. Many people say that you should not lie. My husband was one of those people who believed it was wrong to lie to anyone, even my mom with dementia. After my sister died my mother, with severe short-term memory loss (dementia), inquired about her daughter Shannon. My honest husband told her that she had died. Her reaction would be like any mother learning this terrible news. A week later, my mom asked my husband about my sister, Shannon, again. Before I could respond, I had to witness my mother’s intense pain of learning that her daughter died for the second time. Every time she asked the question about my sister and got the answer that she died, it was like the first time that she ever heard about it. She couldn’t grasp her daughter’s death in her long-term memory. What a blessing? Right? Wrong!! It is so hard to lose a sister and not share that loss with your own mom. She just was not mentally capable. It was time to train my husband how to handle the sister question, so he could be prepared. Next time my mom asked where Shannon was today, he would say that we had not seen her in some time, but we think she is doing great (in heaven of course). My mom was satisfied with that and let it go. What about a spouse passing? This one is tough if the senior husband and wife lived together or regularly visited his or her spouse with dementia. The loving spouse may be in the dementia...
Develop Talent – Invest in Yourself and Your Team!
Do you study how to improve your talent in senior living? Are you improving your mind on a regular basis? What books are you reading to improve your attitude? Do you have time to take a lunch? Are you scheduling rejuvenation time? Or is it easier to say, “I am too busy!” And you work through lunch again? Burnt out employees in senior living can become cranky and irritable. It can affect the quality of service to senior residents. The grouchiness can wash into home life too. Do yourself a favor and invest in yourself and your team. Start a new book review with your senior living sales or operations team. Read one chapter a week or two chapters a month. Select a book and have each person apply the principles in each chapter to his or her senior living position. One of my teams is reading, “Senior Housing Marketing – How to Increase Your Occupancy and Stay Full.” Its focus is written for retirement communities, but the principles can easily be converted to assisted living, skilled nursing or memory care communities. Feedback from teams on a nationwide basis has insisted this book has helped their occupancy grow. My sales teams are currently reading, “How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success in Selling,” and, “The Greatest Salesman in the World.” “The Greatest Salesman in the World,” book has you read a scroll three times a day for one month before you move onto the subsequent scroll with the next principle. This is the third time in my life reading this book daily for 10 months. Each time it changed my...
Tips to Evaluate Mom’s Memory Care on a Long Distant Visit
Can you ever trust a retirement or assisted living community to take care of your mom better than yourself or a family member? Long distance relationships are never easy. Add dementia and hearing loss to the story and long distance communication with a senior parent is impossible. The only way you really know if your mom or dad is okay is to have eyes on them for yourself. My husband just went 1000 miles by plane, two hours by car and a 20-minute ferry ride to visit his mom, Amy. One year ago, she was hospitalized after her husband had a heart attack. After the trauma of her husband (who was her caregiver for five years) being hospitalized, she eloped and the police had to bring her home. Amy is now in her third licensed assisted living community. How do you evaluate the care of your senior parent? What should you be looking for or asking about on a one-day long-distant visit? First, how does mom look? Is her hair washed? Are her clothes clean? Do the other residents look well cared for? The answer to all of these for my mother-in-law was good and yes! Can she feed herself and how much can she consume? Always stay for at least one meal. My mother-in-law ate three plates of food over four hours by herself and asked for dessert. A year ago, she never wanted to eat, so this was a huge improvement. Does she know your name? Can she hear? How does she communicate with the caregivers? My mother-in-law introduced my husband (her son) by his full...Learn More About Senior Housing…
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