How Compass Works — From First Call to Settled In

Compass Senior Solutions is a free senior living placement and care navigation service serving families across Hampton Roads. Andrew Mace personally guides each family through the process — from the first conversation to the day your loved one is settled in — at no cost to you, ever.

A Free Service — Here's How That Works

Compass is completely free to families. There are no fees, no retainers, and no hidden costs at any point in the process.

Here is how it works: when a family chooses a senior living community through Compass, that community pays a placement fee — similar to how a real estate commission works when a buyer's agent helps someone purchase a home. The buyer doesn't pay the agent's fee; the seller does. In the same way, families working with Compass pay nothing, and the community that receives a new resident covers the cost.

This model exists throughout the senior placement industry, and we believe it's important to be transparent about it. It does not change the guidance you receive. Andrew Mace's job is to find the right fit for your loved one — not to steer you toward a particular community. A placement that isn't a good match doesn't serve anyone. Compass's reputation, and this business, depends entirely on families being genuinely well-served.

A few things families are often surprised to learn:

• The service is free regardless of which community is chosen from the options Andrew recommends.
• There is no pressure to choose any community Andrew suggests. If none of them feel right, that is useful information, and the search continues.
• If a non-placement outcome is the right answer — such as home care or a different type of support — Andrew will say so, even if it means no placement fee is earned.

Families deserve to understand how this works before they engage. That transparency is part of how Compass operates.

The Compass Process, Step by Step

There is no rigid formula here. Every family's situation is different, and the process adjusts to fit. What stays constant is the approach: consultative, unhurried, and guided by what is actually right for your loved one.

Step 1: The First Conversation

Andrew listens. That is the whole point of the first call or meeting.

You share what is going on — what the situation is with your loved one, what you have already tried, what is worrying you. There are no intake forms to fill out in advance, no pressure to have all the answers, and no sales pitch waiting on the other end. This conversation can happen by phone, or in person if you prefer. It usually takes 30 to 60 minutes, though it can go longer if that is what is needed.

Many families come into this call not knowing exactly what they need. That is completely normal. Helping you get clarity is part of what this first conversation is for.

Step 2: Assessment and Options

After the initial conversation, Andrew gathers the information needed to identify realistic, appropriate options.

This includes understanding your loved one's care needs and health situation, what kind of environment would feel comfortable and familiar, your geographic preferences across Hampton Roads, and your budget range. From there, Andrew identifies a curated set of options — not a generic printed list of every community in the area, but a thoughtful set of possibilities that genuinely fit what your family is looking for.

This stage sometimes surfaces questions families had not thought to ask — about care levels, costs, contracts, or what different types of communities actually provide. That education is part of the process, not a separate service.

Step 3: Tours and Visits

Compass schedules tours at the recommended communities or residential care homes, and Andrew attends those tours with you.

That matters. Walking through a community with a guide who knows what to look for is a fundamentally different experience than doing it alone. Andrew helps families notice things they might not otherwise catch — how staff interact with residents, what the community's rhythm feels like on an average day, which questions to ask the director, and how to evaluate what they are seeing against their loved one's actual needs.

Tours are scheduled at your pace. There is no requirement to see a certain number of communities or to rush through the process.

Step 4: Decision Support

After tours, Andrew helps families process what they saw.

This is often the hardest part. Families carry a lot of emotion into this process — guilt, grief, uncertainty, family disagreement. Andrew's role here is to help you think through the options clearly: what stood out, what felt off, what your gut is telling you, and how the practical factors — cost, care level, location — stack up. The goal is a decision your family feels genuinely confident about, not one made under pressure or out of exhaustion.

There is no deadline. If you need more time, more tours, or more conversation, that is what happens.

Step 5: Transition Support

Once a decision is made, Compass helps coordinate the logistics of moving in.

This includes working with the community on move-in timing, helping families understand what to bring and what the first days will look like, and staying in contact through the transition period. Moving a parent or loved one into senior living is emotionally significant even when it is clearly the right decision. Andrew stays engaged through that process — not just until a contract is signed.

Step 6: Post-Move Follow-Up

Andrew follows up after the move to make sure things are going well.

If something is not right — if care is not being delivered as expected, if your loved one is struggling with the transition, or if there are concerns about how the community is responding — Andrew advocates with you. The relationship does not end at move-in. That follow-through is part of what Compass offers, and it matters in a business built on trust and local relationships.

How Long Does This Take?

The timeline varies significantly depending on your situation — and that is by design.

