Guide
Questions to ask on an assisted living tour
If it is late and you are reading this after a hard phone call, start with the box below, then take the checklist with you.
If you are deciding tonight
- You do not have to decide tonight. A deposit is not a cure and a rushed signature is hard to undo.
- Bring a second person. One of you asks questions, the other watches the room.
- Write down answers during the tour. Sales language blurs together by the third community.
- Ask everything about money in writing. A verbal quote is not a quote.
- Visit once more at a bad time: dinner, a weekend, or late evening.
Money, in writing
- What is the all in monthly cost for a resident with my parent's exact needs, today, in writing?
- What is rent and what is a care charge, and how are care levels decided and reassessed?
- What is the community fee or move in fee, and is any part of it refundable?
- How much have rates increased in each of the last three years?
- Do you accept New Jersey Medicaid after private funds are gone, and how many residents currently use it?
- What triggers a move to a higher care level or a discharge, and who makes that call?
Staffing, asked precisely
- How many aides are on each shift for this neighborhood, including overnight and weekends?
- Is a licensed nurse in the building overnight, or on call from home?
- How long have the aides on this floor worked here?
- Who administers medications, and what training do they have?
- How quickly are call buttons answered, and do you track that number?
Care and health
- Who writes the care plan, and how often is the family included in updating it?
- What happens the night my parent falls: who is called, and in what order?
- Which doctors, therapists, or podiatrists come on site, and which appointments must we handle?
- How do you handle a hospital stay and a return, and do we keep paying while the apartment is empty?
- What can you not handle here, so we know what would force another move?
Daily life, look for yourself
- Can we see the actual apartment being offered, not a model?
- Can we eat a normal meal here, unannounced, on a weekday?
- What did residents do yesterday afternoon, not what is on the calendar?
- Are residents dressed, awake, and out of their rooms, or is everyone parked in front of a television?
- How do staff speak to residents when they think no one is evaluating them?
Paperwork and rights
- May we take the full residency agreement home to read before signing?
- What are the notice and refund terms if we move out or if you ask us to leave?
- Are your recent state inspection results available to review?
- Who is my single point of contact after move in, and what happens when they are off?
Informational only. This checklist is not legal, medical, or social work advice, and it does not evaluate or rate any specific community.