While a sluggish economy has caused many of the country’s service providers and retailers to cut consumer costs, seniors and their families are paying more this year than ever for long term health care.  The 2009 Market Survey of Long-Term Care Costs prepared by the MetLife Mature Market Institute showed increases ranging from 3.3% for assisted living facilities to 5.6% for a home care worker.

The national average for an Alzheimer’s unit (private room) is $85,045, while the national average for a private room in a nursing home is $205/day, or $74,825 annually.  The median age of a nursing home resident is currently 83.2 years, with women making up 65% of all nursing home residents.  The average age of an assisted living resident is 86.9 years, and the average stay is 28.3 months.

These are important statistics to share with prospective clients and their families.  How to pay for long term care is and will continue to be a challenge for seniors and their families who will look to elder law attorneys to guide them.  Are you up to the challenge?

When was the last time you received not just good, but exceptional service? Hopefully it has happened to you, and if so, I’ll bet you can remember in detail what happened and who provided it.

“Never Miss an Opportunity to Provide Exceptional Service.” This is the motto the team at ElderCounsel has adopted. While we are expected to provide good service to our members, we want to do more than that. It is exceptional service that we will be remembered for and which will set us apart from our competitors.

Lawyers can also set themselves apart from their competitors with exceptional service. If you have to think long and hard about the last time you received exceptional service, that tells you something about the state of “customer service” in our country. So go ahead and steal our motto – it doesn’t cost a thing and the return on investment is HUGE!