Video Transcription
Hey, everybody. And, of course, welcome into Senior Living Live. My name is Melissa. Thanks so much for being with us. Of course, as I mentioned, thanks to the Internet, there are a lot of places to find information about senior living. And today, we are going to discuss, some of the more reliable places or resources that you can use to help you navigate through your senior living journey. And as you see, our man right here, David Schless, he is the president and CEO of American Seniors Housing Association. He is, of course, our expert on this topic today, and he'll share his resources with you and answer all of your questions. As I mentioned earlier, at the end of the webinar, which we expect to take about an hour, you can be a part of the conversation. Scroll down to the bottom of your screen where that little button that says q and a. You'll click on that, type your questions out there, and I will be happy to read those to David at the end of his presentation. David, the webinar looks awesome. Thank you so much for being here, and, the webinar is all yours.
Wonderful. Well, thank you. Thank you, Melissa. So we're gonna try and cover a fair amount of ground, today. And what I ultimately, what I would like to be able to do is help illuminate a number of things that I think many many consumers are unaware of as they are searching for information online. We'll talk of, we'll talk about a whole host of topics. Again, we're gonna cover online advisers, how they work, how they get paid, ratings and consumer reviews, marketing practices, questions to ask, talk a little bit about local referral, in essence, really gonna try and spend some time and hopefully help you become a better consumer. And that's gonna require us to talk about a whole range of things that is not very well understood by consumers, probably not very well understood even by some in the senior housing and care industry. So, we're gonna go, we're gonna start with just kind of the basics of how do senior living online referral services work. And I always like to use the term intermediaries because I think that's really the best way to describe the senior living or senior care online referral providers. They're intermediaries, much in the same way that Expedia is an example of an intermediary in the travel world, hotels.com. Essentially, that's what we're talking about when we're talking about the various senior living online referral services. Fundamental to how they work, is that they make money acquiring consumer contact information, and we're gonna talk more about that. That's gonna come up on several different slides that we're gonna talk about. And, essentially, these senior living online referral services are referring consumers to those providers that they have specific contracts with. And that also is a theme that's important to note. And compensation, these companies are compensated by the community. Generally, the compensation equals one month's rent after the client moves into the community.
We're gonna just talk about a few things that I think are really really important. Number one, not all community operators participate with online placement services. So that when you're talking to an online referral service, you have to know that you're in some markets, you're missing a number of communities. And in some instances, you're missing, perhaps, the very best communities that just don't participate with online placement services for a variety of reasons. Again, some of the communities that don't participate don't participate because of the expense and the cost and a whole host of other reasons. But that's really important to know as a consumer. And then, likewise, none of these online senior referral services contract with every community. So, again, what you're going to be getting from the the referral is going to be, by definition, limited.
The overarching comment that I have now and will continue to make is that, again, you are best served by really researching all of your potential options. So you're gonna wanna do your own research if at all possible and make sure that you are considering all of the communities that are potentially in the market that you're interested in. Again, I'm a big believer in the do-it-yourself research, directly with the community, and if you're, you have the ability to do so, to do so early. I mean, again, this is one of those where planning is always best. And doing it yourself is always best. And doing it directly with the communities is going to give you the best information. And is going to help you make the best selection. Where I think the online referral services can be helpful, they can be helpful in a really urgent situation. They can also be helpful, you know, if you are, you know, if the individual is unable to search themself, perhaps there's a large distance, someone's you know, in a real crisis, that's where I think the online referral services really can be most helpful.
