There are roughly 30,600 assisted living communities currently operating in the US.
If you’ve got a loved one entering their older years, there’s a good chance you’ve already thought about assisted living programs. Finding quality elder care that you trust with your loved one’s lifestyle can be an overwhelming process.
This is a monumental transition for any senior, so you always want to make the right decisions for the person you care so deeply about. In today’s post, we’re going to give you a rubric for selecting community assisted living.
There are a few residential care options that encompass a larger set of different community types. Keep reading and we’ll tell you what you need to think about while navigating the selection process.
Figure Out Your Loved One’s Needs
The search for a viable assisted living community starts with you determining what your loved one needs. You can either sit down with them or try to assess their current condition to figure out what type of community they’ll benefit from.
There are a few different types of senior living to choose from. First, there are independent senior communities, which are retirement homes. These communities are best for elderly folks who are healthy but want a simpler life with fewer responsibilities and more socialization.
Assisted living and nursing homes are there to help people who have health issues due to aging. They may need help with daily activities, such as cooking, cleaning, getting dressed, and bathing. Staff are available around the clock and there are plenty of activities available to make aging easier.
The most intensive type of assisted living is memory care, which is for those suffering from cognitive decline. 6.9 million Americans deal with Alzheimer’s and dementia. These conditions have unique and challenging symptoms, which memory care aims to ease through specific programming and therapy.
Create a Budget
The next step is to create a budget for assisted living. On average, an assisted living community costs about $4,500 per month or $54,000 per year. That being said, there are always options for reducing the cost of assisted living, either through customizing care or financial benefits.
You should never choose an assisted living community because it’s cheap. As you will see, many factors go into this decision, but it’s important to understand your financial limitations. The last thing you want is to fall in love with a community that you can’t afford.
Location Matters
It’s important to search for a community in a central location. The transition into assisted living can be cumbersome, even when the community is highly rated. Having family and friends nearby to come and visit will help ease the transition.
Start your search in earnest by heading to Google and typing, “Assisted living communities near me”. This will give you a list of everything your local area has to offer. From there, you can pick the most reputable communities.
Ratings and Reviews
You can glean a huge amount of information from the loved ones of current and former residents of a community. Whether it’s information about the way staff treat residents or the upkeep of the community’s amenities, you can use this info to make important decisions for your loved one’s future.
What can really help your search is reading bad reviews. Use bad reviews as red flags to eliminate certain communities from contention. Once you’ve got 3-5 communities that seem right for your loved one’s needs, you can book tours and do the requisite research to select the perfect one.
Staff Qualifications
When touring an assisted living community, it’s important to observe and speak to as many staff members as possible. You want to get a sense of their qualifications, especially when you’re dealing with assisted living.
These services come with unique challenges. You need the people caring for your loved one to have the right training, level of compassion, and experience to handle everything your loved one needs.
When it comes to memory care, you need someone well-versed in Alzheimer’s and dementia. These communities should also have regular visits from medical professionals to check on residents’ overall health.
Room Types and Sizes
The next order of business on an assisted living tour is to look at the residences. One of the biggest perks of assisted living is that residents have independence. They stay in apartment-style dwellings containing everything they need to lead a happy life.
Communities should offer a wide range of room types and sizes. If your loved one loves cooking, for example, they should have access to an apartment with a full kitchen. On the other hand, if you’ve got financial restrictions, a community should also offer budget-friendly rooms.
Look Into Amenities and Activities
Amenities are a good way to determine what your loved one’s lifestyle will look like in assisted living. Every community is unique in this aspect. One community might have an exercise room/spa while another could have beautifully-kept outdoor areas for residents to explore.
The activity calendar is an important thing to look at also. A good community will have a daily calendar full of diverse, fun, and engaging activities for residents. These activities should prioritize the physical, emotional, and cognitive health of residents.
Next, you’ll need to look at the in-house dining options. Nutrition is so important for healthy aging. A good diet can help your loved one avoid issues like heart disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis.
The best communities will offer restaurant-style dining with a rotating menu of healthy dishes. These offerings should always prioritize the dietary needs and restrictions of all residents.
In many ways, the above information can solidify your assisted living choice. This is where it helps to understand your loved one’s wants and needs so you can figure out which amenities, activities, and dining are best for them.
Transitioning Into Community Assisted Living
Transitioning into community assisted living is a big deal for any senior. By taking the time to figure out your priorities and then tour a selection of the top communities nearby, you can make that transition a million times easier for your loved one.
For those in Towson, there’s only one choice for high-end assisted living. Seaton Towson offers quality assisted living care and all of the amenities your loved one could ever want. Contact us today to book your tour and see for yourself.
