The Three Questions Every Family Asks Before Moving a Parent to Assisted Living
Will she be safe? Will she be loved? Can I trust you with someone I love?
These aren’t just questions. They’re the weight behind every phone call, every tour, every night you lay awake wondering if you’re making the right decision.
We’ve had this conversation with hundreds of families over the years. And we’ve learned that no brochure, no photo gallery, and no list of amenities really answers what families actually need to know.
So here it is. Plain, honest, and specific.
From Janel Robilotta, BSN, RALS — co-founder and administrator of Two Hearts Homes for Seniors.
QUESTION 1: Will Mom be safe?
The short answer: Yes. And here’s exactly why.
Safety at Two Hearts isn’t a promise — it’s a structure. Every element of how we operate is designed around one central commitment: that your loved one is protected, monitored, and responded to, around the clock.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
Is staff awake overnight?
Yes. Every night. Always.
This is one of the most important questions you can ask any assisted living community — and one many families forget to ask until it’s too late.
At Two Hearts, our caregivers are awake and present 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. There is no “skeleton crew” after midnight. There is no on-call arrangement where someone drives in if the alarm goes off. A trained, CPR-certified caregiver is physically in the home at 3am, the same as at 3pm.
In a large facility with 80 or 100 residents, overnight staffing is often dramatically reduced. One or two staff members may be responsible for entire wings of sleeping residents. At Two Hearts, with a maximum of 16 residents, the overnight team has the ratio — and the capacity — to respond immediately.
What happens if Mom falls?
Falls are one of the most common — and most preventable — risks in senior care.
Our entire physical environment is designed around fall prevention: single-level layout with no stairs to navigate, non-slip surfaces throughout, grab bars in every bathroom, wide hallways and doorways, and emergency call pendants for every resident.
But beyond the physical design, our 1:6 caregiver-to-resident ratio means someone is genuinely nearby at all times. Staff are trained to assist with mobility and personal care in ways that reduce fall risk at the most vulnerable moments — getting up from a chair, moving to the bathroom at night, transitioning between rooms.
If a fall does occur, our team responds immediately, assesses the situation, contacts the family, and coordinates with our on-call medical providers. Nothing gets handled quietly and nothing gets reported days later.
How do you handle medical emergencies?
Every caregiver at Two Hearts is CPR certified. Every resident has an emergency call pendant. The home has a security system and camera monitoring in common areas. Emergency protocols are trained, practiced, and posted.
For ongoing medical monitoring, our house-call doctor and nurse practitioner visit monthly — every resident, every month — without families having to arrange transportation or chase appointments. Our caregivers are trained to report immediately when a resident seems “off” — even subtly — so that medical concerns are caught early, not after a crisis.
Janel herself, as a Registered Nurse with 18+ years of clinical experience, is available and involved in clinical decisions at both homes. That is not something a large corporate facility can offer.
How do you prevent wandering for residents with dementia?
Our security system includes measures specifically designed to prevent unsafe exits. The small, familiar layout of our home also plays a role — residents with dementia feel less disoriented in a home that looks and feels like a house, with consistent routines and consistent faces, than in a large institutional building with long corridors.
Our staff are trained in dementia care and in de-escalation techniques for moments of confusion or agitation. We do not rely on sedation or restraint. We rely on relationship — on caregivers who know each resident well enough to redirect, calm, and comfort them effectively.
QUESTION 2: Will Mom be loved?
The short answer: This is actually why Two Hearts was built.
Janel, our co-founder and administrator, grew up watching what happened to elderly people in traditional assisted living facilities. When she was searching for care for her own grandmother, she visited facility after facility and kept asking the same question:
“Why couldn’t she just live somewhere that resembled an actual home and give her more one-on-one care?”
That question became Two Hearts.
The name itself — Two Hearts — comes from the two hearts that built it: Eddy and Janel. Not a corporation. Not an investor group. Two people who decided that if they were going to do this, they were going to do it the way they’d want their own grandmother cared for.
Here’s what love looks like, practically, at Two Hearts:
Will staff actually know her — or will she be just another resident?
At Two Hearts, we care for a maximum of 16 residents at each location. That number is not an accident. It is the number at which every caregiver can genuinely know every resident — their name, their history, their preferences, their personality, their health patterns, and the subtle signs that something might be off.
Our caregivers know how every resident takes their coffee. They know who sleeps late on Sundays. They know which resident needs a little extra encouragement to come to breakfast, and which one will be in the common room before the coffee is brewed.
At a facility with 80 or 100 residents, that is not possible. At Two Hearts, it is the standard.
Will she be lonely?
This is one of the most common fears families carry — and one of the most pleasant surprises after the move.
Loneliness at home, even with regular family visits, is genuinely dangerous for seniors. It accelerates cognitive decline and is associated with serious physical health consequences. The isolation of living alone — quiet days, quiet evenings, no one to share a meal with — takes a toll that families don’t always see until it’s been going on for months.
