Becoming a registered provider on TheCareGuide.com is easy. Simply call 1.800.311.CARE or 416.287.CARE (2273) and one of our representatives will process your registration. You can also go our How To Advertising page, fill out the contact form and we will contact you within two business days.
What will you do with my provider information?
Your information is stored in our secure database and is posted in your InfoListing in order to inform seniors’ and their families of the services you offer.
What if the information for my service is out of date?
Registered providers can maintain their listing information online in real-time. Providers may login using the login form located in the top right corner of every page throughout TheCareGuide.com and make changes to your provider profile at any time from anywhere. Upon registering and becoming an online advertiser with TheCareGuide.com, you will be sent an email with your InfoListing login information and detailed instructions on how you can update your InfoListing on your own. The Care Guide staff is also available to help walk you through the updating process should you require help. If you've not yet become a registered provider, simply call 1.800.311.CARE or 416.287.CARE (2273) and one of our representatives can make the necessary changes.
Can I announce events within my listing?
As a registered provider, you can make changes to your listing information and description, and notify seniors' and their families of upcoming events. Simply login to access your InfoListing and enter update the 'Description' area for you InfoListing. We are also working on a new feature specific to each provider's InfoListing that will allow you to create your own events, post them on your InfoListing and they will also populate a central Event Calendar available to our visitors. We will inform our online advertisers when that feature becomes available.
How can I get a Virtual Tour hosted on TheCareGuide.com
The Care Guide now offers an additional feature for all InfoListings called 'Virtual Tours' - an excellent way to increase your residence occupancy rates. A virtual tour is exactly as its name implies - a virtual online tour of your residence made up of four panoramic scenes of any rooms or areas you chose to showcase within your residence (additional scenes are available at an extra cost per scene*). Virtual tours also include a full photo gallery and slideshow of the various rooms and areas both inside and outside your residence, links for visitors to bookmark or forward your virtual tour to a friend and a copy of the virtual tour on CD Rom for you to keep should you want to publish your virtual tour on your own corporate site.
Virtual Tours give providers at TheCareGuide.com a definite competitive advantage. Our statistics show that provider listings with virtual tours are viewed over 230% more often than those without.
Why host a virtual tour at TheCareGuide.com?
- Consumers like to get a visual sense of your home before they physically visit and Care Tours show more than static photographs – it’s a way to imagine themselves already there!
- They allow for a "preview" of the residence so that consumers can put your residence on their preferred list.
- It allows people that may not be physically situated in your market area the opportunity to search “remotely” for themselves or their loved ones.
- It's fun new technology and people like trying them out!
- Our Virtual Tour package includes the following:
- Filming is available almost anywhere in Canada - check with us for availability in your area
- First year of hosting on TheCareGuide.com is included!
* Additional 360-degree panoramic scenes for only $29.99 each
* Additional CD-ROM's for $14.99 each
* Re-shoots* of residences, for the purposes of representing seasonal changes, renovations and/or physical changes to the property are $99.99 each
* Re-shoots defined as up to two panoramic scenes and additional still shots of the same areas - to be adjoined to the original tour
Booking your Virtual Tour is hassle free.
Here’s what you need to do next:
Step One: Decide which residences should be showcased via a Care Tour
Step Three: Prepare your residence for the camera.
What if I have a Virtual Tour already developed?
We recognize that some of our customers already have "previously produced" virtual tours of their own that they would like to make available to consumers through TheCareGuide.com.
We are happy to accommodate "third-party" Virtual Tours from providers under the following terms and conditions:
- All third-party virtual tours must be loaded onto a CD-ROM (disk) and sent to us for hosting through TheCareGuide.com. We will take the existing tour, upload it to our site and host it on an ongoing, annual basis. This provides the ability for the user to conduct all of their searches and do their comparison "shopping" without ever having to leave the TheCareGuide.com environment.
- All third-party virtual tours must be submitted in such a way that there is no "branding" or "promotion" of any kind of any third-party virtual tour provider. The terms of our exclusive agreement with our new virtual tour provider prohibit us from promoting or advertising any other virtual tour services. We have, however, left provision in the agreement that will allow us to post and host third-party virtual tours.
- All third party virtual tours must be submitted to TheCareGuide.com clearly marked as to which virtual tours go with which residences.
- All billing for the posting and hosting of third-party virtual tours will be done on an annual basis at an annual rate of $120.00 per provider tour/per annum ($10.00/month). There will be no discounts on this pricing program; however, we do offer volume discounts on the virtual tours that we produce and host directly.
Please call or email The Care Guide today to inquire further about this exciting new program!
What is a CareLead?
A CareLead is someone who has ordered a copy of The Care Guide through our 1-800 number or our website and who has expressed interest in learning more about their options by receiving information directly from seniors' housing and care providers in their area. These represent seniors or families who are at varying points in their research or decision-making process, most likely not fully aware of their needs nor their options.
How does the CareLeads program work?
Available to full-page advertisers of The Care Guide, the CareLeads Program is a value-added lead-generation feature of their advertising program with The Care Guide. It represents a unique and powerful opportunity to market to potential clients on a one-to-one basis.
If you are a CareLeads participant and have any questions, or if you're interested in capitalizing on this program, please contact us at info@thecareguide.com or 1-800-311-CARE (2273).
How do I save and use my CareLeads files?
If you are full-page advertiser with The Care Guide, you should have received an email containing The Care Guide leads for your area. Within the body of the email is a text version of the leads. Also, attached to your email is a .DBF and .CSV file which contain the same information.
These files can be used as a merge file to print letters and/or labels using Avery labels, merging into a word document, or printing envelopes etc. Due to the many types of programs available to produce letters and/or labels, we are not available to demonstrate all the options.
