I'm here with Margie Veis, the Executive Director of Summerhill Villa, an assisted living facility in Santa Clarita, California.
KH:How long have you been doing this? MV:I have been an executive director for ten years, all of them at Summerhill Villa.
KH:One thing I really liked about mom's gerontologist was he came here, actually making house calls.
The fact that mom didn't need to go to his office was a real benefit to me and brothers.
Is that a trend among doctors that have patients in assisted living? MV:I know the few physicians that do that.
I'm probably not knowledgeable enough to know if that's a trend or not, but I know in Santa Clarita there are a few and we utilize them.
KH:It occurs to me that having the synergy between the staff and the doctors watching out for the parent all the time is a huge plus.
MV:It's great when we have a good relationship with the physician that we know is going to answer our fax or answer our request when we pick up the phone and say: "We have these concerns.
What do you think?" and work together to better treat our residents.
It's a great benefit.
KH:Families might not get that at home - that constant awareness of what's going on with their parents.
MV:No, because if they're at home it's up to them.
Here they have many different sets of eyes looking out for their parent.
They have food servers, they have a nurse, they have an administrator, an activity director, a bus driver, the house keeper - everybody is looking out for their best interest versus it all just being on the family.
KH::Or whomever they hire for home care.
MV::Or whomever...
Right...
If they have a caregiver, it's only one perspective.
KH:And it's not 24/7.
MV::Not unless you pay for 24/7 care.