This is the next slide here. I wanna just, you know, talk about the the quality of the online advisers, the people that you would be dealing with perhaps by phone. You know, it's always important to know who it is that you're communicating with. And I think for a lot of consumers, when they utilize online referral services and advisers, they mistakenly believe that they're talking to, you know, someone that has a background in geriatric social care, someone who has, you know, worked in the senior care field, somebody that, you know, has real expertise. That might be the case. Frequently, it is not the case. Again, you know, who is it that you're talking to? Are you talking to someone that is really a dedicated senior care professional, or are you talking with somebody who's in a call center who has very specific sales quotas? And that's important as a consumer. Certain things that you should consider, again, the experience of the person that you're dealing with, what are their credentials? Do they have any credentials? As I say, are they just a person in a call center who is, you know, probably not even listening to what you're saying? And do they have firsthand knowledge of the providers and the communities in a particular market? Again, we'll talk more about this in a bit. But those are those are really important things to understand as a consumer. When you go back to the profit motive, which I mentioned earlier, you know, the first bullet that I have here is just is a really important one, and that is don't assume that, you know, the referral of the recommendation is based on what you've told the individual or what you've described. That probably is not always gonna be the case. So, you know, are they really listening to you? Maybe. But probably not. They are going to present or recommend communities that pay them a commission. That's the only thing that they're really focusing on. Might you find a good adviser? Absolutely. Might the, you know, might the community be a good one? Absolutely. But, again, the way these work, they're motivated by profit. They're going to be focused on, you know, how they get paid the quickest. And so in some instances, they're going to make recommendations based on communities that give them the most money. Some of them use algorithms that will direct referrals to communities that have the quickest closing rate. That is motivating their work, and that is true irrespective of, you know, who you're talking to. Again, doesn't mean that it's a community that's not worth living in. In fact, you know, many of them are, you know, absolutely terrific, but this is motivating the work that they're doing. We're gonna talk more about this in a little bit as well. We're gonna talk about who actually owns these senior care referral services. And again, many of them are very well funded privately held, entities.
Price comparisons are something that really are very central to a lot of what the senior online referral services are focused on. That's what they're, you know, they're telling you, you know, that we can help you. We can make everything, like really easy, and we can give you, you know, multiple price comparisons across a variety of senior living communities. What I will tell you is they can't. There is no real price shopping comparisons coming from the online senior referral services. And the reason for that is one, again, they don't represent all or even most of the communities. So they don't have all of the pricing for all of the communities because they're only working with, you know, a certain number of communities in a particular market. As important as that is, senior care costs are really very customized, and they're dependent on a variety of variables. So they're different than, for example, multifamily housing. In that, again, most senior living communities, particularly those that offer or provide, supportive care services, are the pricing is really very tailored to what an individual's unique needs are. So that is something that you need to be aware of, and there's a host of variables. So, yes, there might be some baseline underlying, pricing, but it really is going to be very specific to the unique needs of each individual, and that's particularly true for senior living that offers supportive care services. Additionally, and this again is going to be true with each company that each community, there are different, you know, incentives that are available at different points in time based on, inventory, based on, available apartments in a particular property. So, again, if you are really interested in senior living options, you wanna understand pricing, obviously, that's important. The only way you're really going to get accurate information about how much does this particular property cost is going to be to go to the community. And I will say also, you know, again, much like other types of real estate, there are elements also of, you know, which, you know, which unit, the size, the composition. So, again, I will tell you that, you know, despite the pitch from the senior referral services that, you know, they will be able to give you, you know, really accurate price comparison across multiple communities, that is false. If you wanna really understand pricing, you really should go directly to the community and have that conversation.
I'm gonna talk a little bit about some of the ratings and consumer reviews. And, again, I'm gonna try and kinda give you a little bit of color. Again, as a consumer, you know, there are different sites out there with different sources of information. Again, worth looking at? Yes. Probably worth looking at, but there's some really important things as a consumer that you need to be aware of. First, the first thing I would say is, again, there are no clear standards or performance criteria. So this is, again, where a senior living community is different than a toaster oven, or some other type of consumer product. So you have to be aware of that. There's a lot of different things that go into reviews and ratings. We're gonna talk a bit about some of the more important ones. Again, what you'll see on a number of the websites is, you know, reviews from the actual, you know, website that is run by the senior referral service. So, again, they're setting their own criteria. It is not clear to the consumer really what it is that you're looking at when, you know, when the review is, you know, four and a half stars. It's not clear what that means, and so you have to be aware of that. Again, it doesn't mean anything good or bad. It just, that's what's up there. And generally speaking, you're not really sure, you know, what that rating is. There's also a couple of well known consumer surveys that are out there in the senior care, senior living space. US News and World Report is one of them. J. D. Power is another. And what what I would say about these consumer surveys is they're, you know, there's useful, helpful information to consumers. No question about that. I've looked at the surveys. They're, you know, they're absolutely legitimate, and there's good information there. However and, again, this is this is the big however, to the consumer, is that, you know, their the US News and World