Everything I do for your family, start to finish
From the first conversation to a follow-up call after the move. Assisted living, memory care, independent senior living and Medicaid Waiver placement across Saginaw, Bay and Midland counties. Free to you, from beginning to end.
Free to your family. I am paid by the communities, never by you.
How does the placement process work?
Most families arrive having already spent a fortnight on the internet and feeling no further forward than when they started. These are the six stages I work through with you instead, from the first phone call to a follow-up once your parent has settled in. You set the pace, you can stop at any point, and none of it costs your family anything.
We start with a proper conversation
I ask about far more than a diagnosis. How is she managing stairs, cooking, medication, bathing? Is she still driving? Is she alone at night? Has there been a fall, or a near miss nobody talks about? What does she actually want, and what is the family worried about? I am an occupational therapist by training, so this is the assessment I did for sixteen years in nursing homes and in people's houses. It is the difference between placing someone correctly and moving them twice.
I shortlist only the places that genuinely fit
There are dozens of communities across the Tri-Cities and they all photograph well. I know which ones handle two-person transfers, which have a nurse on site overnight, which are good with early dementia and which are not, which have a waiting list, and which have just had a change of management. You get a short list of real options with the honest reasons each one is on it, instead of twenty brochures.
Straight answers on care levels and cost
I will not quote you a price I cannot stand behind, because costs move with the level of care and change through the year. What I will do is get you current, accurate numbers from each community, explain what is included and what is billed on top, and tell you where the hidden costs usually appear. Care levels, medication management fees, second person charges, the lot.
I arrange the tours and I come with you
You should not walk into a tour alone, because you do not yet know what to look for. I arrange them around your schedule and I come with you. I watch how staff speak to the residents who are not being shown off, I look at the call light response, I ask the questions families do not think to ask until the third visit.
Help with the paperwork and the move itself
The admission packet, the medical forms, the physician statements, the financial paperwork, and the coordination with the hospital or rehab if you are discharging on a deadline. This is where most families lose days they do not have. I have done it hundreds of times, so it goes faster and nothing gets missed.
I call you after the move
A placement is not finished on move-in day. I check in once she has settled to make sure the care is what was promised and that the family is comfortable. If something is not right, I would rather hear it from you early and go and sort it out.
There is no bill at the end of this
I am paid by the communities, never by you. That is worth saying plainly, because most families assume help like this costs money they do not have and never pick up the phone. It does not change the advice I give you or the places I show you. If somewhere is not right for your mother, I will tell you so.
Which type of senior care do we actually need?
Half of my job is working out which of these you are actually looking at, because the labels are genuinely confusing and the brochures all look much the same. The difference that matters is not how smart the building is but how much supervision your parent needs, and whether the doors need to be secure. Here is what each one really means.
Assisted living
For someone who needs a hand with daily life but is still largely themselves. Help with bathing, dressing, medication reminders, meals and housekeeping, with staff on site around the clock and as much independence as she can safely keep. This is the right answer far more often than families expect, and it is usually a relief rather than a loss.
Memory care
A secure setting for dementia and Alzheimer's, with staff specifically trained in memory loss, structured days, and doors that keep someone safe if she wanders. Around 11.2 percent of Michiganders over 65 are living with Alzheimer's, so this is a far more common conversation than families expect. If she is getting up at night, leaving the stove on, or becoming frightened in her own house, it is better to have it early than after an incident.
Independent senior living
For someone who is well but done with the house, the lawn, the stairs and the isolation. Her own apartment, meals if she wants them, people around her, and no roof to worry about. A great many families come to me thinking they need assisted living and leave realising this was the answer.
Medicaid and the MI Choice Waiver
I work with private pay families and with Medicaid Waiver contracted facilities, and I can help with the Medicaid application and the MI Choice Waiver programme run by Michigan MDHHS, which funds home and community based care for people who would otherwise need a nursing home. If money is the thing you are most frightened of, say so on the first call. There are more options than most families realise, and I would rather build the plan around the real budget than the polite one.
Assisted living, memory care or independent living?
A rough guide to the practical differences, which is usually enough to tell you roughly where your family sits. The honest answer always depends on the particular person rather than the category, and that is exactly what the first conversation is for. Use this to narrow it down, then let me check it against how your parent is actually managing.
| Independent living | Assisted living | Memory care | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Help with bathing and dressing | No | Yes, daily | Yes, daily |
| Medication managed by staff | No | Yes | Yes |
| Staff on site overnight | Sometimes | Yes | Yes |
| Secure doors if someone wanders | No | Usually not | Yes |
| Staff trained in dementia | No | Varies by community | Yes, specifically |
| Meals provided | Optional | Yes | Yes |
| Typically right when | The house is the problem | Daily tasks are the problem | Safety and memory are the problem |
Costs vary by community and by care level, so I get you current numbers in writing rather than guess at them here.
If you are on a deadline, call me today
A discharge planner saying that your mother leaves on Friday is the single most common reason families ring me, and it is the situation where a few hours genuinely matter. Do not spend Thursday evening working through a list of communities yourself. Ring me and I will start on it straight away while you sit with her, which is where you should be.