At Two Hearts, your parent is part of a small, tight-knit community. Shared meals around a real table. Activities with neighbors they come to know. Louie — our English Golden Retriever therapy dog — roaming through the common room and visiting rooms. Staff who engage, laugh, and connect throughout the day.
Families consistently tell us that within weeks of the move, their parent seems more alive. More engaged. More like themselves. The social environment of a small residential home is one of the most powerful things we offer — and it’s one that surprises almost every family.
What does a typical day actually feel like?
It feels like home. Not a hospital. Not a facility. A home.
There’s a real kitchen where real meals are cooked from scratch every day. There’s a living room where residents watch television, do activities, and talk to each other. There’s an outdoor space where residents sit in the sun, tend a small garden, or just breathe fresh air.
Activities include low-impact daily exercise, music therapy with personalized playlists, arts and crafts, Bingo, and regular visits from the barber and hairdresser. Monthly outings and events bring variety. PT, OT, and speech therapy come in as needed.
There is no institutional silence. There is no schedule that feels like a nursing home. There is the rhythm of a real household, with people who care about each other moving through it.
Will she be treated with dignity?
Always. This is non-negotiable at Two Hearts.
Dignity in daily care — in how we assist with bathing, dressing, toileting, and personal hygiene — is something we train on, talk about, and hold our team to. Every resident deserves to feel respected, not managed. Seen, not processed.
We have a zero-tolerance policy for anything less.
QUESTION 3: Can I trust you with someone I love?
The short answer: We understand why you’re asking. And we welcome the scrutiny.
Trust is earned. It isn’t promised on a website. Here is the evidence we’d point to:
Who is actually running this home?
Two Hearts is owned and operated by Eddy and Janel Robilotta — a husband and wife who live in Northwest Indiana and are personally involved in both homes.
Janel holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from Lewis University, a Master’s Degree in Health Care Administration from Lewis University, and is a certified Residential Assisted Living Specialist (RALS) — the highest professional certification in the residential assisted living industry. She has 18+ years of experience specifically in senior care, memory care, and residential assisted living.
Eddy holds a Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from Northern Illinois University and manages the operational and physical infrastructure of both homes.
These are not absentee owners. When you call Two Hearts, you are — directly or indirectly — talking to the people who built it and live by it every day.
What do families who have already made this decision say?
We could tell you anything. Here’s what other families actually said:
“Two Hearts provides my mom the most OUTSTANDING care anyone could ask for. She absolutely loves living every day in this home. She is always talking about the staff — how kind and loving the workers are to her.”
“This is the 3rd facility in 9 years and this one finally feels like home. Two Hearts is smaller and feels so much like home already. We are so excited for this next chapter.”
“We recently moved our mom from another facility to Two Hearts. We cannot be happier with our choice. The attention and care she is getting here is amazing. Most importantly, she is very happy here.”
“As mother aged from her 90s to 100, Two Hearts provided social, physical, and personal care beyond what we were capable of providing. We felt like we had an extended family.” — The S. Family, Lake County, Indian
“When I had to look for a home for my Grandma, I was discouraged at what I saw in most facilities. I thought — why couldn’t she just live somewhere that resembled an actual home? That’s exactly what Two Hearts is.”
Read more reviews from Two Hearts families →
How will I stay informed about what’s happening?
You will hear from us. Not on a schedule, not through a portal, not in a monthly update letter.
If something changes with your parent — their health, their mood, their medication, their routine — you hear from us directly. Our team is trained to communicate proactively, not reactively.
One family member said it best: “The thing I am most pleased with is how well Two Hearts keeps in contact with me about everything that goes on with my Mother.”
That’s the standard we hold ourselves to.
Can I visit whenever I want?
Yes. Always. Unannounced.
We welcome — and encourage — unannounced visits. You should never feel like you need to schedule a visit to see your own parent. An open-door policy for families isn’t just a courtesy at Two Hearts. It’s a sign of confidence in what happens here every day, whether families are watching or not.
Is Two Hearts licensed and inspected?
Yes. Two Hearts Homes for Seniors is registered with the State of Indiana as a Housing with Services Establishment and operates in full compliance with Indiana Department of Public Health requirements.
You can look up our inspection record through the Indiana Department of Public Health — Health Care Providers Consumer Reports. We’re happy to walk you through it.
One Last Thing — From Janel
“When I built Two Hearts, I made one promise to myself: I would only run a home I would put my own grandmother in. That’s still the test I use every single day. When I walk through these doors in the morning, I ask: is this a place I’d be proud to have her live? The answer has to be yes — every day, without exception.”
— Janel Robilotta, BSN, RALS Co-Founder & Administrator, Two Hearts Homes for Seniors
Still Have Questions? We’d Love to Talk.
There’s no question too small, no concern too sensitive, and no family situation too complicated for us to talk through. Pick up the phone. Come for a tour. Ask us anything.
Call us directly: (219) 600-2200
We have homes in Lowell and Crown Point, Indiana, serving families throughout Northwest Indiana.