Urgent situations — such as a hospital discharge with a short window to find placement — can move very quickly. Andrew has helped families find appropriate placement within a few days when the situation required it. In those cases, the process is compressed but the standard of care in the guidance does not change.

Planned exploration — families who are researching options before a crisis, or who want to understand what is available while a loved one is still relatively independent — can move at whatever pace feels right. Some families take several weeks. Some take several months. There is no pressure to accelerate.

Most families fall somewhere in between: a situation that has been building for a while has finally reached a point where action feels necessary, and they want to move thoughtfully but not too slowly. Andrew adjusts to where each family is.

One thing does not change regardless of timeline: there is no urgency manufactured by Compass. If your situation is urgent, Andrew will tell you honestly. If it is not, he will say that too.

What Families Can Expect From Andrew

Andrew Mace guides every family personally. Compass is not a call center, and your situation will not be handed off to a junior associate or an automated follow-up sequence.

Personal attention. Andrew handles the process himself — the initial call, the research, the tours, the follow-up. Families in Hampton Roads are working with a person who knows the local communities firsthand, not a regional directory service.

Honest guidance. If a community is not a good fit for your loved one, Andrew will say so. If the options in one category do not match what your family needs, he will tell you that and explain why. Families sometimes come to Compass looking for one type of care and leave with a clearer understanding that something different — perhaps home care, or a memory care community, or a residential care home rather than a large assisted living facility — is actually what makes sense.

No pressure. Compass does not use urgency tactics, follow-up pressure, or anything that resembles a sales pipeline. Families reach out when they are ready, move at their own pace, and make decisions on their own timeline.

Advocacy throughout. Andrew is on the family's side — before, during, and after placement. That includes advocating with communities when something is not going as it should, and being honest when a placement is not working and a change needs to be considered.

Local knowledge that matters. There is a difference between knowing that a community exists and knowing how it actually operates day-to-day. Andrew's relationships across Hampton Roads — from Virginia Beach to Williamsburg, Norfolk to Suffolk — give families a level of local context that a national directory cannot replicate.

To learn more about Andrew's background and approach, visit the About page.

Common Questions About Working With Compass

Does Compass work with all types of senior care, or just assisted living?

Compass works across multiple types of senior care — including assisted living, memory care, residential care homes, independent living, and home care. The right starting point depends on your loved one's current needs, and part of Andrew's role is helping families understand which type of care makes the most sense before tours are even scheduled.

What if we're not ready to make a decision yet?

That is a completely valid place to be, and it is one of the most common situations families are in when they first reach out. Compass does not require you to be ready to act — many families use an initial conversation simply to understand their options and get oriented. There is no obligation that comes from talking with Andrew, and no pressure to move forward on any particular timeline.

Will Compass pressure us toward a specific community?

No. Andrew recommends communities based on fit — not on any financial incentive tied to a specific facility. The placement fee model pays the same way regardless of which community a family chooses from among the recommended options, so there is no financial reason to push a family toward one community over another. If a recommended community turns out not to be the right fit after a tour, the search continues.

How is Compass paid if it's free to families?

When a family chooses a senior living community through Compass, that community pays a placement fee. This is a standard industry model — similar to how a buyer's real estate agent is compensated by the seller rather than the buyer. Families pay nothing at any point in the process. This model is disclosed upfront because transparency is part of how Compass operates.

What happens if my parent doesn't like the first community they tour?

Then you keep looking. A tour is not a commitment, and a first impression is not a final answer. Andrew schedules additional tours, gathers feedback from your loved one and your family, and adjusts the search based on what you learned. Sometimes a tour that does not feel like a fit is actually very useful — it helps clarify what you are really looking for.

Can Compass help with an urgent hospital discharge situation?

Yes. Andrew has experience navigating time-sensitive discharge situations and can move quickly when the circumstances require it. If your loved one is in the hospital and there is a short window to find appropriate placement, reach out as soon as possible. Andrew will assess the situation honestly and help identify what is feasible within the available timeframe, without cutting corners on finding a genuinely appropriate option.

What areas does Compass serve?

Compass serves families throughout Hampton Roads, Virginia — including Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News, and Williamsburg. If you are not sure whether your location is covered, reach out and Andrew will tell you directly.

There's No Obligation in Reaching Out

If you are not sure what is right for your family — if you are somewhere between "we need to do something" and "we have no idea where to start" — that is exactly the kind of conversation Compass is here for.

A first call with Andrew is not the beginning of a process you are locked into. It is a conversation. You leave with more clarity than you came with, and you decide what happens next.

Reach out anytime — there's no pressure and no cost to your family.