ASSISTED LIVING BY RAPHAEL is a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE), located in Camarillo (Ventura County), California. We are licensed by the California Department of Social Services (DSS)—License # 567609701.
Although DSS allows a maximum of 6 senior citizen residents (>60 years of age) at a licensed personal residence, we are only licensed for a maximum of 4 residents at this time. DSS allows for 25% of the residents (1/4) to be younger than age 60 if the resident has “similar needs”. We are NOT a medical facility.
Assisted living is the 2nd of 4 increasingly intensive phases of care to residents. First (and least/lowest) is Independent Living, which involves only providing housekeeping, meals, and activities. Second is Assisted Living (RCFE’s). Third is Skilled Nursing (Nursing Homes), and Fourth is Hospitalization. Assisted Living is considered social care, NOT medical care. We are not allowed to accept residents with IV’s, bladder catheters, feeding tubes, etc., unless a waiver is obtained by DSS or the resident is designated as Hospice-eligible by their admitting physician (maximum of 2 residents at a time). Hospice is defined as palliative (comfort) care for those with a life expectancy less than 6 months, as per their treating physician. In that case, outside hospice nurses will be involved to assist in the resident’s care while at our facility.
RCFE’s are appropriate for those residents who can ‘assist’ in their care. If we determine someone is no longer able to assist, we are obligated to either refer them to a different RCFE or an appropriate skilled nursing facility. We are not allowed to EVER use physical restraints in caring for the residents. Although many residents living in assisted living facilities have some level of dementia, we choose to NOT accept residents with advanced Alzheimer’s or other types of severe dementia. Our assisted living facility assumes responsibility for the resident’s general care, safety, well-being, meals, activities, bathing, grooming, and companionship.
We do not accept payment directly at our facility. Families will receive a monthly invoice, which must be paid-in-full by the 1st of the month. They will also be provided with a deposit voucher from Wells Fargo Bank. There is a $20 per day penalty for late payments. All quoted monthly rates do NOT include incontinence-care products (e.g. adult diapers), which are the responsibility of the families. We provide all other basic necessary toiletries, although we suggest that if the resident has special requests, these be provided to our facility by the families.
As our facility is completely furnished, we have NO room for any additional furniture of the residents. If necessary, families must store any additional furniture either at a storage facility or at the homes of the family. We provide all drawers and closet space for a reasonable amount of clothing. Although we desire for our residents to be dressed comfortably, we also understand it brings dignity to residents to be dressed well during their time at our facility.
Parking for family members or guests is available past our facility, around the corner to the right.
As per DSS regulations, all of our door are equipped with alarms, which will beep when opened, to alert staff to the possibility a resident is attempting to leave the facility. Please remember, NO ONE can be restrained. Therefore, we cannot force any resident to stay on the grounds of our facility. Obviously, we will make every attempt to dissuade any resident from leaving without a responsible adult.
Once the COVID-19 crisis is over, we hope to be able to allow volunteers to visit our facility, for the purpose of fellowship with the residents of our facility. However, we must wait until this will be approved through DSS.
Because assisted living facilities are NOT considered medical facilities, neither Medicare nor MediCal will pay for this kind of living situation.
The Ventura County Ombudsman will make regular trips to our facility, to act as a liaison between the resident (and family) and facility. Please see ‘Links’ for their contact information. Also, please find the link to the California Department of Social Services on the ‘Links’ page.
Because there are never any physical restraints at Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly, there is always a chance that any resident will fall while attempting to get up, sit down, or walk. If the resident has had falls at home, it is likely s/he will have falls in our facility. Of course, we will do everything in our power to help and assist all residents with ambulation (walking) to minimize the chances of a fall. At very least, should there be a fall, we will be able to deal with the consequences immediately.
We utilize 4 hospital-type beds with controls for the head and feet.
At this time, Assisted Living by Raphael can accommodate up to 4 residents, with 2 residents each in two bedrooms (Semi-private). There are no private rooms or baths available at Assisted Living by Raphael at this time. All 4 residents will utilize the same “Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)” bathroom, with 36″ entry doors, plenty of space for wheelchairs, walk-in shower with no entry step (much easier to get into), pedestal sink with tilting mirror (making it easier for resident to get closer to the sink and see themselves during handwashing and personal hygiene), handrails for shower with seat and shower wand for better, easier showering. No one else will utilize this residents-only bathroom.
Staff, visitor, and volunteers will utilize the guest bathroom off of the laundry room.
As per DSS regulation, all knobs for the oven/stove are removed to protect the residents from accidentally burning themselves. We utilize a short gait at the entrance of the kitchen and laundry room in order to prevent residents from accidentally entering these areas and possibly injuring themselves. As per DSS regulation, hot water temperature is set at 116 degrees Fahrenheit. DSS requires hot water temperature between 105-120, to prevent burns.
