New Annual List of Consumers’ Top-Rated Providers on Caring.com, The Web’s #1 Source of Senior Care Reviews

San Mateo, CA –– One hundred nineteen assisted living communities in 24 states across the United States rank as the “Caring Stars” of 2012, a new nationwide designation based on consumer ratings and reviews recognizing service excellence. In reviews from families, seniors and others concerned about assisted living care, these providers have captured the highest possible rating of five stars on Caring.com, the web’s #1 source of senior care reviews and the leading online destination for those caring for aging parents, spouses, and other loved ones, with nearly two million visits to the website monthly. Currently, there are over 38,000 assisted living communities serving more than a million seniors nationwide, according to the Assisted Living Federation of America.

The Caring Stars of 2012 list is designed to help consumers make assisted living choices, and to provide direct insights to providers about the preferences of families and residents in senior care. In addition to giving star ratings, reviewers are asked to provide specific details on their experiences and observations, adhering to Caring.com’s Review Guidelines with their comments. Assisted living communities can use this information to further shape their services to best match what families and residents are seeking and believe is most important. Characteristics consumers often discussed in a five-star rating for an assisted living community include care that is personalized and provided with genuine concern, homelike amenities and decor, a wide variety of activities, and high level of cleanliness.

 “Congratulations to each of the Caring Stars of 2012 communities for making such a difference in the lives of those they serve that they’ve earned high praise from consumers,” says Andy Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Caring.com. “Our research shows that word-of-mouth recommendations from others outweigh all other factors for caregivers choosing an assisted living community for a loved one. These first-hand testimonials are consistently cited as more important than anything else, including price and location, which are second and third in impact respectively.”

 According to Caring.com research in March 2011, 14 percent of family caregivers are caring for a loved one in assisted living and 50 percent have searched online for a senior living facility or in-home care. 

 “As these numbers grow, so will the amount of families, residents and others writing on Caring.com about their experiences and preferences,” Cohen said. “With the Caring Stars of 2012 and the reviews in our Senior Living Directory, we are pleased to provide a venue that brings assisted living providers and the public together to constantly shape even better care for the nation’s seniors.”

 The Caring Stars of 2012 for Assisted Living is based on consumer ratings and reviews posted on Caring.com during the past year and tallied in December 2011. This year is the first of what will be an annual ranking and go-to guide for consumers.

The LA Times reports that many businesses are looking to aging and retired workers to fill the critical need for caregivers. Increasingly, these workers are taking part-time or volunteer positions.   Loren Shook, President and CEO of San Juan Capistrano based Silverado Senior Living (Goldman client), maintains,

“The labor pool that exists within the senior population is a phenomenal untapped resource.  We’re in a world where people age 65 today are generally in good health. They have a lot of energy. These are people who want to make a difference in others’ lives.”

Not only did a recent study suggest that antibiotics are overused for people with advanced dementia, it also reveals the importance to the senior living industry of having clear directions for end-life care. The Harvard-affiliated Hebrew Senior Life Institute for Aging Research in Boston conducted the study, an overview of which appeared in the Associated Press on Feb. 25. More than 200 people with advanced dementias were followed for 18 months or until their deaths. The study addresses ethical questions regarding when to withhold treatment and let people die in a time of the proliferation of drug-resistant superbugs. In doing so, it implicitly drives home the importance to the senior living industry of instituting policies for having unambiguous end-life care instructions from family members for their loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.