Frequently asked questions

A placement advisor works with a family to clarify support needs, geography, finances, timing, and personal priorities before considering realistic living settings. Ruskin Senior Services provides human guidance rather than an unfiltered facility directory.

Families do not pay Ruskin for placement guidance. When a move-in happens, the community pays Ruskin Senior Services a placement fee—the standard arrangement in this industry, stated plainly rather than buried. Two things keep that honest: Stacie recommends only settings she believes can support the person, and she is not obligated to feature or fill any building. If no setting fits, she says that too.

No. Consulting is paid professional guidance for families who need a plan, an evaluation, or decision support whether or not a placement engagement follows.

Placement is a guided search for a residential setting, paid by the community when a move-in happens. Consulting is scheduled, paid advice for families who need professional judgment more than a move. Care management is ongoing, capacity-limited coordination and advocacy—project-managing a person's care over time, usually for families living far away. The Care Compass points to the right starting conversation.

You can, and some families do. The risk is spending precious weeks touring buildings that were never going to say yes. A community that cannot support the person's needs under its license will decline the admission—sometimes after the family has fallen in love with the lobby. Stacie matches the license, the staffing, and the person before anyone tours, so visits go to settings that can actually work.

Florida licenses every assisted-living community, and the license category defines what the building may legally do—from personal care under a Standard license to specific nursing services under Limited Nursing Services or Extended Congregate Care. The label on the brochure does not always match the license on the wall, and it is one of the first things Stacie checks.

Discharge timelines compress the search, but they should not compress the judgment. Stacie has managed urgent searches measured in hours rather than weeks when a hospital left a family no room. Share the timing honestly in the placement inquiry, and the process is built around the clock you actually have.

No—and this is the most common misunderstanding in senior living. Medicare covers medical services, including limited short-term rehabilitation after a qualifying hospital stay, but it does not pay for assisted-living room, board, or ongoing personal care. For families who qualify, Florida's Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Long-Term Care program can cover care services in some settings—though not the housing itself. Sorting out which programs genuinely apply is part of the preparation work.

It depends on the license, care level, county, and building—and the quoted rate is only the beginning of the math. Communities typically layer a base rate, assessed care charges, a one-time community fee, and annual increases. Stacie shares current, realistic numbers for specific communities in conversation, because published ranges age quickly and list prices and negotiated prices are rarely the same thing.

Sometimes—and more often than families expect. Move-in specials, community-fee waivers, and rate flexibility all exist, especially where a private owner wants a bed filled. But negotiation only matters after fit: a discount at a building that cannot support the person is not a deal. Stacie negotiates after the match is right, not instead of it.

Slowly, and more than once. One big family confrontation almost always fails; a series of short, calm conversations anchored to what the person values—independence, safety, staying near people they love—works far better. Keep the senior in the decision: everyone deserves a home that fits their needs and circumstances, and the person moving deserves a real voice in choosing it. A neutral third party often changes the temperature of the conversation entirely.

The website and launch service area focus on Broward, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie Counties, plus Aventura and northeast Miami-Dade. A family can still describe its circumstances in an inquiry so Stacie can determine whether the request fits her work.

Long-distance families can request consulting, placement guidance, or a care-management assessment when the person needing support lives in the local South Florida service area.

No. Ruskin may assist a family with preparing questions and organizing information, but the website does not offer legal representation, medical advice, application filing, or a benefits determination.

No. Website submissions are validated on the server and emailed to Ruskin Senior Services. The website does not register, distribute, or store the inquiry as a community lead.

A successful submission means the email service accepted Ruskin's notification. Stacie then reviews the request and follows up to discuss fit and next steps. A consultation request is not an appointment confirmation, care contract, or placement acceptance.

No. Families facing immediate danger or a medical emergency should contact emergency services or the appropriate treating professional. The placement form includes an urgent timing option for hospital or rehabilitation discharge planning.