When advancing age causes older people to experience physical or mental limitations, family or friends need assistance and guidance to understand the complex Eldercare Field. Dignified Living Choices was created in 1998 to help seniors and their families with this and to identify their best choices in Eldercare and Living Options.
In 1996, Emily Raskin Perey, one of our founders, had a terrible struggle to find out how to make her mother more comfortable and improve her quality of life in her last months. Emily and her sister had to do all the research and selection of resources themselves, with no guidance from the doctor’s office, hospital, or nurses. Where they turned for help there was none, and they felt helpless and frustrated.
To help others facing the same challenges, Emily decided to develop an organization specializing in just that. Since people who need that help can
be so fragile and vulnerable, It was decided to offer the complete Transitional Living and Placement Service to them at no charge. This model is now followed by the entire placement field,
but the level of education and preparation of our service is unequaled.
Emily took a sabbatical from her position as Vice-President of a university in Los Angeles to join with her husband, Mitchell Perey, to create this unique service.
They began with education, studying the California legal and administrative rules that govern Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly. These are the licensed longterm care facilities for the Elderly which are not nursing homes.
They then passed the state exams and became officially qualified as Administrators.
Next step was for both to become gerontological counselors at UCSD. We then put our education to work as volunteers with many institutions that serve the elderly. While investing as much as 60 hours per month, we learned how things really work and prepared to serve the community as the most qualified Placement people in San Diego County.
Organizations in which we participated, as volunteers and in leadership positions include:
Aging and Independence Services
Adult Protective Services 211 Infoline
Alzheimers Association
Elder Abuse Council
East County Providers
Information and Referral Council
Longterm Care integration Project
Older Women’s League
San Diego Family Justice Center
San Diego Council on Aging
Senior Resource Association
In addition, Mitchell worked as a volunteer with the inspection team from the Veteran’s Administration hospital. All facilities they referred veteran’s to had to meet their demanding standards. The inspection policies Dignified Living Choices uses are based on the protocols of all these team members: RN, Dietician, Safety engineer, social worker, and legal compliance officer.
After 13 years of inspections, evaluations, and successful placements, we know what the facilities are like, their capabilities and price levels.
