Boles & Co LLC Assisted Living Facility in Baltimore, Maryland

A while back, we wrote an article talking about the differences between smaller and larger facilities, and what importance facility size has when someone is researching assisted living facilities.

We (Assisted Living Directory) are excited about doing an interview in the near future with a smaller facility near where we are based/located, and we plan on speaking with this facility administrator about his take on the differences between smaller and larger facilities, and what a smaller assisted living environment has to offer that may not be as easily attainable at a larger, more corporate-like facility.

We will post our interview on our homepage once it is completed!

What got us thinking about this topic again was an message we received recently from a family wanting to get a hold of someone at a a small assisted living home in Maryland, but could not reach anyone at the facility by telephone. The family had received an urgent message from their mother, who is a resident at the facility. The message was frantic - almost seeming like she was having serious trouble of some sort. The mother left a message with her son from the facility. When the son finally got the message, and called the facility back, there was no answer, even with multiple tries (as a clarification, the facility in question was NOT Boles assisted living that is featured on this page - it was a different one).

We think that this would be a pretty unlikely scenario at a larger facility, since there are usually numerous staff members working at any time of the day, 24x7, 7 days a week - and most often a front-desk staff that manages all incoming phonecalls. However, smaller facilities, having less staff, or a bare-bones staff on call after hours, may be more prone to phones not being answered, or a longer time between a message left, and a callback. But, there are no absolutes - as the majority of facilities out there, large and small, will most certainly have an acceptable system in place, and a well-defined policy as to how the phone is managed at the facility, who is to answer it, and what is standard as far as when messages are returned.

In essence, this can probably be considered a safety issue more than a courtesy issue. Families need to be confident that they can get help, and answers from the facility at any time of the day or night - or at least be able to speak to a live human being without many hurdles or delays. This is one of the many questions, or considerations to take into account when researching different facilities.

Excellent questions we have received about Boles and assisted living - these questions may serve as examples of the types of questions you might ask your potential facility:

I am looking for a place for my father who is on a limited income and who needs total care, with a feeding tube. he is mobile but needs more rehab.

My name is Renee' and I would like to speak with someone about the costs and expenses for assisted living for my grand father.