This week on Sunbound Asks we had the pleasure of welcoming in Mohamed Nour of Khadi Care Center, an assisted living community located in Tucson, Arizona. We had an amazing time talking to Mohamed and learning all about why helping seniors is so important to him, as well as some amazing tips on how seniors and their loved ones can find, and talk about, senior living. To learn more about Mohamed and Khadi Care Center, reach out to the Sunbound team for more information here.

Q: How long have you been working in senior living?

A: I’ve been working as a caregiver in senior living for a longtime, but have owned Khadi Care Center for 4 years now.

‍

Q: How’d you get into the senior living industry?

A: I was a caregiver in senior living for over 15 years, and after that I decided I wanted to run my own business.

‍

Q: What’s your favorite thing about working in senior living?

A: I just love to work with older adults. I love people, I love to joke, and I love working with funny people. I love making people happy, and it’s amazing knowing I can come to work and do that and that my day is going to be great. A lot of our residents have different problems and different illnesses, but the thing I love most is knowing that I can help make their problems go away or give them some advice on how to deal with them. Some of our residents don’t have a lot of great connections to other people in the world and can’t live independently anymore. But when they come to our facility, we know that we can help make their time amazing. We encourage people to forget about the problems in their past and to help them make positive changes in their life. Whatever happened, we want to help make your life better now.

‍

Q: What’s your favorite memory from working in senior living?

A: My favorite memories have been being able to help people reconnect with their families. I remember one resident hadn’t spoken to her daughter in a while, and we were able to find her and reconnect them and after that her daughter kept calling and staying in touch. We had another resident who hadn’t spoken to her son in 15 years. So we worked really hard and found him, and he was able to come and speak to his mother. They were talking and laughing and it was so amazing to be able to help them reconnect.

‍

Q: What advice would you give someone who is looking for senior living?

A: You have to make sure you do your research and really find the right assisted living facility for your senior loved one. There’s a lot of assisted living communities out there, and they’re all different. Some have 200 beds, some have 10 beds. There’s no right answer and you have to find the community that is right for you. So my best advice is to do a lot of research, and talk to a lot of people. Placement agencies can be really helpful because they often know the area the best, and know all the communities big and small. The process will probably take a lot of time, but you really need to make sure you find the right community for your loved one. Knowing they’re in the right facility will save lots of headache and stress down the line.

Q: Do you have a favorite tip for how families can talk to a parent about moving to senior living?

A: You can’t know when you’re going to be ill, but you have to understand that as you age this day will come. Eventually everyone will reach a point where they won’t be able to take care of themselves. Unfortunately, many people will have dementia or other memory care issues, and won’t be able to look after themselves. So it’s very important to understand that you need to prepare and not to feel ashamed or feel shy. It might be tough to think that someone will one day have to help you shower, for example, but this happens to everyone. Understanding this can really help families and seniors talk about the move to assisted living.

Q: What advice would you give a senior who is applying for ALTCS coverage?

A: I work with ALTCS all the time since about 90% of my residents are on ALTCS. The most important thing is to work with your family and have good communication with both your community and ALTCS. Some people might not want to totally open up with all their information, but things can go wrong if you don’t have all your information ready to go or if things don’t line up. If you’re having issues or are uncomfortable with passing along some information, make sure to work with your community to make sure that you can put forward your best ALTCS application possible. Sometimes it can be difficult for people to complete the application by themselves without knowing exactly what they need to do or the information they need to have. At the end of the day it’s nota difficult application at all, and ALTCS wants pretty simple information. So just make sure to work with an expert and communicate everything that’s going on, and you’ll be fine.  

Q: What’s one thing you wish more people knew about senior living?

A: I wish more people knew that assisted living communities often go way beyond what people think of when they think of assisted living. Assisted living communities can help people in so many ways that aren’t just basic assistance with everyday tasks, and there are so many amazing people in assisted living who want to provide seniors with free services and support. We always want to help seniors, and I know that assisted living communities are always going above and beyond to help their residents.

Q: If you weren’t working in senior living, what else would you be doing?

A: I have a degree of automotive repair and I love working on cars, so I would probably be doing that.  

Q: What senior living resources would you suggest for our readers?

A: I do a lot of work with the Pima Council on Aging and they’re super helpful. They have tons of resources for seniors and their families. I also work with a lot of placement agencies, who can be great because they always know the local area so well.

To learn more about how Sunbound can help make senior living more affordable for you or your loved one, send us an email at info@sunboundhomes.com or request more information on Sunbound. Sunbound is the best way to pay for senior living and is on a mission to make senior living affordable for everyone.