Safety, dignity, and the right equipment at every stage of the long-term care journey
Whether your loved one is still at home, in the gap between deciding and moving, or already in assisted living, memory care, or a skilled nursing facility — AskSAMIE meets you where you are.
What AskSAMIE does
If you are exploring long-term care for someone you love, AskSAMIE is built for the road you are on right now. The platform helps family caregivers find the right adaptive equipment, the right home modifications, and the right occupational therapy support — whether your loved one is still at home, in the gap between deciding and moving, or already placed.
Free to use as a guide. You can also book a licensed occupational therapist directly through AskSAMIE when your situation calls for a clinical eye.
For caregivers already looking at long-term care
Right now: the gap between recognizing the problem and making the move
The time between deciding your loved one needs more care and actually getting them into the right setting can stretch for weeks or months. Meanwhile, the situation at home is not pausing for paperwork.
This is the moment AskSAMIE was built for. While you navigate the bigger decision, you can use the platform to make the next few weeks safer and more sustainable.
- Make the bathroom safer tonight so the next fall does not become the crisis that forces a rushed placement
- Get a hospital bed, lift recliner, or transfer aid in the house so caregiving at home is sustainable a little longer
- Set up the right walker, rollator, or wheelchair so your loved one can keep moving around safely
- Reduce wandering and nighttime risk for someone with early or moderate dementia
- Give a spouse or paid caregiver the equipment they need to do the work without getting hurt
A few hundred dollars of the right equipment, placed where an OT would put it, can buy back weeks of relative calm during a process that is otherwise consuming.
Once your loved one is in assisted living, memory care, or a nursing facility
Placement is not the end of the caregiving work — it often changes the shape of it. New problems show up that the facility may or may not address well, and family caregivers are still the ones noticing first.
Incontinence
The right products, schedules, and skin-protection routines protect dignity and skin integrity.
Low vision
Lighting, contrast, magnification, and large-button devices restore independence in eating, reading, and grooming.
Bed mobility
Bed rails, transfer poles, wedge pillows, and pressure-relief mattresses reduce pressure injuries and ease repositioning.
Dementia & engagement
Sensory items, music, fidgets, activity boards, and weighted blankets reduce agitation, sundowning, and PRN medication use.
Personal-use mobility
Walkers, transfer aids, shower chairs, and wheelchairs often need to be family-purchased to actually fit the person.
Activities & engagement
When visits have structure and purpose, everyone feels better. AskSAMIE provides activities and guidance.
Book an OT through AskSAMIE to come into the facility, evaluate the resident's specific needs, train staff and family, and make sure equipment is set up the way it should be.
Book an OTWhat you get for free
The AskSAMIE platform costs nothing to use. Tell it about the problems you're noticing and the setting they are in or moving to. You will get:
- A clinically vetted list of adaptive equipment, services, and resources that fit the specific situation, with prices and links to where to buy
- Plain-language guidance specific to the situation and the person
- Education on how to manage behaviors that show up with dementia — learn how to handle them in the moment
Help available 24/7 — right when you need it.
When you need a clinician: working with an OT
Some situations call for an occupational therapist. AskSAMIE connects you to a credentialed OT directly, with no insurance run-around. Visits can happen in person or by video.
Home safety assessment
An OT walks every room, watches your person move, and identifies risks the family may not see.
Bridge-period planning
When placement is coming but not happening this week, an OT makes home safer so a fall doesn’t change your timeline.
Caregiver training
Transfers, bathing, dressing, and positioning are skills. Good technique prevents injury and protects your loved one.
Wheelchair & seating evals
Deeper than any online questionnaire — and the right equipment travels with your loved one into the next setting.
In-facility consultation
An OT can evaluate your loved one inside their AL or memory care community and coach staff on positioning and ADLs.
Discharge & transition
Coming out of a hospital or rehab stay is when the most can go wrong. An OT makes the handoff safer.
Who AskSAMIE is for
AskSAMIE was built for the full range of families who need a setting to work for the person living in it.
Adult children caring for aging parents — at home, considering placement, or already in a facility
Spouses caring for a partner with chronic illness, dementia, or stroke recovery
Families of children or adults living with a disability who want to stay independent
Caregivers preparing for discharge from a hospital, rehab, or skilled nursing facility
If a person spends time in a home or care setting and that environment is making their life harder, AskSAMIE has something to offer.
About the founder
Dr. Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP, is the founder and CEO of AskSAMIE and a licensed occupational therapist with more than eighteen years of clinical experience working with older adults and people with disabilities. She built AskSAMIE after watching too many families discover the equipment and expertise they needed only after a crisis.
Dr. Brandy is based in Kansas City and gave a TEDx talk on purpose as a vital sign. She also produces CareLab, a podcast for family caregivers.
Why this matters
fewer rehospitalizations for families who use AskSAMIE
The right equipment and the right environment keep people out of the ER during the long-term care decision process, and keep them comfortable, safer, and more engaged once they are placed. For caregivers, that means fewer 3 a.m. crises, less unpaid time off work, and a clearer path forward.
×Better together
LTCareNav helps you plan the long-term care journey — financial readiness, Medicaid and VA benefits, placement decisions, and concierge matching. AskSAMIE helps you live it day to day — the equipment, modifications, and clinical OT support that keep your person safer and more comfortable, in any setting.
Get your free care plan
Two minutes. No account needed. Personalized guidance for your loved one's situation — and a clear next step.
Who needs help?
Tell us who you're planning care for.
The next questions will be about whoever you choose above — answer for them, not yourself (unless this is for you).
Get started
Use the free guide or book an occupational therapist at AskSAMIE.com.
Questions, partnership inquiries, or press: hello@AskSAMIE.com