Testimonials

Article from Senior Connection, April 2008

"Choosing an alternative living option for you or a senior loved one may be time-consuming, confusing and stressful. Most people don't know how to begin their research on what can be an arduous process. Furthermore, changes in a senior's health or level of care often requires a timely decision.

Andrea Donovan Senior Living Advisors provides a service that streamlines the search for appropriate alternative living options..." (read entire article - PDF)

Dear Andrea,

I am writing to tell you how much we enjoyed working with you.
My wife and I must have been challenging. We were only interested in communities that offered a continuum of care, but didn't want to look at life care facilities. We were open to both detached and high-rise properties and were not committed to any particular suburb, but wanted at least 1,800 square feet in a facility that offered fine dining and sophisticated activities. Before we met you, we had been frustrated trying to reduce the number of properties we considered to a manageable number.

The spreadsheets you gave us were a great synopsis of the things we thought were important. Your familiarity with the industry focused our attention on properties that really met our needs, and made us comfortable that we had considered each appropriate alternative and avoided properties that had problems that might not be apparent to naïve observers.

Thank you for your help. You were a blessing.

Very truly yours,

Michael Baer

"My husband was disabled by a stroke. He had a feeding tube. Since I was unable to care for him at home, I needed to find a skilled nursing facility. His discharge date from his rehab facility was fast approaching; I had limited time to find a new place.

Andrea helped me through the maze by providing me with a spread sheet comparison of the nursing homes in my area. She made numerous phone calls on my behalf regarding bed availability and services. She always promptly returned my phone calls. I appreciated her services and would recommend Andrea to anyone seeking to place a loved one in a skilled nursing facility."

Donna

"My Mother was residing in an assisted living community. Her health conditions progressed to a point where we needed to find an appropriate skilled nursing community for her. I was referred to Andrea by the owner of a home care service company who was aware of her services and reputation.

Andrea removed the mystery involved with the process of finding an appropriate option for my Mother. She prepared a presentation that fit our specifications according to price, location preference, and level of care. She arranged for the tours and checked bed availability. My siblings and I were able to make a decision rather quickly. Her services helped to lessen the stress involved with an emotional situation. Ultimately, my Mother is very happy with her new home."

Bob Zeman, Zeman Manufacturing Company

I have a relative that I help because she has a progressive physical disease and a mental health problem. She had to be admitted to the psychiatric unit at our local hospital. After a period of time it was determined that she could no longer live on her own. The psychiatric hospital provided me with nursing homes that would accept psychiatric patients. The list was small and we chose a home in the western suburbs. It was not a very nice home but it was the best we could do under the circumstances. My relative complained about it every time I visited.

Her physical condition deteriorated and she was put in the hospital. At that point her physical condition was worse than her mental condition. I decided to try to find her a better place to live. After spending a lot of time on the phone, someone gave me Andrea Donovan’s name and phone number. From the first phone call, she was so helpful because she is so knowledgeable having worked in the nursing home field as a Director. She gave me so much information including the fact that you must send medical records to the facilities you are interested in. Andrea was working for me and I had not even paid her anything yet. She knew immediately the bad homes in my area. She researched and visited others that she thought would be suitable. I know that it is a time consuming, frustrating job. Finally, because of her contacts in the nursing home field she told me that she might be able to get my relative into a community which has a wonderful reputation and is close to my home. Because of her previous experience with the Administrator, they reviewed my relative’s chart and were hesitant about accepting her because of the mental health issue. However, Andrea persevered and the Administrator told me that it was because of Andrea that he would admit my relative. She has now been there a few months and could not be happier. Her mental condition has completely turned around and she is getting the physical therapy that she needs every day. She is a joy to visit because she has no complaints.

The fee that we paid Andrea is nothing compared to the life that my relative is now able to lead because of Andrea’s help. And because my relative is happy I am delighted. It is too bad that the general public does not know about senior living advisors as so many families struggle with the problem of where to place a loved one. Anyone that I talk with who is having problems with housing for their parents, I tell them about Andrea. She was a Godsend to me and I would highly recommend her.

Louise Freitag

When the hospital told us that Mom couldn’t be home alone anymore, we didn’t know what to do. My brother was able to take a leave from work so he could be with Mom until we figured out our plan. We heard about Andrea Donovan and Senior Living Advisors just in time.

We realized that Mom needed to go to a nursing home, but we really didn’t know how to go about it or where to start. Andrea stepped in and helped everything fall into place. She listened to us; then she tailored our nursing home visits according to our mother’s and our needs and requirements. She didn’t just give us a list of places and send us on our way. She went with us, introduced us to the people we needed to meet, and helped us ask the questions we didn’t know to ask. She designed a detailed, objective, comparison chart of the places we were considering, and she suggested only highly-rated institutions.

Andrea is the perfect person to act as a senior living advisor. Her background, knowledge, professionalism, and personality are a perfect fit. Andrea went the extra mile and arranged a mutually convenient schedule with us. She was very accessible and never left us “hanging.” She provided good follow-up even after services were rendered. We were very happy with Senior Living Advisors and highly recommend Andrea Donovan.

Let the senior living experts at Andrea Donovan Senior Living Advisors show you how we can ease the burden on you and your loved ones! Call us at (847) 934-5303 or email us today and mention Web code "Chicago Senior Living" and receive a discount!