Report and JD Power, they are to participate, you need to pay. So this is a, these are these are consumer surveys that are very legitimate. They're high quality, but, and it's, you know, it's a significant but. And the significant but is that but, you know, in some instances, you know, the sample or the number of participants in their survey is very, you know, very limited. Maybe it's thirty percent in a particular market. Maybe it's forty percent, fifty percent. But, again, you're not looking at all of the data. So when you see, you know, best of assisted living in such and such market, again, it probably is, you know, terrific, but it is also almost certainly not reflective of a complete sample or, you know, a full participation from all communities. So that's important to know as a consumer, and that's where, again, in a perfect world we would have more transparency. And when you saw, you know, best of, you know, assisted living in a particular city, they would be transparent. They would say that, you know, sample includes participation from, you know, x number of communities so that you know, as a consumer, what am I really looking at? And I think that's the, you know, that's the important thing to know that, you know, while it's helpful information, while the the surveys themselves are thoughtfully done, you're, in all probability, looking at a, you know, limited sample of participants. You know, the other thing I would say is, again, there you know, any of these surveys are kind of missing some of, you know, some of what is really subjective about a senior living community, the culture of the senior living community, the atmosphere of the senior living community. You know, again, for some people, what's most important is very different than it might be for someone else. I had a family friend who lived in an independent living community for over a decade, and she loved it. And then anytime that I would talk to her about her community, which I did frequently, the thing that was most important to her was that this community had someone who baked fresh bread every day, and that was what she loved about the community. And that was what was really important. For somebody else it's, you know, it's the activities or it's the wellness program. So, again, these ratings and consumer reviews can be helpful, but they don't really capture what may be the most important element for some consumers. I will say that, you know, the Google business reviews for the communities, I, you know, I think they're always really worth looking at, and I say that because they're going to display both the positive and the negative feedback from consumers. And I think that's where, again, worth looking at. Again, as with a lot of this, there's a caveat. And the caveat is, you know, when you look at these reviews, again, they're generally, you know, a relatively small percentage of people who, you know, write a Google review. And generally speaking, you know, someone is going to write a review when they're either really enthusiastic, really positive, or, conversely, they had, you know, a bad experience or, you know, some something, you know, really irritated them. So you've gotta as a consumer, you've gotta realize that when you're looking at these reviews, you know, there's some noise in there both with very positive and very negative. But, again, I think the Google business reviews are, you know, good, it's a good a good form of feedback for the consumer. Again, bottom line here is, you know, it really behooves you as a consumer to consider multiple sources of information, absolutely personal visits to the community, and, again, reviews from residents and families. So, you know, again, you're you know, if you can do this research yourself, gather information from a variety of sources, that's really always going to be your best bet.
I'm gonna talk a little bit more about some of the marketing practices of the major online senior referral services. Again, not disclosed, not known by most, but, you know, many of the websites that are out there, we'll talk a little bit about some of them, are owned or affiliated by the same entity. So, again, that is not disclosed, but that, in fact, is the case is that the same owner operates multiple different brand domains. And what these companies do, they buy search keywords, including the names of specific senior living communities to intercept traffic or, we'll use that term, intercept traffic that's meant for a selected community. So the consumer is at their computer, and they type in the name of a community that they're interested in looking at on the Internet. And unbeknownst to them, they have been kidnapped by one of these senior online referral services, and they don't even know what happened. And I think that happens a lot. That is a practice that is very, very common. And I personally believe it's, it's unfortunate that, you know, that this is being done to people that are interested in learning more about senior living and senior care options, but that is, in fact, what happens. So you have to be very careful when you're on the web that you think that you typed in the name of a community and that that's where you end up. But frequently, that is not what happens, and you're unknowingly on someone else's website. So, again, you wanna be a good consumer. You wanna know if you're talking to someone that that's actually the person that you wanted to talk to. So, we'll cover some of that again, but that's a really important thing as a consumer. You've gotta really be attentive to where you end up and who you're talking to. I would always encourage you as a consumer to just be particularly, alert to websites that offer, again, multiple price comparisons across communities and special downloads, because you are almost certainly going to be required to provide your personal information or talk to an adviser who is going to collect your personal information. That's gonna be part of how this, this all works. You will be contacted almost immediately, and you'll be contacted repeatedly. So if you do go on to one of these sites and you fill out your personal information, know that this is going to result in probably lots of calls. Again, I mentioned this at the outset, you know, these online referral services, they want your contact information. That's money for them. And they will share your contact information with multiple local communities that they have, that they have contracts with. How many? It may be eight communities. It could be ten communities, but it's gonna be a bunch of communities. Again, so back to what I said earlier, are they really listening to you when you're telling them what your situation is or what you're interested in or what your needs are? Maybe. But in all probability, they are going to share your personal contact information with a whole number of local communities who will be contacting you. And they may be contacting you morning, noon, and night. Again, that is their motivation. That is ultimately how they get paid. So you need to know that. If you, you know, give them your information to get a special download or to look for pricing information, you are going to be contacted and with great frequency.
