New Web Site Invites Reviews of Nursing Homes and Other Senior Care Services

A new Web site, seniorDECISION, features consumer ratings and reviews of nursing homes, assisted living, retirement communities, and home health care agencies. The site is a forum for seniors, caregivers, and aging professionals to share opinions on more than 75,000 senior care and housing services nationwide.

Unlike many Web sites that provide nothing more than text lifted from company-produced brochures, seniorDECISION offers first-hand accounts from people who are receiving senior care services, living in senior housing, or by their family members. Site visitors can choose to write a review, read previously posted reviews, and keep abreast of the latest news on senior issues provided by industry experts. There is no cost to use seniorDECISION and the site does not accept industry advertising.

seniorDECISION was founded by Maryland husband-and-wife team Rob and Jennifer Liebreich in response to the frustrating and emotionally draining experience of arranging housing and care for their grandparents. Motivated by a desire to make the process easier for other caregivers, Rob left his career in the telecommunications field and earned an MBA through Johns Hopkins University's Senior Care and Housing Program.

This led to a position as director of marketing and sales for a large senior housing provider. Despite Rob's success in this role, both he and Jennifer, a former senior advocate for the Southwest Suburban Center on Aging, were challenged by the idea of how they could help caregivers on a national basis.

"We knew from personal experience the difficulty and heartbreak in researching and choosing the 'right' senior care," said Jennifer. "Finding unbiased reports is difficult and first-hand experiences, almost impossible. We wanted to change that. With so much at stake, caregivers should feel they've made the best choices with the best, unbiased information available."

The Liebreichs were convinced that family members needed a place to share their experiences with senior care -- both good and bad -- with others in the same situation. Further, they believed that making consumer feedback accessible would help industry providers improve their operations.

The site's seniorACTIVE subscription service notifies providers when reviews are posted about them and gives them the opportunity to respond publicly to consumer reviews. "We designed the site to be a win-win for caregivers and those in the senior care and housing industry," said Rob.

Consumers are invited to post reviews, which can be done anonymously. Reviewers rate providers and share opinions on topics ranging from cost to cleanliness, administration to activities. Detailed compliments or complaints are encouraged, not just to speak one's mind, but to give others a helping hand as they navigate the myriad care and housing options available for loved ones.

Posting a review on the Web site takes less than five minutes and can be accomplished in five easy steps:

• Go to www.seniordecision.com

• Click on the green box that reads "write a review"

• Type in a Provider's name

• Rate the Provider on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 is highly recommend); write a comment

• Fill in the registration boxes and click "submit." It's free and anonymous.