Informative Advice When Researching Assisted Living for Seniors
Essentially, when it comes to the time when your aging loved one is no longer safe and secure living independently in their own home, it may be time to consider the transition to an assisted living community.
Continue reading to discover some useful and informative advice and suggestions when undertaking research into assisted living for seniors.
How Do You Know That Is Time to Make the Move?
One of the most important and beneficial aspects of assisted living communities for seniors is that it is by no means a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Essentially, if your family member has reached the point where it is no longer entirely safe for them to live wholly independently in their own home, this is the time when beginning to research alternative living arrangements.
There are also many warning signs that you should be on the lookout for whenever you are interacting and relaxing around your loved one, especially when you are spending time together in their own home.
Such warning signs include, but are by no means limited to, your loved one appearing to withdraw themselves from social situations and family gatherings, their home and garden looking decidedly unkempt and generally untidier and dustier, a significant change in their eating and drinking habits and evidence of a lack of personal care and overall hygiene.
Why Assisted Senior Living Facilities Are a Good Option for Memory Care
Assisted living facilities, such as the professional and established senior homes in Fort Lauderdale,provide an exceedingly high level of memory care and have dedicated facilities and buildings onsite that specifically cater and care for those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and other memory-related illnesses.
For example, if your loved one has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or a similar memory-based illness and they have made the decision to move out of their home, they will still be incredibly independent and most likely not require 24/7 personal care services. But unfortunately, it is highly likely that their disease will progress, andwithin memory care facilities inside assisted living communities, the highly trained medical staff will be able to monitor and adapt the individual’s medical plan and treatment maps accordingly.
An Improved Social Life and New Friendships and Connections
Assisted living facilities for seniors to offer an array of different social activities and excursions, all overseen by a trained professional member of staff. In addition, multiple events are scheduled throughout the day and in communal areas, which encourage social interaction and the forming of connections between residents.
Such activities include book clubs and reading groups, board game nights, jigsaw puzzle parties, exercise classes, movie nights, and a host of other fun and relaxation activities. Often, therapy animals are brought in for an afternoon, and the residents get time with loving dogs and cats from local animal rescue centers.But, of course, assisted living facilities’ primary focus is on the safety and security of their residents, and just as valuable is the amount of importance they place on meaningful and mutually beneficial connections and true friendships.
Open and Flexible Visiting Hours
Naturally, in the first few weeks of your loved one moving to an assisted living facility, you will be anxious to know how they are getting on and if they are settling in. One of the significant major advantages of moving your loved one into an assisted living facility is you can spend as much time as you can with your loved one in and around the community. Visiting hours naturally vary, but generally, visitors are required to enter through the main entrance and check-in at reception and are then free to visit between nine and five on a weekday and between ten and four on the weekend.
Around The Clock Availability of Medical Care and Treatment
Assisted living communities to provide onsite care and support throughout the day and night, and your loved one will be assisted as much or as little with their daily chores and activities as they desire and need. Staff members will always be on hand to assist with everything from bathing, dressing, grooming to meal preparation and home maintenance and will always strive to provide the best quality of life for your loved one that is possible.
Assisted living is by no means a strictly medical model of senior living care, but they do provide a wide range of health care services, which are all individually customized to residents’ specific needs. For example, emergency first aid, medication management, pharmacy services, medical records, and treatment maintenance services are usually offered to residents in assisted living facilities. Most facilities also have a staff physician or nurse who visits residents regularly to provide medical checkups and a physiotherapist on hand to assist residents with areas of physical weakness.
There is no exact design and specification layout for all assisted living facilities in the country, obviously because each resident’s needs and preferences vary considerably. However, all professional, established, and experienced assisted living communities’ top priority is to help senior residents enjoy their independence as well as a good and consistent quality of life by providing basic health care assistance, personal care, housekeeping, transportation, and a variety of social and recreational opportunities and activities.
Ensure To Ask Questions and Tour Prospective Communities
Naturally, throughout this whole process, you will have a growing number of questions, and assisted living facilities are always ready, open, willing, and expecting a barrage of potential inquiries regarding their staff, their site, and what their new residents can expect.
If not, the most important question to ask centers is around the quality, quantity, and specific types of medical services each facility offers and how appropriate these medical services will be in the treatment and care of your loved one. For example, many assisted living communities have podiatrists, physiotherapists and massage therapists, and fully qualified medical professionals who are either onsite throughout the day and night or local to the facility and able to commute.