if you're in a situation where you need to place a loved elder into residential care, and if at all possible seeking a place that welcomes all but also caters to Japanese culture, language, foods and customs, then Kimochi Home is ideal. Unfortunately for one of our loved ones, having dementia was an automatic disqualifier because as you will discover in your research of residential care facilities, the type of license the facility has determines the scope and kinds of services they offer, and therefore, the kind of resident/patient they can accept.
I believe Kimochi Home can accept only "ambulatory" residents, my understanding that it means not necessarily you can walk on your own, but in an emergency situation, you have the cognitive ability to follow safety instructions. Still, meeting w the Kimochi Home director was invaluable, because Kimochi genuinely cares about seniors in the community, and she gave us very helpful advice. Plus, she put our loved one on a waiting list for both the Kimochi hot lunch delivery, and the Senior daycare program at Kimochi Home. For about 2-3 years, we were able to get a bit of caregiver respite when the Kimochi van came by to pick-up/drop-off our loved one for 1-2 days/week, from about 10am-3pm or so. It was basically "day care" for seniors, and for that you didn't have to be ambulatory. I highly recommend looking into Kimochi Home. They are good, caring people there. read more