For a demonstration on how to save and use your CareLeads, click here or for further help on this, you can use the help function in your word processing software or discuss with your IT department.
MEMBERSHIP
What are the benefits to becoming a member?
Finding appropriate housing or care services for yourself or a loved one can be a trying process. TheCareGuide.com strives to offer information, resources and tools to help you through this process and becoming a member makes it easier. As a member of TheCareGuide.com, you can quickly and conveniently request information from providers, save your provider searches and add providers to your "Favourites" list for future reference. Other useful tools, resources and services accessible by members will continuously be added.
How do I become a member?
Becoming a member is fast and easy. Throughout our Web site, you may click on Register for Free to go to the member registration page. Simply complete and submit the form and you immediately become a member. Start enjoying the benefits of becoming a member of The Care Guide today!
How do I save my provider searches?
In order to save your provider searches, you must become a member and you must be logged in before you start a search. Once logged in, conduct a search and in the top-right corner of the search results table, click "Save this search". Saved searches can be accessed and referred to in the future at your Member Home page.
What if I forget my password?
If you forget your password, simply go to our password retrieval form, enter the email address you used to register as Care Guide member and click Send. Your password will be emailed to you. If you still experience difficulties, call 1.800.311.CARE or 416.287.CARE (2273) and one of our representatives will be happy to help.
PROVIDER LISTINGS
Do the providers pay for getting listed?
There is a nominal fee for providers to be listed in TheCareGuide.com directory of providers.
Does TheCareGuide have any vested interest in any of the providers?
No. We are completely independent of any provider or group of providers. Please review our Disclaimer.
How do I request that a provider send me additional information such as a brochure?
To request information of a provider, near the top of the provider's InfoListing in the directory, click on the link titled 'Request Information'. Simply follow the on-screen instructions to request information from that provider or you may also click the link titled 'Email Provider' to send a basic message to that provider. If not a member, it is a good idea to first become a member, which is absolutely free, to ensure that the provider will have your proper contact information and be able to send you the information.
How does The Care Guide keep its information up to date?
The Care Guide relies on registered providers to make sure that the information listed about their residence or services is current and accurate. We also survey all providers on an annual basis by email, fax, mail and telephone. Please review our disclaimer for more information.
What if a provider I am interested in is not listed?
We strive to ensure that all seniors’ housing and care service providers are listed. If you are interested in a provider or are aware of a provider which is not listed, please contact us. Also, if you are in contact with the provider directly, we would appreciate it if you would suggest that they should be listed at TheCareGuide.com.
What geographical location does TheCareGuide.com cover?
At this time, TheCareGuide.com is predominantly based in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario but does provide information about several providers in other Provinces. The directory of providers is currently being fully expanded across Canada. Expansion to the United States and other nations is also planned.
What if my city is not listed?
If your city is not listed, our directory does not include a provider in that particular city. If you are aware of a provider that we may have omitted from the directory, please contact us.
Otherwise, we suggest that you perform a search by your Postal Code. Simply select your province, type of care you are looking for and enter your postal code in the box provided, then click 'Search'. From your results page simply change the proximity of kilometres (KM) from your postal code to produce even more results in nearby communities.
Where do I find and how do I view a virtual reality tour?
Providers who have a virtual reality tour are indicated with a link titled 'Virtual Tour'. To access the virtual tour of a provider, simply click on this link. The tour will load embedded in the page. The tours usually take a minute or two to load, depending upon the speed of your Internet connection. As well, most virtual tours require the latest Java plugin in order to viewed properly. It is always a good idea to make make sure you are using the latest version of your preferred web browser.
What if I do not receive the brochure I requested?
Requests for information about providers are passed on directly to the provider and it is the responsibility of the provider to send you the information requested. If you do not hear from a particular provider within one week, please contact us and we will make a direct inquiry of the provider on your behalf and will keep you posted.
WEBSITE
Does TheCareGuide use cookies?
Yes. Cookies are used so that we may make your experience at TheCareGuide a better one. You may choose to deactivate this logging into your Member Account, clicking on the 'Preferences' tab and modifying your 'Stay Logged In?' settings.
What cookies are on my computer?
TheCareGuide.com currently stores up to 5 values in a cookie:
- your email address (so we know you're a member)
- your encrypted password (until you log out)
- last date/time you visited TheCareGuide.com (to customize the content to reflect what's new)
- your preferred font size
If you wish to see for yourself what cookies TheCareGuide.com (and other sites, for that matter) have stored on your computer, you can use a tool such as Karen's Cookie Viewer.
How does TheCareGuide know my name / email address?
Once you've become a member and you return to TheCareGuide, we are able to recognize and identify you through the use of cookies.
Will TheCareGuide release or sell my information to anyone?
No. TheCareGuide will never release or sell any of your individual personal information to other parties without your permission. The information requested of you is intended to make your experience at TheCareGuide more fruitful. Please refer to our Privacy Policy.
Who writes your articles?
Articles are written by both staff of TheCareGuide.com and by persons experienced in each of the respective fields or topic areas. Some articles may also be sourced from various online resources specializing in certain areas of expertise. We do our best to keep the content on TheCareGuide.com up-to-date and fresh and make sure to give full credit to either the original source or the author within the body of an article when required.
Why is there some American content in your resource centre articles?
Unfortunately, Canada-specific content is often difficult to source and some American content, for example, an article about caring for a relative with Alzheimer's disease, is just as relevant for a Canadian family as it is for an American one. We are continuously adding content to the Resource Centre and are doing our best to make it relevant to Canadians.