Again, if you, you know, have, you know, contact with someone that works for one of these online referral services, you know, absolutely ask them. What qualifications do you have in senior care? How do you get paid? How do you make money? How do you select the communities that you recommend? What's your relationship to the communities that you recommend? This is, again, one that I would always wanna know. Have you personally visited the communities that you're recommending? When was the last time you visited one of these communities? Again, you're getting to the essence of, you know, is this a recommendation that really is based on anything that you've talked about or anything that you're specifically interested in? Again, some of the advisers are solid, and some of them are absolutely not solid. Again, do you contract with all of the communities in my area? You wanna find out. You know? And, again, in almost every instance, the answer to that question is no. Again, you can ask them what they're going to do with your personal information. And, again, you can ask them specifically how many communities are you gonna send my contact information to. But those are all good questions for a consumer. Again, I alluded to this before. What appears to be dozens and dozens of different senior referral online services, not quite what you, not quite what it appears. The reality is that there are a few companies. Again, most of them owned by for profit, entities that really control a whole slew of these sites.
So, who owns the website that you're visiting? Again, this is a little web speak for you, but you know, there is a there is a practice that these online referral services use. It's called SERP Domination. SERP is an abbreviation for search engine results page. And so, again, these single entities have multiple domains. So they have multiple websites out there, And that's part of what their practice is to try and dominate the search engines results page. Their goal is to really just get as much visibility and get as many clicks as possible while crowding out competition on the search engine results page. That's what they're trying to do. They're actually quite good at doing that. So they're, you know, they're going to, you know, have as many different website domains as possible. And, you know, this to be is, you know, again, something that's really important to know as a consumer. And, you know, essentially, Google's algorithms. So Google has an algorithm that puts these major entities at the top of the search engine's results page, really, because they get a lot of clicks and they're paying, you know, they're paying for these clicks. And so they end up at the top of the Google search results page, not because they are the most valuable or because they're the most reliable. That's not why they're at the top of the page. And as a consumer, it behooves you to know that.
Won't spend too much time on this, the big players. There are three entities that own or affiliated with about a third of the top senior care online referral websites. The biggest by far is, A Place for Mom, and you can see they own senior advisor.com, aging care.com, our parents.com, alzheimer's.net, nursing homes.com, veteran aid.com, etcetera, assisted living.com. So they own a slew of these sites. The other big player is caring.com. Again, they own multiple sites, senior housing.net, senior advice.com, paying for senior care.com. And then the third largest is an entity called Silver Assist. They own silver assist.com, care changes.com, family assets.com, elder life financial, aid and attendance.com. So, again, that's, you know, domination by a few entities.
I wanted to just take a minute to talk about local in-person referral. So, again, these would be individuals who are based in the local markets that you may be interested in. You know, my perspective on them is that they are often more knowledgeable about the options that are available in a particular market. But, again, you know, as a consumer, you really need to understand how they're compensated, how do they get paid, so that you can, you know, understand how their recommendations are gonna be made. Again, you know, you at least in my mind, you know, if you're looking for senior living community, whether it's, independent living or assisted living or, you know, memory care, whatever it is, continuing care community, you wanna look at the options that are out there. So, you know, if you're working with someone that is only going to show you, you know, one company's communities because that's who they have, a business relationship with, you need to really know that going into, you know, going into that decision. Do I wanna work with someone who is maybe not gonna show me the best options that are out there in a particular market? Again, some of the local in-person referral services will work so that, you know, the consumer is paying them. And again, that might be a very good option for a number of people. But it's important to know how is that individual being paid and am I really going to see the options that I should be seeing in a particular market? Again, do they work with everyone?