As per DSS regulations, all harmful chemicals are locked throughout the kitchen, laundry room, and resident bathroom. Also, all drawers in the kitchen that hold knives or other sharp objects are locked.
We will perform all laundry for residents, including bedding and daily clothing. Residents will have no need to do laundry. Should any resident desire to help fold and put away their clothing, all efforts will be made for them to assist.
The living room has a designated seating area for every resident. We have a big-screen TV and sound bar (speaker) for their musical enjoyment. Throughout the day, we will be playing uplifting and encouraging music, including classical, big band, piano, and instrumental. Should your loved one enjoy special music, please provide us with a CD, so that we can occasionally play their favorites. The same is true for DVD’s, assuming they are uplifting and will be enjoyed by ALL residents.
Assisted Living by Raphael is located in Rancho Adolfo Mobile Homes, a 55+ senior living park with 250 homes. We have a clubhouse with heated pool, exercise room, billiards room, sauna, and Jacuzzi. When accompanied by a family member, all of our residents are welcome to utilize any of these facilities. We are one house away from our short 9-hole golf course, which is a nice place for families and their loved ones to walk and/or enjoy some special time. There is a picnic table about 200 yards away from our facility.
Assisted Living by Raphael is pleased to provide access to a laptop computer for video conferencing or email. Also, residents can receive mail at our facility, which we strongly encourage.
Residents ALWAYS have access to snacks anytime during the day and night. A small resident refrigerator on the kitchen countertop is provided for the residents anytime, day or night, for chilled treats.
All resident medications, including over-the-counter (OTC) MUST be in possession of the facility, not at the resident’s bedside. This eliminates/minimizes chances of misuse of medications, as well as the possibility of other residents getting into the resident’s medications and ingesting them. All medications will be logged into the resident’s record, per the treating physician’s request. No medication, including OTCs, can be given without written consent of the treating physician. Also, side railings on the bed are NOT allowed unless there is a written prescription note from the treating physician. All medications are always locked in our locked medication closet. Controlled (scheduled) medications are doubly locked in the filing cabinet inside the locked medication closet. There is a separate small refrigerator located inside the locked medication closet for any medications that require refrigeration. This small refrigerator is NEVER used for food storage.
We have 2 full-sized refrigerators for plenty of space for chilled food storage. DSS regulations require a minimum of 7-days of non-perishable foods and 2-days of perishable foods.
In case of power outage from ANY cause, we are prepared. We had a “stand-by generator” installed that can restore all electricity, should there be an outage. The generator runs on natural gas. If, for whatever reason, such as an earthquake, natural gas is turned off and not available, the generator will also run on propane, which we have an ample supply. The generator will even allow the central air conditioning to operate and cool the house while running. Stand-by generators are not yet required by DSS. However, we believe it is prudent when taking care of our precious elderly residents. The staff appreciates it, too!
We encourage residents and their families to address “end-of-life” issues such as DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) orders, so that there will not be any misunderstandings or miscommunications when necessary.
It is the family’s responsibility to transport their loved ones (residents) to all physician and other medical/dental appointments. Assisted Living by Raphael is happy to make the appointments for the residents, whenever possible. However, we do not have the staffing to be able to transport residents to their required appointments.
DSS identifies 3 separate levels of resident status. First is ‘Ambulatory’, meaning that not only is the resident able to walk unassisted, but can also respond to verbal cues during an emergency, such as a fire. Second is ‘Non-ambulatory’, meaning the resident cannot walk unassisted and/or is unable to respond appropriately to verbal commands to vacate the facility in an emergency. Third is ‘Bedridden’, meaning the resident is permanently bed-bound during their stay at an RCFE. We are licensed for 4 ‘Non-ambulatory’ residents. To meet the criteria for ‘Non-ambulatory’ status, Assisted Living by Raphael needed to add a sliding door exit in the larger bedroom, as well as make a separate passage way from the smaller to the larger bedroom. We are NOT licensed for ‘Bedridden’ residents. However, should a resident be TEMPORARILY bedridden, Assisted Living by Raphael can petition DSS for a temporary waiver until the resident is back on his/her feet.
Assisted Living by Raphael has an electric wheelchair, regular wheelchair, potty-chairs, and walkers, should the resident require. There is a ramp from the street to the patio, before entering the facility. The fenced-in and self-closing gates on the patio make for a nice place for residents and their families and guests to sit and enjoy the Southern California weather.
Contact
Raphael Napolitano Cell: 805-509-2530