Dotti Sno and her retired therapy dog shadow. Courtesy photo.
After working as a nurse in clinics and hospitals for most of her life, she was ready to leave her career behind and take on some new projects.
The old house that she and her husband Dave had just bought on Crystal Lake needed some tender loving care.
And her daughters, now grown up and married, had begun to have families of their own and she wanted to spend more time with them.
But, before Snow could get too comfortable in her new post retirement lifestyle, her mother-in-law fell and broke her hip, which necessitated a move from her retirement center condo to an adult family home.
Snow jumped into action and began looking for care facilities — eventually visiting 28 homes before finding one that she felt would meet the needs of her mother-in-law.
"I saw a few bad places and many mediocre and marginal ones," says Snow, "and I realized that finding good long-term care wasn’t an easy or quick process."
When the owner of the home that Snow and her husband finally chose learned that Snow was an RN, she suggested that the Woodinville woman do the required nursing assessment for her mother-in-law.
Snow agreed. "When I turned in the completed assessment, the owner was delighted with the thoroughness of my work," comments Snow. "She then asked if I would be interested in doing future assessments for her."
After spending the next six months doing evaluations, Snow found that she was more interested in actually placing clients into the homes.
She subsequently spent the next year putting on hundreds and hundreds of miles touring and assessing adult family homes on the Eastside, in the process of starting her own business, Aging Safely.
"It all fell into place," she says. "My husband got early retirement and we decided to market the business together. It quickly became a full time job."
Snow offers assistance to families who need to find long term placements for their frail elderly loved ones. She receives the majority of her referrals from the medical community, particularly from social workers.
Her clients come from their homes, nursing homes, hospitals, assisted living facilities and retirement centers. She now has a pool of 70 adult family homes located on the Eastside, from Mill Creek to the Renton Highlands, which she uses on a consistent basis for placement options.
"I believe in the adult family home model, as it can be a wonderful venue for long term care," explains Snow. "But, you have to be careful to choose the right place for your loved one. Having an RN placement coordinator’s help is incredibly valuable. It cuts down on time and anxiety. Most families will tell you what a nightmare it is to do it on your own. The stress takes a terrible toll on everyone involved."
Snow finds the work challenging and notes that it takes every year of her nursing experience to do the job.
She also mentions that life experience is also a must in order to understand family dynamics and the needs of others.
"I view my work as a human puzzle," she explains. "I have to read the medical records very closely, talk to the families, wade through any dysfunction that might be happening and, of course, spend time with the patient in order to do a complete assessment. Having every bit of information is crucial."
Snow’s business is doing well and she predicts that it will continue to grow as the population ages.
She enjoys her work and views herself as being involved in a win-win situation.
"When the right placement is found, the patient is safe and cared for in a nurturing environment, while the families are relieved and happy," she notes. "It’s satisfying for me to know I have helped both parties. And it’s especially gratifying when I do follow up on the patient and see him/her looking so much better than before."
She adds, "I never get depressed because I view taking care of the elderly as one of the most honorable things we can do."
At 63, Snow doesn’t see herself re-entering retirement anytime soon.
Maybe in another six or seven years, she’ll consider decreasing her hours and finding someone to take over for her when she wants to take time off to travel.
"I’m not ready to retire," she says. "The work stimulates me. "And it’s what I want to do right now. In my free time, I love to head to the coast with Dave and our two dogs in our RV.
"But, being on Crystal Lake is a vacation in itself, especially in the summer. And then there are our daughters and grandkids, all of whom live right here in Woodinville. My life is full and that’s just fine with me."
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