We recognized that Elder Voice Advocates (EVA) needed to offer elders, individuals with disabilities, and their families a trustworthy and impartial resource for screening care providers. We deliberately avoided sources with a pay-to-play model, like A Place for Mom, as we believed such approaches could be misleading at best and potentially disastrous at worst.
This well research article underscores why EVA pooled its resources to develop Elder Care IQ. This innovative screening tool leverages unbiased government survey and investigation data, offering valuable insights into the quality of care provided by each licensed facility, including nursing homes, assisted living facilities, home care services, hospices, and more. Our goal is not to steer you toward any particular provider but to empower you to determine which provider best suits your needs.
There is no other resource that matches the ease and thoroughness of Elder Care IQ in helping you make informed decisions. Visit www.ElderCareIQ.org and begin your search today.
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Senior-care referral site ‘A Place for Mom’ stays mum on neglect
In some states, more than a third of the popular website’s most highly recommended facilities have been cited for substandard care, The Washington Post found.
When families search the internet for senior-care homes, they inevitably come upon A Place for Mom. The site says it helps 700,000 people every year.
It calls itself the nation’s leading “trusted advisory service,” but in reality A Place for Mom is a referral service that is paid large fees by assisted-living facilities and does not independently assess their records. More than a third of its most highly recommended facilities in 28 states were cited for neglect or substandard care in the past two years, many of them repeatedly, according to a Washington Post review of inspection reports. Get a curated selection of 10 of our best stories in your inbox every weekend.
A Place for Mom awarded these facilities its “Best of Senior Living” award for providing “exemplary care and support to aging loved ones” — based, it said, on user reviews, which are often anonymous. Current and former staff of some large chains told The Post that these reviews are often manipulated by the care providers; some claimed they were encouraged to obtain fake reviews from their own friends and relatives.
As America searches for secure housing for an aging population, assisted living has risen to fill the void, charging an average of $6,000 a month. But unlike with nursing homes, there are no federal regulations, no mandated inspections and no nationwide report card to help people figure out which facilities are safe, comfortable and committed to providing excellent care.
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