FAQ

Clients include adult children struggling with how best to support an aging parent; a spouse navigating care for their partner; and individuals nearing or post-retirement that are planning for their own aging.

• assistance finding a retirement community
• finding in-home caregivers
• help with hospital or nursing home discharge planning
• providing local support when family is out of the area
• assistance when a family member is refusing help

Families also seek our guidance when they aren’t sure where to start or what they need!

We provide expert senior care consulting in King and south Snohomish Counties. We serve Seattle, Bellevue, Mercer Island, Issaquah, Redmond, Kirkland, Bothell, Woodinville, Edmonds, and surrounding areas. There are times we can consult with clients in other nearby counties, provided we feel knowledgeable enough about the situation and area to be helpful. If we cannot effectively meet your needs, we will do our best to get you connected with other community resources or a colleague in that area.

Aging Wisdom provides expert senior care services in the greater Seattle and Bellevue areas. Click on a service below for more details:

• Expert Guidance (Senior Care Consulting)
  The first step for our clients is to meet with a senior care consultant. We learn about your situation, concerns and explore how we can help. Read more. 
• Ongoing Support (Senior Care Management)
  Our Aging Life Care Experts (also known as geriatric care managers) can remain actively involved to optimize care and adjust to changing needs and circumstances. Read more. 
• Creative Engagement (Senior Companion Services)
  We understand the importance of living well and staying engaged. Our Creative Engagement Specialists provide tailored, one-on-one senior companionship that encourages connection, enjoyment, and a sense of purpose. Read more.

We also provide self-paced, online courses at Aging Wisdom University for those who prefer a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach.

Our Aging Wisdom team has a special niche supporting individuals and families navigating an Alzheimer’s or diagnosis of another dementia (including young-onset dementia) and help families anticipate and plan for what is ahead.

We work with our clients to create a personalized road map following a diagnosis. We understand the unique challenges that can occur with dementia such as complicated behaviors, refusing help, and navigating driving.

Many of the clients we work with lack awareness and insight into their needs and are unwilling to accept help. We have years of collective experience and a record of success in helping families navigate these challenges. Our goal is to reduce your stress, ensure care needs are met, and collaborate on a plan to avoid future crises.

Yes, we can be your coach and advisor. We want to empower you to implement the best plan, even if your parent, partner, spouse, or other family member is unwilling to engage in the process.

Every family is different so we will work with you to determine the best first step with your unique situation. Often family members appreciate utilizing the initial meeting as an opportunity to candidly share information and ask initial questions.  After the consultation, it might be valuable for us to meet the aging person. If so, we can schedule a home visit as the second step. We will help tease out the best approach.

Aging Wisdom is considered a leader in the field of care management when it comes to helping families manage difficult dynamics. We can often help families avoid escalating conflict by finding common ground and serving as a communication liaison. We are a neutral party that can make professional recommendations on the best care options for a family member or friend and help mediate differing opinions. If needed, we collaborate closely with attorneys or other involved professionals. 

We can typically initiate services within 1-3 weeks and do our best to accommodate urgent situations more quickly.

Schedule a free “get acquainted call” on our website and we can determine if we can be helpful for your situation. During this call, we will answer any questions that you have about our services and review our fees. If it feels like we can offer value, we will schedule an initial meeting at a mutually convenient time.

As members of the Aging Life Care Association, we follow a Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. Because clients hire us to be an unbiased third party, we never accept referral or commission fees. 

Aging Wisdom does not employ licensed caregivers. However, once we learn more about your family member’s care needs, personality, preferences, and financial situation, we can help you understand the best options for your unique situation.

If staying at home and adding caregiving support is the best option for your situation, we can make recommendations for specific home care or placement agencies. We can also coordinate or monitor care on our client’s behalf. We understand the ins and outs of the caregiving industry and help our clients navigate these decisions successfully.

Aging Wisdom does offer Creative Engagement Services (companionship services) which focuses on optimizing the quality of life for our clients.

Our unique value proposition is that our recommendations are tailored and personalized to every family. We utilize our years of experience with the local retirement communities to make specific recommendations best suited for your situation based on care needs, personality, preferences, and financial resources.

We understand that navigating care options with limited resources can be challenging. A consultation with Aging Wisdom can provide clarity on the options for care, costs to expect, unexpected costs to consider, pros/cons to the various options, and an overview of benefits eligibility. We help you decide the best path forward given your specific situation. If we do not feel that we are the best fit, we will connect you with another community resource.

Our clients pay us directly for our services. Aging Wisdom services are not covered by Medicare or health insurance. Some long-term care insurance policies provide a “Care Coordination” benefit. In our experience, the benefit is often limited and may require using a contracted party.

Yes. We offer on-call support services for established clients who utilize our services on a regular and ongoing basis.

Aging Wisdom is unable to serve as power of attorney for healthcare or finances, yet we frequently serve as a valuable part of the “team” for people who do not have friends or family to rely on as they age and need care. Once we learn more about your unique situation, we can connect you to professionals who are able to serve as a professional power of attorney, and we can remain involved as your care advisor and/or healthcare advocate.

Our team has a background in social work, counseling, and other related professions. Aging Wisdom has been serving clients since 2003 and collectively we have decades of experience specializing in aging, dementia, and chronic illness.

Navigating the healthcare system and monitoring medical conditions is a large part of our work. We coordinate any services on our clients’ behalf that we cannot provide ourselves and collaborate closely with our clients’ medical providers.