Senior Care Search Greatly Aided By Online Reviews and Review Response

SAN MATEO, Calif., Oct. 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- When Baby Boomers go online to find a senior living community or in-home care agency for their aging parents and other senior loved ones, they are turning to senior care websites like Caring.com to read reviews from people just like them -- and trust those peer reviews more than the ones they find on Yelp or Facebook. To help ease their research further, Caring.com -- which welcomes about three million unique visitors monthly -- has released its annual "Caring Stars 2017" list featuring the senior living communities and in-home care agencies with the best and most consumer ratings and reviews. 

According to a summer 2016 survey Caring.com conducted with 2,512 individuals seeking senior care information online (primarily American women age 50+ caring for parents age 80+):

• Only 41% had existing knowledge of senior living communities in their area;
• Online directories, recommendations from others, and online reviews were among the top tools they used in their senior care search;
• For reading reviews: 48% said they trusted senior care websites more than general review sites like Yelp (12%) or social sites like Facebook (2%) -- that's up from 43% in 2015;
• And when asked about the influence of a senior living community or in-home care agency's response to reviews: 32% said, "It lets me know the business cares and is listening," and 22% said "It depends on what the business says." 

Given this importance of online senior care reviews, Caring.com analyzed its extensive collection of consumer ratings to identify the most-acclaimed providers or "Caring Stars of 2017", providing a quick reference of the best senior care providers nationwide (including 254 senior living communities and 142 home care agencies in 44 states).

"Finding professional senior care for an aging parent or ailing spouse can be overwhelming and time-consuming, particularly if your need is urgent and you have little-to-no knowledge of your options," says Caring.com CEO Karen Cassel. "At Caring.com, we're focused on helping ease that burden for family caregivers, and the annual Caring Stars list is one of the free resources we offer to support them in the senior care search. Everyone wants the very best care for their loved ones, and Caring Stars helps family caregivers find the providers that have delivered excellent service for others like them."     

To qualify as a Caring Star of 2017, these highly rated senior living communities and in-home care agencies had to:

• Have 10 or more consumer reviews on their Caring.com listing, with an overall average rating of 4.5 or higher (on a scale of 1 to 5);
• Receive 3 or more reviews between October 1, 2015 - September 30, 2016, including at least one that was posted during 2016 and at least one that had a 5-star rating; and
• Respond to every negative review they had ever received on Caring.com.

Caring Stars was the first-of-its-kind in the senior care industry when initially launched in 2012, and the 2017 list now includes: in-home care agencies, independent living and assisted living communities, board and care homes, and memory/Alzheimer's care communities. On average, prior years' winners received twice as many inquiries and move-ins as Caring.com partners who hadn't earned the award -- further demonstrating how this annual list is truly helping to identify the most-popular providers.

About Caring.com

With three million visitors per month, Caring.com is a leading senior care resource for family caregivers seeking information and support as they care for aging parents, spouses, and other loved ones. A Bankrate company headquartered in San Mateo, Calif., Caring.com provides helpful caregiving content, online support groups, and a comprehensive Senior Care Directory for the United States, with nearly 120,000 consumer ratings and reviews and a toll-free senior living referral line at (800) 325-8591. Connect with Caring.com on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and/or YouTube.
For more information, and to view the Caring Stars 2017 list, please visit: https://www.caring.com/bestseniorliving.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Denise Graab, Caring.com's Director of Industry Marketing
Phone: (650) 762-8190
Email: [email protected]

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SOURCE Caring.com