Assisted living can be one of the best solutions for seniors who need some daily assistance. But, choosing the right community for your parents can be tough. Read on to learn how to help your parents choose the right assisted living community.
By 2050, there could be up to 27 million people living in assisted living facilities as our population ages. As assisted living communities become more popular, they offer a wider variety of amenities than ever before. When choosing a facility for your loved one, you have lots of great options.
Here are 4 questions to ask when trying to whittle down your options to the best choice.
1. Are They Mobile?
For seniors with mobility issues, they need to have an assisted living facility that is easy to get around. A large campus with lots of amenities will be useless to a loved one who has trouble with mobility.
Rowntree offers a good example of what you should be able to expect from a facility.
If your loved one has trouble walking, make sure that there are ramps all around the facility. There need to be elevators if there are multiple floors and they should have easy access to an emergency exit in the case of a fire.
2. What Are Their Hobbies?
If your loved one has lots of hobbies that they keep up with, there should be some programming centered around that. Rather than being a spectator of events as they come along, if your loved one plays music, there should be ways for them to play at the facility.
For elders who like to paint and draw, trips to galleries and museums would be nice. The occasional artist visit could bring a lot of value to living in an assisted living community. Talk to them about what they want from a facility.
3. Do They Have Friends At One?
If your loved one already has friends at an assisted living facility, that should be one of your first choices. The most important thing for our hearts and minds as we get older is to avoid becoming isolated. It’s easy to get wrapped up in our little bubbles and for life to become boring.
With friends and acquaintances around with common interests, it’s much harder to get bored.
If you can find a facility where they already know people, that will make the transition easier and help them to feel comfortable from day one.
4. Is It Secure?
If your loved one has a degenerative memory disease or dementia, you need to be sure the facility is secure. As they age, they might make the mistake of wandering off and without staff to check on them, they could get lost and get hurt.
While your facility doesn’t need to be on 24/7 lockdown or feel like a prison, it should have 24-hour staff to watch the premises. After hours, you should need a key to get in and out, to ensure that if a door is opened without a key, or someone goes through an emergency exit, an alarm rings.
Your Loved One Should Love The Assisted Living Community
When your loved one is excited about an assisted living community, you know you’ve found the right one. While it can be difficult to make the transition, it’s a better option than staying isolated at home when you need help to get along.
If the whole process is giving you all anxiety, try a group meditation to center yourselves and focus the conversation.