Let's see here. We're gonna just in terms of, you know, the senior living industry's perceptions of these online senior living referral sites, you know, there is a concern about the cost of commissions. I think any senior living provider will tell you that and it has become increasingly expensive to work with online senior living referral services. Senior living providers absolutely are concerned about negative consumer experiences. No question about that. They are concerned about aggressive marketing practices and the interactions. Again, that's kind of going back to, you know, being inundated with calls morning, noon, and night, and that absolutely happens. At the end of the day, a senior living provider would always prefer you directly reach out to the community and talk to the community directly.
Again, I'm just gonna move through these because I know we wanna take some time for some questions. Again, my recommendations, you know, definitely wanna go directly to the community initially. You know, look at the websites, and then in-person visits. Again, use Google, use Bing, whatever your preferred search engine is. I always suggest make a short list of communities that you're interested in as a consumer. Again, important to keep the context in your mind when you're looking at Google reviews or other online reviews. Who is likely to write a review? Someone that's either really unhappy or someone that's really happy, and then you have to look at it and just know that that's in fact what you're looking at. It's not that you shouldn't look at it, but you have to keep it in context.
The other recommendations that I would always make, again, at the end of the day you are the best judge of which community is going to work best for you. When you're ready to do it, go visit the community. They'll be happy to see you. They'll be happy to tour you. When you're there, don't just talk to the sales team. You obviously, you will talk to the sales team, but talk to other people that work at the community. If it's a community that has services, talk to someone who's involved in, you know, their health and wellness program. By all means, you know, always suggest eating a meal at the community, visiting at different times of the day. Absolutely wanna talk to other residents and family members while you're visiting. Those are all, you know, really important things to do as a consumer. A few other online resources, Where You Live Matters is a consumer website that our organization, American Seniors Housing Association, sponsors. It's a not-for-profit, really just trying to provide unbiased, trustworthy information to older adults and their families. Again, there's no profit motive at all. So where you live matters.org is a good website to look at. Others that I recommend, again, long term care.gov is a good website. NCOA.org is a good one. That's the National Council on Aging. They have lots of good information for consumers. And then the other one that I put up there is genworth.com. Genworth, as you may know, is a company that is very involved in long-term care insurance. They have a really unique website that has cost of care for, I think, over four hundred markets. And they have cost of care for home home health, homemaker services, assisted living, skilled nursing care. It's a good site if you're looking for, you know, good information about, you know, average price by different markets. So those are all good resources. With that, I'm gonna stop talking, and I know that we're gonna keep some time for some questions or comments.
David, great job. I was watching this and, you know, we're talking about senior living and that aspect, that corner of information, if you will. But, gosh, you sit and listen to everything that you just said and the targeted marketing. I think we've probably all seen it and sort of felt it, but really, we're not sure that that was actually what was happening. But, for something that seems like it's just you kind of going out on a journey, a lot of it is pointed right back at you. It's just amazing how that works with the marketing and how, you know, smart Google is and Bing and all of these websites that we just so kinda innocently hop on to get our information, not realizing that we're being targeted right back with the search words that we put in, and then being, given an avalanche of information just based on those targeted keywords. So I'm so glad that you pointed out that out, and I'm also really glad that you pointed out reviews. Right? As you said, it's very rare when any of us go on somewhere and write a review when we're just, you know it was okay. It was good. It's usually when we're really happy and when we're not so happy. So I have a question for you. And before I get to that, this is a great time, everybody, to hop on to the q and a button, type your questions out for David if you have any, and we'll get to those here in the remaining minutes we have of this webinar. So when we look at the reviews, we look at the the targeted marketing. We look at all this. And as you said, in your discussion today, it does take time to sort of weed through the minutia and get to what you really need to know to make the best decision for you. If somebody comes to you and they are in a situation where it is an immediate need, say it's a parent or they themselves as the senior need to get to a senior living community, and they don't have the time to go through all of this and do the due diligence, as you said, which does take time. What would you suggest to that person to get the very best information as quickly as possible?
