A Trial Stay Before Moving In — What to Watch For

In this article

1. A trial stay is not a smaller move
2. What Florida requires before the first night
3. How long a trial should run
4. Work through it in this order
5. What to watch during the stay
6. The result a trial can give you, including against us
7. Turning a good trial into a move

A trial stay answers the three questions a tour never can: whether your parent sleeps through the night in a new room, whether they eat real meals in the dining room, and whether they come out of that room on their own by the end of the first week. In Florida a trial stay is booked as a respite stay, a short stay with an end date, so nobody signs up for a permanent move to find out.

If your parent is already willing to try it, the rest of this article is about running the stay well and reading the result honestly. If they are still saying no to the whole idea, start with our guide on talking with a parent who refuses assisted living, then come back here.

A trial stay is not a smaller move

The most common mistake is treating the trial as a soft version of moving in. Families bring half the house, tell the parent it is probably permanent, and then read every hard moment as proof it will never work. That turns a test into a verdict before the test has started.

Keep it small and keep it honest. Bring a week or two of clothes, the pillow your parent likes, a few photographs, and the chair or blanket they reach for at home. Tell them the truth about what it is: a stay with an end date, after which the family decides together. A parent who later learns a "short visit" was a move in disguise stops trusting the next thing you tell them, and you will need that trust for the real decision.

What Florida requires before the first night

Florida does not have a separate rulebook for short stays. A respite guest is a resident for the length of the stay, which means two pieces of paper.

The first is a contract. Florida Statute 429.24 requires every resident's stay to be covered by a written contract signed at or before admission. For a trial, that contract covers the stay itself, the dates, and what it costs. Read it for the end date and for what happens if you want to extend.

The second is a medical exam. Under rule 59A-36.006, a doctor, physician assistant or nurse practitioner completes the state's AHCA Form 1823 within 60 days before admission or 30 days after. For a stay shorter than a month, plan on having it done before your parent arrives, and bring the full medication list with doses and times.

How long a trial should run

Florida sets no minimum or maximum on a respite stay, so the length is up to you and to which rooms are open. A long weekend tells you about the building. A week or two tells you about your parent, because it gets past the first few nights, when almost everyone sleeps badly in a new bed.

The Alzheimer's Association notes that a person living with dementia may have difficulty adjusting to a new environment, and that it helps to try a provider in a calm week rather than an emergency one. For a parent with memory loss, that argues for the longer end of the range, and for booking the trial before a crisis forces the dates on you.

Work through it in this order

Rows 3 and 4 are about money. Our article on what a respite stay costs and who helps pay covers both in detail.

What to watch during the stay

Ask the staff for specifics, not impressions. "She is doing great" tells you nothing. These do:

• Sleep. Did your parent sleep through, or were they up and looking for the door at 2am? A rough first two nights is normal. A rough seventh night is information.
• Meals. Did they eat in the dining room, and did anyone sit with them? Ask what they actually ate, not whether they were offered it.
• Leaving the room. By the second week, is your parent joining at least one activity a day without being walked there?
• Medications. Were doses given at the times on the list, and did anyone notice a change in how your parent was acting?
• The staff themselves. When you visit, watch how caregivers speak to your parent. Do they use a first name, knock, and wait for an answer?

Visit once around a meal without calling ahead. Our checklist of what to look for when you visit a community works just as well in the middle of a stay as on a tour, and it is far more telling when your parent is already living there.

The result a trial can give you, including against us

Here is the part that does not help us. A trial stay can tell you a community is wrong for your parent, and that includes ours. Sometimes the answer is that they are safer at home with more help, or that they need a nursing home rather than assisted living, or that a different community suits them better. That is a good result. A week of paying for a stay that ends in no costs far less than a permanent move that fails in the second month.

It is also usually paid out of pocket. Both of our communities accept Medicaid, but Medicaid almost never pays for a short stay you are booking for next month, so a family counting on it for the permanent move should still plan to pay privately for the trial.

Turning a good trial into a move

If the stay went well, the decision is easier than it looked a month ago, because your parent has already done the hardest part. Ask the administrator three things before the last day: whether the same room is available for a permanent move, what changes in the paperwork, and how the monthly rate compares with the stay. Our pricing page lists starting rates for both communities.

Sugarmill Manor in Homosassa and The Gardens in Crystal River both take trial stays in assisted living and in the secured memory care section. Our page on how respite stays are arranged covers what a room includes. When you are ready to see one in person first, request a visit and bring your dates.

Frequently asked questions

Can my mom try assisted living before moving in?

Yes. Most communities offer a short respite stay with a fixed end date, which works as a trial. Your parent gets a room, meals, care and activities like any resident, and the family decides about a permanent move after the stay ends.

How long should a trial stay in assisted living be?

Florida sets no minimum or maximum on a respite stay. A long weekend shows you the building, but a week or two shows you how your parent actually settles, because it gets past the first few nights in a new bed.

What paperwork does Florida require for a short stay?

The same as for any resident: a written contract covering the stay, and a medical exam on AHCA Form 1823 completed within 60 days before admission or 30 days after. For a stay shorter than a month, have the exam done before your parent arrives.

Does Medicaid pay for a trial stay?

Almost never. Medicaid rarely reaches a short stay booked for next month, even at a community that accepts it for a permanent move, so plan on paying privately. A long term care insurance policy with a respite benefit, or a Florida caregiver program through Elder Options, may help.

What if the trial stay goes badly?

Then it did its job. A trial that shows a community is the wrong fit, or that your parent needs a different level of care, costs far less than a permanent move that fails. Judge the second week rather than the second night, since the first days are the hardest for almost everyone.

Sources

• Florida Statute 429.24, resident contracts
• Florida Administrative Code 59A-36.006, admission procedures and health assessment
• Alzheimer's Association, respite care
• Florida Department of Elder Affairs, caregiving programs

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Written by

Cameron Hernando Clark

Community Relations Director

Cameron Hernando Clark is the Community Relations Director for The Manors of Citrus. He writes this family guide to help Citrus County families make sense of assisted living and memory care, drawing on the day to day of running two family owned communities on Florida's Nature Coast.