My day job is working as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant in a hospital. I’ve worked in a few different settings though including: Long term care which some refer to as nursing homes, Assisted Living, a rehabilitation hospital, and a little bit of experience with home health and outpatient. Most of my career has been in the hospital, long term care, or assisted living though.
There comes a point in some people’s lives that they have to decide if living at home is the best option. Perhaps you need to make the decision for your parents, grandparents, or another relative. I think that sometimes, people hear the term “Assisted Living” and immediately think it’s a nursing home. Some people have pre-conceived notions of what it’s like to live in a nursing home or assisted living. For this article, I’m going to focus on the assisted living setting.
Assisted living is a great options for those that can still do a lot for themselves but maybe just need a little assistance with things like: taking medications, a little help with bathing, preparing meals, etc. A lot of assisted living settings have a number of activities that the residents can attend. Such as exercise classes, social gatherings, bingo, etc. I’ve been in some pretty nice assisted living facilities. There was one in particular that I thought, wow, I’d love to live here when I retire. That particular one had care from independent living, assisted living, to nursing care so you could stay in the same place as your needs progressed. There are lots of assisted living options, probably several close to you.
When looking into assisted living setting, here are some things to consider:
–What type of care and how much care do they provide? Some assisted living settings need their residents to be able to do certain things on their own. Others offer a little more care.
–Location — It may make your loved one feel better to be closer to family and easier for you if it’s close. Perhaps there’s a home closer to you but you know you and your grandparents like the setting of one a little further away better. How close will it be for doctor’s visits, and other family to visit?
–What amenities and activities are offered for you or your loved one? This can be important in the quality of life. If your mom loves bingo and they have bingo once a week, it will help her be more social. Maybe the doctor recommends exercises and there are exercise classes close. Do that have an outdoor area so your loved one can get some fresh air in the nice weather?
–Check into their policies and make sure they align with what’s important to you? How do people get in and out of the building? What kind of freedoms will you or your loved one have? Do they offer a van service for doctor’s appointments and the likes or will family members need to take them to their appointments? There could be a number of things to look at in this category.
–any type of elder care can be expensive. Does insurance cover any of the stay? What will you need to do as far as personal assets? These are all good questions to talk to with the assisted living representative or possibly an attorney in regard to power of attorneys, legalities of the potential residents home, etc.
–If you’re loved one needs care such as therapy is there a therapy service on site or can you choose a therapy service from the outside to come in?
Of course this post is only meant to be a guide and there are so many different assisted livings facilities. There are a lot of things to consider when finding the best place for mom or grandpa. Don’t just visit one, visit several and compare and contrast them for the best fit all around so both you and your loved one will be happy and make it an easier transition. Assisted Living can be a great way to ensure your loved one is safe and getting the care they need but still carry on a good quality of life.
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