You know, I mean, my answer to that is I think that is one of the, you know, there is a benefit, you know, when I look at the online, you know, referral services, I think that that is, you know, really probably where they're at their best would be, you know, someone that's in a crisis situation where there's a real urgency. Again, you know, honestly, I mean, you know, in almost every market in the US and probably in Canada too, you know, there are people who are in most of these markets that do, you know, help older adults and their families. They might be, you know, geriatric social workers. You know, sometimes if you're in a real crisis, you know, you can find a patient advocate, again, online that really knows the local they know the local players really well. So that's what I would say in a real pinch. That would, you know, that would be what I would probably do, and I know people that have had really good experiences with some of the online referral services in those situations, in a pinch. Otherwise, you know, again, if you start early, you know, I'm actually a big believer in the do it, you know, the do it yourself research, because I think you get the best you know, your selection is really the best informed if you do it yourself.
Sure. Of course. Absolutely. And that's why we have this webinar today. Right? It's to sort of get everybody kind of thinking ahead to these things and thinking about, in their searches that, you know, the people that you are getting your information from may not have your best interest at heart because they're getting paid from a specific entity, and they're gonna kinda guide you in that direction. So thank you for that. We do have a comment from anonymous that says thank you. This was very informative. I totally agree. David, while we've got a couple of minutes left, is there any way that you could, one, give us a little bit about your background, and then about your company too and how you help those who are in need of this kind of information?
Sure. So I have probably a relatively unique background. I have both an undergraduate and a graduate degree in aging. My master's degree was in long-term care administration, although I ended up really only doing that a little bit. And I've been in the association world since the late eighties. I have run the American Seniors Housing Association since it was started in nineteen ninety one. So, I have spent a lot of time in senior housing. Our members are companies that own and operate and finance the full spectrum of senior living communities from active adult to independent living, assisted living, memory care, continuing care, or life plan communities. So, you know, we really are focused in a few areas. We do a lot of research. We have an emphasis on federal advocacy. So, you know, we're a five zero one c six, not for profit. And then we really started this consumer education effort, again, where you live matters.org, several years ago. And we really just wanted to try and create a trusted website that, you know, had really good information and good video content for older adults and their families. Again, for those that are, you know, interested in actually looking for communities, there is a community locator function as part of it. But really just, you know, it was something that we did recognizing that there isn't really a good not for profit website out there that, you know, that somebody could turn to to find, you know, trusted information about senior senior living options. And so, we started that in twenty sixteen.
Gotcha. Okay. And then before we leave today, we've got a couple questions here from Peggy that we're gonna get to. Before we leave, we would like to get your contact information, so that everybody can have that. So get your pen and paper out. We'll get that from David here in just a few minutes. Peggy wants to know, says, I believe a distinction needs to be made between, quote, online referral companies and local referral companies, and you did discuss, both. David talked a great deal about online referral companies but glazed over the local referral companies. So, David, just a little bit of a deep dive here. She says if you do it yourself, how do you know what you should be looking for or what questions to ask? My understanding is that salespeople are supposed to sell. They also have quotas to make. How do you know if you are getting all the information?
Well, you know, again, I think the best thing to do as a consumer is to, you know, take in all of the information that's out there. But, really, you know, to me, you wanna build a short list of communities that you're interested in and you wanna visit them yourself or with, you know, your family. But I, you know, I think those those are the most important. Talk to other residents. Talk to their their family members. That was, I had a one of my bullets was don't just talk to the sales team. Talk to, you know, talk to the people that are, you know, working in dining services. Talk to the people that are involved in the delivery. Again, if it's a setting that has supportive care services. So you wanna really talk to a, you know, wide range of of of people. Again, you know, there are, you know, definitely, individuals in most markets that work with consumers. You know, again, you can find them online. Some of them, you know, have formal, degrees in social work or geriatric social work. And then some are really just you know, people that maybe worked in the industry for a number of years and really know the providers, know the communities, and, you know, can help, you know, help you. We have a lot of, you know, there's there's information on where you live matters about questions to ask. But, I think it's kind of taking in information from a variety of different sources. And then, you know, go with your gut. You know, it's one of the you know, it's one of those things that you'll feel, hopefully, you'll feel really good about your, you know, your option. I think there's a lot of really good options in most markets. If you're in a rural area, your options are, you know, probably gonna be more limited. But most in most markets in the US now, I mean, there's a number of different options out there at different price points. So I think you have to just you know, you have to be a good consumer and do it do it yourself if you can.
