Licensing is an important form of protection. We expect that the physicians who perform open heart surgery, the lawyers who protect our rights, and the contractors who build our homes are properly licensed. It only makes sense that those we entrust to care for our aging loved ones when they can no longer live at home have a license as well.

Today, all state-licensed assisted living and adult care residences are required to provide consumers with a room, meals, ongoing supervision, personal care services, medication assistance, case management, activities, laundry and housekeeping. Those who do not meet these state regulations are subject to stiff fines and the possibility of closure.

Even so, some facilities have found ways to skirt the law by hiring outside vendors to do the work – compromising the safety of their residents. That’s why it is critical for those considering assisted living to educate themselves regarding the services that are offered at each individual residence, and that the residence itself is licensed by the New York State Department of Health.

Make sure to ask the following if you’re looking at any type of assisted living or adult care residence:

• Ask management detailed questions about what services they provide, and what licenses they hold in order to provide them.
• Ask to see a current state inspection report; facilities often claim to offer “assisted living services,” but in reality it’s nothing more than a meal or two; and
• Never assume you are moving into a licensed residence. Sometimes only the service company that contracts with the facility is licensed – and that means the residence itself is not regulated or overseen by the state. In some cases they are operating illegally.

Today, with the construction of so many new residences designed for the elderly being completed, consumers must be diligent in their quest for truth. What you see may not always be what you’ll get.