I spent five and a half years as a Clinical Liaison at MyMichigan Medical Center in Midland, so I know how discharge works from the inside, what the hospital needs, and how fast it can actually move when the paperwork is right.
Do not spend Thursday night ringing round communities yourself. Call me and I will start on it while you sit with her.
What do families ask most often?
Nearly always the same two things: whether this genuinely costs them nothing, and how quickly a move can realistically happen. The answers are that it does cost your family nothing, and that the timing depends mostly on availability and the level of care needed. These are the rest of the questions that come up on a first call.
Does it really cost me nothing?
Nothing at all. I am paid by the community a family chooses, never by the family. It does not change which places I show you or what I tell you about them. If somewhere is wrong for your mother I will say so, and if the right answer is that she stays home a while longer, I will say that too.
How long does the whole thing take?
It depends on the level of care and on availability. Families discharging from hospital sometimes move within a week. Families planning ahead often take two or three months, and that is the better way to do it. I work at whatever pace you need.
Do I have to decide anything on the first call?
No. A great many first calls end with a family deciding to wait, and that is a perfectly good outcome. You will just be waiting with a plan instead of a worry.
What if my mother refuses to move?
That is the most common situation I deal with, and it is not solved by pressure. Usually it is fear of losing independence rather than the place itself. Seeing one or two communities changes the conversation more than any amount of arguing does.
Can you help if we are not local any more?
Yes, and often that is exactly why families call. Plenty of my clients are adult children in another state trying to arrange care for a parent in Saginaw or Bay City. I can tour on your behalf and tell you honestly what I saw.
What if we have already looked at some places?
Bring me the list. I will tell you what I know about each of them and whether there is something you have not seen that would suit her better.
Why do so many families end up having this conversation?
Because it is genuinely common, and not because anything has gone wrong in your particular family. If it feels as though everyone you know is suddenly dealing with a parent in decline, the published figures for Michigan say they very likely are. Every number below comes from the Alzheimer's Association, Medicare or the federal government rather than from me, and each one is linked so you can check it yourself.
202,800 Michiganders over 65 are living with Alzheimer’s
Roughly one person in nine of that age group, or 11.2 percent of everyone aged 65 and over in this state. Dementia is the single most common reason a family rings me about memory care rather than assisted living, and the Michigan figure continues to rise each year as the population ages. Whatever else is true, you are not dealing with something unusual here.
Source: Alzheimer's Association, 2026 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures, Michigan
Background: National Institute on Aging, Alzheimer's Disease Fact Sheet
422,000 Michigan families give unpaid care, 682 million hours a year
If you are exhausted, you are one of several hundred thousand people in this state doing exactly the same thing. Caregiver burnout is a legitimate reason to look at assisted living. It is not a failure, and I will never treat it as one.
Source: Alzheimer's Association, 2026 Facts and Figures, Michigan caregiving data
Background: National Institute on Aging, caregiving guidance
Assisted living in Michigan runs about $69,000 a year at the median
Roughly $5,750 a month as a statewide median, against a national median near $74,400 a year, so Michigan sits in the cheaper half of the country. Your real number depends on the level of care, which is why I get written quotes from each community instead of guessing.
Michigan had 196 geriatricians in 2021, and needs about 66% more by 2032
There is a real shortage of specialist clinicians here, which is part of why families cannot get a straight answer about what level of care their mother actually needs. It is also why knowing these communities personally matters more than reading their brochures.
Source: Alzheimer's Association, 2026 Facts and Figures, Michigan workforce data
Someone turning 65 today has almost a 70 percent chance of needing long term care
The federal figure is blunt: a third of today's 65 year olds may never need long term care, but 20 percent will need it for longer than five years, and women need it longer than men, 3.7 years against 2.2. Planning early is not morbid. It is just cheaper and calmer than planning in a hospital corridor.
Source: US Administration for Community Living, How Much Care Will You Need?
Medicare does not pay for assisted living, and most families do not know that
Medicare is explicit about it: it does not pay for long term custodial care, in a nursing home or in the community, and nor does most health insurance or a Medigap policy. Medicaid can, if you qualify. This is the misunderstanding that costs families the most money, and it is the first thing I check.
Source: Medicare.gov, Long-term care coverage
Michigan route: MI Choice Waiver Program, Michigan MDHHS
State medians are a guide, never a quote. I get current written numbers from each community before you decide anything.
The commonest mistake I see is a family choosing a community because it has a bed free this month. The second move is always harder than the first, so I would much rather spend an extra fortnight getting it right the first time.
Written by Laura Giardina, OTR/L, Regional Placement Advisor with
Senior Placement Services of Mid-Michigan. Licensed occupational therapist with over
20 years in Michigan senior care, including 16 years in nursing homes and home care
and 5.5 years as Clinical Liaison at MyMichigan Medical Center Midland.
Last updated .
Let's have a conversation
Fifteen minutes, no cost, no pressure and no obligation of any kind. Tell me what is going on with your parent and I will tell you honestly what your options look like, including the option of doing nothing just yet. If I am not the right person to help you, I will say so and point you towards whoever is. You can also simply ring me on 989-385-5239.