Yeah. And sometimes, like you said, it's gonna come down to that gut feeling. And usually, when we're making decisions about anything, we're kind of always leaning towards one over the other. So, great point. Peggy, I hope that that answers your question. One from Barbara. What is your opinion on CCRCs or continuing care retirement communities? Do you think they are a good investment for someone who lives independently? And I have some thoughts on this, but, David, go ahead.
Yeah. You know, I'm a big fan of continuing care retirement communities. I think some of the probably some of the best, senior living communities that I've ever visited are continuing care retirement communities. I think they can be the, you know, really the most, robust in terms of programs and activities and resources. Again, they, you know, they tend to be, you know, a bit more pricey, but, you know, I am and have been a big fan of continuing care for the entirety of my career. Again, just like anything else, you wanna know, you know, how long have they been in business and, you know, what's their local reputation. But, yes, I think I think continuing care again, what I would say, you know, also is there you know, I have talked to thousands of older adults in the course of my thirty plus years in the business, and one of the things that I've heard dozens and probably hundreds of times talking to residents is they say, I waited too long to do this. I wish I did this sooner. And I think it you know, continuing care is, you know, is a great option, you know, especially if you, you know, make that decision and you, you know, when you do it earlier because you can really enjoy, you know, the the community. And, you know, as they say in the industry, I mean, that you can age in place. So there's, you know, various services that that are there, you know, that you, you know, might need at some point down the road without having to, you know, move to a different setting.
You said it perfectly. Yes. And, Barbara, I hope that that helps give you some insight on his thoughts on that. My thoughts on that are just are pretty simple. Everything that David just said, of course, having the ability to age in place is a wonderful option. And as he also said, so many people say, why did we wait so long to get here? And that is one of the most common things we hear from just about everybody who moves into a community. And you can start from independent living, and then if you need a little extra help, assisted living. And then if you, you know, require even more help, you can stay in the same community with all of your friends, all of the people that you know so well. And then the one thing I would just add to that, Barbara, is, I would do a cost analysis. You know? If you're living in a house right now, what is it costing you to upkeep on that home? What is it costing you to pay your bills every month? What is it costing you to feed yourself every month? And then put that in a cost calculator, and we actually have one, on the Arbor company website, but I think there are many of them out there. And just see, you know, in terms of an investment, that that the amount of money you're spending just to upkeep on a home or an apartment is about the same or similar to what you would be spending at a community, but getting far, far, far more out of the independent living community that you you find. So, hope that that answers your question, Barbara. And Peggy just wanted to circle back and said thank you for your insight on the previous question. I think we are winding down this webinar now. I think it's been a lot of good information for our guests here today. But before we leave, we did promise that we would get David's contact information. So, David, could you share some information on how our viewers can contact you and your company?
Sure. Probably the best way is, by email. And my email address would be david, d a v i d, at asha living dot org. That's a s h a l i v i n g dot org, o r g. So, David@ASHAliving.org.
Perfect. Perfect. And, you help people from across the country. Correct?
Yeah. So our members are companies all across the United States and Canada. Our website, we the banners dot org, is more focused on the US. So in terms of, like, the you know, if someone was interested in looking at properties, at this point, it is just the United States, but it is, you know, all fifty states and the District of Columbia. And the information is, you know, we have a very strong advisory group of mostly PhDs and MDs and people that have a lot of expertise in different areas. So, again, if you're looking for good information, unbiased, we're not selling anything. We're not promoting any one community over another, where you live matters dot org. I think you'll find it very helpful.
Awesome. Yeah. And this whole webinar has been helpful. Even, I always learn something from these every single time, and I certainly learned from you today, and I know that our viewers did as well. David, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us today. We're so appreciative, of course, of news that you can use, and I think that this topic certainly falls under that category. Thank you so much.
It was a pleasure. Thank you.
Thank you.
And if you enjoyed this webinar with David, please head on over to our website, w w w dot senior living live dot com. There, we've got videos all about senior living just like this one. They're available on demand, and the best part, they are all free. Thank you so much for being a part of senior living live. Have a great day, everybody.