Many seniors fear aging mainly because of its consequences. They do not like the skin wrinkles and the gradual body decline that come with it.
Moreover, they do not want to face the most challenging question of them all–where to spend the remainder of your golden years.
However, seniors need to ready themselves for this whole ordeal because it will inevitably come, one way or another. Your best chance is to face it early on to get yourself situated in a perfect senior living community suitable for you.
Choosing the best one has to be overwhelming, with millions of housing options out there. So to help you get ready, here’s a list on how to narrow your options and choose the right assisted living community.
1. Ask for Help
It is undeniably a challenging task, so your first order of business is to ask someone for help. It can be a loved one, a partner, or a trusted friend.
What’s important is that you have someone to share your ideas and preferences with and someone to disagree with you if you ever go overboard. Remember, two minds are far better than one.
2. Do a Little Probing
Next, you need to do a little fact-finding on the internet. If you have a particular senior living community in mind, you can go to their website and read about their facility.
You can also easily Google the nearest senior living communities near you and then visit these facilities’ online pages to look into their program.
Take your research a little further by checking the internet for online reviews regarding each facility’s services.
Make sure to have a little notebook by your side so you can list down each community’s strongest suits and their drawbacks.
3. Pay Them a Visit
After your research, it is time to narrow it down to at least two or three of the best facilities you had seen online.
Together with a loved one or a trusted companion, you can then make an appointment to your chosen senior living community and schedule a visitation day. Here are some of the things to keep in mind while doing the tour.
- Observe the area’s cleanliness and orderliness.
- Look at how the staff and caregivers treat the residents. Are they approachable? Do they render their services with compassion and kindness?
- Examine the living spaces. Think about whether it is up to your standards or not.
- Ask about their security systems. How do they keep the residents safe?
- Inquire about their payment system. Decide whether the community suits your budget plans.
- Ask all of your queries to the staff, such as visitation schedules, meal preparation, and other concerns.
You can make it easier by having a list of questions ready for the staff in charge of your tour or visits. You can also drop by the facility unannounced or during night time, where the staff is thinner.
This way, you can really see how they operate and handle situations with limited employees.
4. Healthcare Services
An assisted senior living community provides a vast number of services to support older adults. They can give personalized care while maintaining a senior’s independence as much as possible.
One of the essential services they provide is healthcare management. Most seniors opt to live in assisted facilities due to health-related reasons. Many older adults need another pair of helping hands to guide them in doing their basic needs. This includes:
- Medication management
- Bathing, dressing, and grooming
- Healthy lifestyle (e.g., proper nutrition and regular exercise)
- Housekeeping and living maintenance
- Transportation
- Necessary healthcare assistance like doctor’s appointments and physical exams.
Make sure to check with your chosen community and see if they offer these services. Suppose you need a specialized kind of medical assistance (mobility issues or physical therapy). In that case, you or your loved one can disclose this information and see if they can provide what you need.
5. Check Their Amenities
Once you have ticked the important requirements of a senior living community from your list, it is time to check the facility’s features and amenities.
Different communities have differing amenities. It is essential to know what features you want and prefer in a community.
Are you more of a bookish person? Then make sure that the community you choose has their own library or at least a quiet nook to read or be with your own thoughts.
If you prioritize physical fitness over everything, then choose a community with spacious fitness centers, a pleasant outdoor area, or a swimming pool.
6. Programs and Activities
To truly get to feel and experience the life you will have in your chosen senior living community, you can ask to view their program and activity calendar for the coming months.
Knowing what they have in store for you allows you to get a glimpse of what it is like living there. Would it be a boring stay or a fun and adventurous life?
Most assisted facilities offer a variety of activities for seniors, ranging from educational to entertaining. Some of the programs to look forward to being:
- Offsite trips
- Fitness activities like yoga and tai-chi
- Social activities like book clubs
- Mind-stimulating recreational activities like puzzles, online classes, lectures, and crossword games.
- Cooking, baking, gardening, painting, and photography
- Live events with impressive performances
- Programs including your loved ones and family members
Check if your prospective community offers your most enjoyed hobbies as part of their program.
7. Point of Communication
One last box to tick in choosing the perfect senior living community is the facility’s communication systems.
Do they have phones and devices easily accessible to residents if they choose to communicate with their loved ones, even in the wee hours of the night?
The freedom to call anyone at your own time is vital so as not to feel isolated from the outside world, like a prisoner. It also helps battle the sudden bouts of sadness and longingness you sometimes feel out of the blue.
If your prospective facility surpasses the considerations in this list, then congrats, you already have yourself a perfect senior living community!