Using the Internet to evaluate housing options for loved ones

By Rick Castellini - Special to PRIME When I worked as a physical therapist, I relied on the knowledge and connections of hospital social workers, home health nurses and social workers, and other health care professionals regarding senior housing of all types. That was pre-Internet. Today, I would still recommend utilizing those same sources and combining them with research you can do yourself on the Web. In fact, I called on some of these professionals to recommend Web sites they trusted for evaluating and finding senior housing options from respite stay to retirement communities to assisted living. What follows is but a basic list of online resources you can use to help search for, learn about, and compare various types of senior housing options. It is not an exhaustive list, but a list of the sites that many social workers use and recommend. Helpful Web sites To get started, you might want to refer to this quick reference from Ehow.com titled "How to Evaluate an Assisted Living Facility." It can be found at: tinyurl.com/ehowalf Other useful Web sites include:

• Senior Housing Network www.seniorhousingnet.com
• Elder Care Link www.eldercarelink.com
• Consumer Health Ratings A collection of databases and reports for all types of healthcare needs. The senior housing database and information can be found here: www.tinyurl.com/chrsenior
• Seniors for Living www.seniorsforliving.com
• Gilbert Guide (considered one of the best online senior care and housing sites) www.gilbertguide.com
• Senior Decision Ratings and reviews of senior housing options) www.seniordecision.com

The options for senior housing of all types can be daunting. Hopefully, this list of quality online resources combined with your own health and social services team can help make the decision process a little easier. Rick Castellini is an author, computer consultant, and hosts a nationally syndicated computer radio show from Colorado. Visit his Web site at www.HelpMeRick.com for new tips every week and sign up for his free weekly email newsletter. You can also follow Rick on Twitter @HelpMeRick